To earn an Evans School Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree through our Peace Corps Master’s International track, you must complete 60 credit hours of course work and two years of overseas Peace Corps service. The 60 credit hours of required course work include:
Thirty-six credits of core courses that will help you develop fundamental policy and management skills. These courses are taken in sequence, mainly during your first year of study.
The core courses include:
- Microeconomic Policy Analysis (PBAF 516)
- Managing Politics & the Policy Process (PBAF 511)
- Managing Organizational Performance (PBAF 512)
- Public Budgeting & Financial Management (PBAF 522)
- Quantitative Analysis I & II (PBAF 527/528)
- Public Policy Analysis (PBAF 513)
- Microeconomic Management Analysis (PBAF 517)
- Program Evaluation (PBAF 526)
Some core courses can be waived by examination.
Sixteen elective credits: Students may focus on one or more of our areas of specialization.
A degree project worth eight credits that involves faculty advising for a research report on a topic of serious interest to you. Work on your project report will begin during your Peace Corps assignment, and then completed after you return from overseas.
The Peace Corps portion of the degree involves two years of volunteer service overseas working with:
- Issues related to youth
- Social/Health services
- Small business development
- Environmental issues
You will be assigned to a local, national, or international NGO to work on projects that will increase the quality and effectiveness of their services. Such projects include:
- Increasing organizational capacity and sustainability
- Creating strategic plans for funding
- Raising public awareness of the organization’s mission
- Conducting community outreach
- Recruiting, training, and motivating volunteers
- Developing mission statements, bylaws, and other documentation
- Working with boards of directors
- Mentoring staff with one-on-one skill building
Peace Corps projects completed by previous Evans School PCMI students include microcredit financing for small businesses in Morocco, youth development in Grenada, and AIDS education in South Africa, among others.
Before leaving for your assignment, you will be given contact information for a fellow PCMI student who has already returned from their tour of service, and this person can help mentor you while you are overseas. After you return, we hope you will return the favor for a different PCMI student who is about to begin their tour of service. The Evans School will be in regular contact with you while you are overseas for advising on administrative, academic, and other issues.
For more information, contact the Evans School Student Services office at evansrec@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.