Peace Corps Prep Certificate

The length of time it takes a student to complete the program depends: Students who have already completed most requirements may be certified in as little as one semester. Other students apply before completing any requirements.

The earlier you begin the program, the better, because you will be matched with a Sector Coach to help you in identifying your best fits for courses and volunteering, and you will have more time to connect with other candidates and a Peace Corps recruiter.

You can earn the Certificate at any time while enrolled at UAlbany as an undergraduate student.  

However, if you want to serve in the Peace Corps after graduation, we recommend completing all requirements by the semester before your final semester, since the Peace Corps volunteer application-to-overseas placement period can take up to nine months.

Yes! Choosing a sector is necessary to identify and complete the three sector-specific courses and 50 hours of volunteering.

You may also complete coursework and volunteering in additional sectors. That breadth is welcome in Peace Corps applications and service.  

Note: You don’t need to earn a Certificate in a specific sector to serve in that sector as a Peace Corps volunteer. You can qualify in more than one sector, and they will be noted on your Peace Corps Prep Exit Checklist, which you will upload when you apply to the Peace Corps. Your specific sector is not listed on your Certificate.

You may choose any sector based on your interests and career goals. Not sure what to choose? Some majors are natural fits for certain sectors. For example:

• Agriculture Sector: Anthropology, Biology, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Human Biology 
• Community Economic Development Sector: Any business major, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Economics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Informatics, Public Policy and Management, Quantitative Economics and Data Analysis 
• Education Sector: Any education major, any STEM major, English, Human Development, Public Policy and Management 
• Environment Sector: Atmospheric Science, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Emergency Preparedness, Geography, Physics, Public Policy and Management 
• Health Sector: Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology, Public Health, Public Policy and Management 
• Youth in Development Sector: Human Development, Psychology, Public Policy and Management, Social Welfare

No, the choice is entirely up to you!  

Some students want to earn the Certificate because it’s a formal recognition of their professional and intercultural development.

Other students join the Peace Corps Prep program to improve their Peace Corps application. Note: Earning the Certificate does not guarantee acceptance or placement as a Peace Corps volunteer. 

Annette Richie serves as Director of Global Academic Programs at the UAlbany. Annette spearheads UAlbany’s inclusive global learning initiatives, which include Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), Global Distinction Transcript Milestone, International Studies Minor and Peace Corps Prep Certificate.

Annette is a “third culture kid” who researched and taught medical anthropology, archaeology and ethnohistory for two decades before finding her way to global career and curricular mapping. Annette holds a doctorate in Anthropology from UAlbany. Annette also serves as the Peace Corps Prep Coordinator and approves Peace Corps Prep Exit Checklists.

If you select the Agriculture Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Working with a large-scale or family-run business involving vegetable gardening, farming, nursery work, tree planting or care urban forestry landscaping livestock care and management fish cultivation and production 
• Working or interning with a local business or organization, such as the Honest Weight Co-op, a local farmers market or farm-share, a local cidery or brewery, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, Capital Roots and/or a local food pantry 
• Teaching or tutoring the public in environmental or agricultural issues and/or activities, including through the Cornell Cooperative Extension and public library system 
• Becoming a volunteer for the Office of Sustainability, which could include farming in UAlbany’s garden, planting and pruning on campus, composting food waste from classrooms and University offices, and advocating for local ingredients in campus dining halls and area restaurants 
• Cleaning Albany's streets and tending to the Adirondack Park

If you select the Community Economic Development Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Working and/or volunteering with businesses, organizations or cooperatives in accounting, finance, micro-finance management, project management, budgeting or marketing
• Working for UAlbany's Information Technology Services (ITS) Help Desk
• Starting and running your own business or other entrepreneurial activity 
• Working on website design, online marketing or outreach for a non-profit (such as a school, church or charity) or student organization
• Serving a community- or school-based organization, perhaps as a treasurer 
• Interning in accounting with a government agency, such as the New York State Comptroller’s Office 
• Assisting with pro bono tax form preparation or teaching computer security basics, computer literacy, maintenance and repair at a local library

If you select the Education Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Working as a Conversation Partner with the Intensive English Language Program (IELP)
• Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language, special education, drama or a STEM subject in a local school classroom or with a community outreach organization, such as the West Hill Refugee Welcome Center, or in a formal tutoring capacity on campus
• Advanced School of Education students can practice teaching in elementary and secondary schools through the Pathways into Education program (PIE) 
• Students with high grades in introductory STEM courses can apply to be peer tutors at UAlbany
• Students with strong writing skills can apply to serve as Writing Center tutors 

If you select the Environment Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Significant experience in mechanical repairs, construction, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, hydrology, set design, gardening, farming, nursery management, organic or low-input vegetable production, and/or landscaping 
• Intern with the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation or the Albany Water and Sewer Board
• Volunteering and/or working with neighborhood/campus clean-up days, community garden projects, local parks' summer program, farm, food co-ops, UAlbany's Office of Sustainability and/or UAlbany's Office of Environmental Health and Safety 
• Educating the public on environmental or conservation issues, or working on environmental campaigns  
• Conducting biological surveys of plants or animals, including at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, or studying and researching abroad in the Galapagos for a semester with UAlbany’s partner, the University San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
• Providing technical assistance and training in natural resource management 

If you select the Health Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Volunteering or work experience in areas such as HIV/AIDS outreach, hospice, family planning counseling, emergency medical technician, CPR teaching and/or certification, maternal health, hands-on caregiving in a hospital clinic, lab or technician setting, counseling or teaching in health subjects, working as a resident advisor in a dormitory as peer nutritionist or sexually transmitted infections counselor 
• Intern and/or volunteer with UAlbany's Office of Health Promotion, Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, RNA Institute, Cancer Research Center, Center for Neuroscience Research, Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research, Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities, Middle Earth Peer Assistance Hotline, Department of Residential Life, etc. 
• Work with the New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center and Albany County Health Department
• Work and/or volunteer at hospitals/health centers, such as Whitney M. Young Center, Albany Medical Center and St. Peter's Hospital 
• Work with local non-profit organizations, the such as U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, West Hill Refugee Welcome Center, New York State AIDS Institute, Trinity Alliance, Capital Roots and Regional Food Bank
• Participate in study abroad programs that center on health

If you select the Youth in Development Sector, you'll need to build 50 hours of related volunteering, interning or work experience. Some ideas include:

• Experience in teaching or counseling in at-risk youth program, leading a church youth group, and/or acting as a guidance counselor assistant or assistant coach at a local high school 
• Activities involving planning, organizing, assessing community needs, counseling and leadership in areas such as education, youth development, health and HIV/AIDS, environment, and/or business 
• Volunteer with UAlbany's Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program, Disability Access & Inclusion Student Services (DAISS) and/or Department of Residential Life 
• Participate in supervised community service placements through RSSW 190 (Community Engagement) or RSSW 290, 291, 390 (Community and Public Service Program/Human Service in the Community) 
• Participate in field placements for fourth-year Social Welfare students through RSSW 400, 410 (Field Instruction in Social Welfare I-II) 
• Earn experiential learning credits towards your major, minor or General Education requirements while serving your community