Pitt up in Peace Corps rankings

The Peace Corps has placed Pitt at 13th place among large schools on its 2008 ranking of… The Peace Corps has placed Pitt at 13th place among large schools on its 2008 ranking of colleges and universities who produce the most Peace Corps volunteers.

Pitt currently has 54 alumni who volunteer with the Peace Corps, a federal agency that sends American volunteers to assist with humanitarian work in developing nations.

Pitt rose two places from last year’s debut on the list at 15th place and ranked above all other large institutions in Pennsylvania. The University also ranked above other notable institutions like UCLA, Virginia Tech and Purdue.

Among graduate schools, Pitt ranked 10th for the second year in a row and has 11 alumni with advanced degrees now serving as volunteers in the Peace Corps.

The colleges and universities on the list are categorized by student-body population. Pitt falls under large universities, which are those institutions with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

A bachelor’s degree is not a requirement for entry into the Peace Corps, but they largely select college graduates for their program.

Ninety-five percent of current volunteers serving the 27-month term of commitment have bachelor’s degrees.

All told, 564 Pitt alumni have joined the Peace Corps since its founding. The University of California, Berkeley has produced the most volunteers with a total of 3,326 alumni having served in the Peace Corps.