College Selected by the Peace Corps to Offer Coverdell Fellows Program
The Peace Corps has selected the College of Public Health at East Tennessee State University to serve as a partner university for the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program.
The Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program provides an opportunity for returning Peace Corps Volunteers to continue their service to underserved communities while also pursuing graduate studies at an accredited institution.
All fellows complete internships in underserved communities and may seek financial support for their field placement. Scholarship funds may be available for students to complete field placements in low resource settings domestically and globally. Scholarships from the Coverdell Fellows Program range from $750-$3500, depending on location, cost, and time in country. Additionally, fellows selected for the program in the ETSU College of Public Health may receive an in-state tuition waiver, online student e-rate, tuition scholarship, and/or graduate assistantship.
“We are very excited to offer our graduate programs to returning Peace Corps volunteers,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, Dean of the College of Public Health. “These students are highly experienced, altruistic, and motivated and they bring a seasoned world view. They will both add to, and benefit from, our commitment to practical, applied and “real world” training in public health.”
Through their internships, Coverdell Fellows apply what they learn in the classroom to a professional setting. They not only gain valuable, hands-on experience that makes them more competitive in today’s job market, but they also further the Peace Corps mission. By sharing their global perspective with the communities they serve, Fellows help fulfill Peace Corps’ Third Goal commitment to strengthen Americans’ understanding of the world and its people.
“The Peace Corps Coverdell Program is a wonderful addition to the programs in the College of Public Health. We look forward to welcoming Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to our Master of Public Health or Doctor of Public Health programs,” said Dr. Megan Quinn, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, who will serve as coordinator for the program.
The Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program began in 1985 at Columbia’s Teachers College, and now includes more than 90 university partners across the country, from the District of Columbia to Hawaii to Alaska. The program is specifically reserved for students who have already completed their Peace Corps service abroad. Since the inception of the program, more than 4,500 returned volunteers have participated and made a difference across the country. There are less than ten accredited schools of public health that serve as Coverdell partner universities. For more information, visit www.peacecorps.gov/fellows.