Peace Corps Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet is proud to recognize the top Peace Corps volunteer-producing Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This year, Howard University in Washington, DC, holds the top rank for HBCUs with 21 undergraduate alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers and 204 alumni having served overseas since 1961.

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities equip students with the skills necessary to make a difference overseas through Peace Corps service,” said Acting Director Hessler-Radelet. “Volunteers with diverse backgrounds bring unique cross-cultural experiences to the communities they serve and help promote a greater understanding of all Americans.” 

After 27 months abroad working in education, health, community economic development, environment, youth in development or agriculture, Peace Corps volunteers with four-year degrees are uniquely qualified to return to the United States and enter the global job market. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens and receive support from the Peace Corps in the form of career services, graduate school opportunities, advantages in federal employment, readjustment allowances, and loan deferment and cancellation opportunities.

Howard University graduate Christina Titus of San Diego, Calif., has been living and working in Rwanda since May 2012. Titus feels that the skills she gained as a student at Howard helped prepare her for Peace Corps service. “It was during my time at Howard that I envisioned myself living abroad. Attending an HBCU opens your eyes to a culture you’d otherwise miss in a traditional school. Professors at HBCUs invest in you. You have fellow students from similar backgrounds cheering you on in what can be an arduous road to graduation. Attending Howard gave me the confidence, courage and capacity to take on such a challenge.”  

The following are the top three Peace Corps volunteer-producing HBCUs: 

COLLEGE NAME:                              VOLUNTEER
                                                          NUMBER:
1. Howard University                               21
2. Morehouse College                               8
3. Spelman College                                 5

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