The Peace Corps announced Tuesday that the University of Washington is again No. 3 on the list of top volunteer-producing institutions since the international program launched in 1961.
For 2025, the UW placed No. 7 among universities with 15,000 or more enrolled undergraduates in total number of Peace Corps volunteers, according to the Peace Corps. In total, more than 3,175 UW graduates have gone on to service opportunities abroad as volunteers.
The UW is proud to prepare students to engage meaningfully with the world, said Ahmad Ezzeddine, UW vice provost for global affairs.
“The Peace Corps remains one of our nation’s most effective avenues for citizen diplomacy, and we are grateful for its long history of strengthening communities around the globe,” Ezzeddine said.
Volunteers in the Peace Corps work side by side with communities to help to address real needs through agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth in development projects, Peace Corps acting Director Richard E. Swarttz said.
“Sixty-five years after our founding, the Peace Corps is still going strong,” he said.
According to the Peace Corps, 38 UW alumni served in 26 countries around the world during the past fiscal year, including Albania, Montenegro, Armenia, Cameroon, Colombia, countries in the Eastern Caribbean, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Vanuatu and Zambia.
To better reflect the combined contributions of volunteers who serve traditional 27-month assignments and Peace Corps Response volunteers who serve for 6-12 months, the Peace Corps counted alumni volunteers who served at any point during the 2025 fiscal year for the 2026 rankings. Previously, colleges and universities were ranked on a one-day annual headcount of volunteers on Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year.
More than 250,000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps around the world since President John F. Kennedy initiated the program in 1961.
Learn more about the Peace Corps and the UW.