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This Peace Corps International option in CARRS focuses on the acquisition of well-defined professional skills that are responsive to community needs and interests.
To this end, students accepted into this program will integrate their Peace Corps experiences into their degree programs. Students are strongly encouraged to follow the Plan B Masters program that emphasizes professional practice/management, with a professional project, experience or combination forming the basis of a capstone project.
The Plan B program allows students to draw on their Peace Corps field experience as well as their coursework to prepare a Plan B capstone project paper (ACR 898  ). Plan B students may count their Peace Corps training and service (register for special course) as their required “techniques? course.
A Plan A thesis option is possible. However, based on the Department's commitment to the principles of participatory, community-based research, the Department requires that data collected to fulfill the requirements of an MS (ACR 899 , thesis) be done outside the period of Peace Corps service.
Applying for the Peace Corps International Program
Students interested in this option are required to apply specifically for the Peace Corps International Program option (applicants should reflect this intent in their “Personal Statement" and the “Key Experience" essay, and specify their interest in the Plan B or Plan A track).
Applicants are encouraged to apply simultaneously for the CARRS program and the Peace Corps program. The deadline for Peace Corps International Program applicants is March 1,
2010 , with an expected academic program start date of the following fall semester. Students apply, following the guidelines for all CARRS applicants, and indicate their specific interest in the Peace Corps International Program. Applications will be reviewed as for any other CARRS MS applicant. Should the student subsequently not be accepted by the Peace Corps into this program, the student may choose to enter the CARRS program any way, following the requirements and course sequencing required by the regular program.
Note: This program is not for students who have completed Peace Corps service prior to beginning the CARRS MS degree.
Course Requirements
A minimum of 30 credits for either the Plan A and Plan B option.
CARRS Required Courses (9 credits):
Taken prior to Peace Corps Service:
ACR 800 , Foundations of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (3 credits);
ACR 826 , International Development Theory and Practice (3 credits)
Taken upon return from Peace Corps service:
ACR 802 , Survey of Research Methods (3 credits);
Degree Focus Area
The student’s focus area (15 credits, to include ACR 826 plus 12 additional credits, most of which should be taken prior to Peace Corps service) is developed in consultation with the student’s advisor to meet their personal and professional goals, and could be in one of three graduate specializations (e.g., International Development, Ethics and Development, or Gender, Justice and Environmental Change [GJEC]). The courses taken should be consistent with the requirements of the specialization selected as the focus area. Note that, depending on the requirements of a specialization, the student choosing to complete a specialization may need more than the required 30 credits minimum for completion of the CARRS MS degree.
Additional Courses (for Plan B students)
A 3-credit “techniques or skill-building? course: Peace Corps students should enroll in the special section of ACR 891 (until a regular course number is approved). Students will use their Peace Corps training and service to meet requirements for this course. Students shall keep a written record of training/service activities and journal of “lessons learned.? The course will be graded as Pass/No Pass.
Both of the following:
ACR 895 , Case Studies in CARRS.
ACR 898 , Master’s Professional Project (this is the capstone project paper based on Peace Corps service) |
