UW News

May 23, 2023

UW a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers; Forbes names UW a ‘Best Employer for New Graduates’

The Peace Corps announced that the University of Washington is No. 3 on a list of top volunteer-producing institutions over the past two decades.

Only the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison had more Peace Corps volunteers, based on a list compiled for the years 2003 to 2023.

Volunteers are needed this year to serve abroad, said agency director Carol Spahn. The Peace Corps places volunteers around the world, at the invitation of host country governments, to connect through a grassroots approach across communities and cultures.

“Demand for Peace Corps volunteers is high given setbacks in development progress following the COVID-19 pandemic,” Spahn said in a press release “There is an urgent call to action, and graduates of University of Washington are part of a strong tradition of big-hearted problem-solvers.”

Since the agency’s founding in 1961, more than 3,100 alumni of the UW have served abroad as Peace Corps volunteers. More than 240,000 Americans have served around the world since President John F. Kennedy initiated the program.

More information about the Peace Corps and the UW can be found here.

Separately, the UW was recognized by Forbes as one of the Best Employers for New Graduates 2023.

The magazine used data from a national, independent survey of more than 28,000 young professionals. The survey limited responses to employees with less than 10 years of experience who worked at companies with at least 1,000 people.

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