The University of Colorado Boulder is ranked No. 5 in the nation 鈥� up one spot from last year 鈥� for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers with 53 alumni currently serving around the world, the Peace Corps announced today.
In the annual Top Colleges list, CU-Boulder has held a position in the top eight nationally among large institutions for the past 14 years, ranking in the top three for nine of those years. CU-Boulder also has been the state leader among Colorado institutions of similar size each year since 2003.
鈥淪tudent success is one of my top campus priorities and I am proud that CU-Boulder currently and historically produces engaged citizens of the world in such impressive numbers,鈥� said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano.
CU-Boulder is among the top five volunteer-producing universities of all time with 2,435 alumni having served in the program since it was established in 1961.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about this ranking, which underscores CU-Boulder student leadership around global awareness and action,鈥� said Ben Kirshner, faculty director of听.
This year鈥檚 rankings follow听听implemented by Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet, who spoke at CU-Boulder in 2013 and 2014. The recent changes to simplify and personalize the application and selection processes resulted in a听听for the agency in 2015, according to Peace Corps officials.
Topping the large-schools category of the list, the University of Washington ranked No. 1 with 72 volunteers. The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked No. 2 with 68 volunteers and the universities of Florida and Minnesota tied at No. 3, each with 59 volunteers. Colorado State University ranked No. 8, tied with the University of California, Santa Barbara, each with 43 volunteers.
In the graduate school category, the University of Denver tied with the University of Michigan at No. 2, each with 17 volunteers, while Tulane University made the No. 1 spot.
The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing schools annually according to the size of the student body. Large schools have more than 15,000 undergraduates, medium-sized schools have between 5,000 and 15,000 undergraduates and small schools have fewer than 5,000 undergraduates.
The George Washington University ranked first among medium-sized schools with 43 undergraduate alumni currently serving and Gonzaga University in Washington ranked highest among small schools with 18 undergraduate alumni serving.
In 2010, CU-Boulder became part of the Peace Corps Master鈥檚 International program, which allows volunteers to combine Peace Corps service with a master鈥檚 degree program and receive credit for their Peace Corps service abroad.
For more information about the Peace Corps at CU-Boulder, call the campus recruiting office at 303-492-8454 or visit . For more information about CU Engage visit .
