Benefits

What Benefits do Fellows Receive?

  • Tuition Assistance
  • Internship
  • Professional Development
  • Mentoring

Tuition Assistance

UA Peace Corps Fellows receive graduate tuition remission applied to the standard (base) graduate tuition. This does not include some fees, departmental differential tuition or program fees, health insurance, or book discounts. Tuition support is renewable for each year of your study based on progress to degree and completion of Fellows' obligations.

Graduate tuition support may be affected by residency status, other departmental support or external scholarship support. Tuition costs are set each spring by the Arizona Board of Regents. The Bursar's web site provides information on the cost of education at UA, and tuition for each program.

You are encouraged to seek additional support from the academic department or extramural funding sources. You may hold an assistantship while you are a Fellow. 

Fellows on a graduate assistantship receive the standard benefits of an assistantship, and Fellows tuition remission is limited to the share of the base tuition not covered by the assistantship (if any).

Internships - core service to underserved communities

The core of what it is to be a Peace Corps Fellow is to provide a service or benefit to an underserved domestic community. At the UA, this occurs traditionally through a Peace Corps Fellows internship. Most, but not all, positions are paid, either through a combination of work study, assistantship, grant funds, or regular wages. Some Fellows simply volunteer. We have partnered with more than 150 community non-profits, government agencies, and UA outreach units. Typically, 30-35 agencies request a Peace Corps Fellows each year. 

An August orientation and internship fair introduces fellows and organizations and provides a time to arrange interview.

Internships usually fall into the following kinds of programs:

  • Environment and sustainability
  • Health and nutrition
  • Education and literacy
  • Expanding access to non-profit services

Academic credit is not offered for previous Peace Corps service, nor for the Peace Corps Fellows internship unless it qualifies for a departmental internship or independent study. Peace Corps Fellows service may meet your departmental requirement or you may elect to do something entirely different. Fellows often continue working with the same agency for the duration of studies, but changes are permitted.

Fellows' projects have resulted in presentations at national conferences, publication of scholarly papers, and thesis/dissertation research. These experiences have sometimes led to permanent positions following (or before) graduation.

 Funding the Internship

Work Study

Eligible incoming Peace Corps Fellows receive a work study award to partially support their internship. The award is need-based, requiring a FAFSA be filed. Average awards are $3000 for the academic year. Community agencies who employ Fellows may be reimbursed 50% of the wages paid to the Fellow up to the amount of the student's work study award. Participation in the program allows non-profits and UA outreach units to benefit from the experience of working with Fellows.

Assistantships

Some Fellows hold graduate research and teaching assistantships at the UA which meet the requirements of Coverdell Fellows to benefit underserved communities through research, teaching or outreach projects.

Jobs

Some agencies hire Fellows outright.

Volunteer

Fellows may volunteer their service for special interest projects on campus or in the community.

Collective Service Learning

Fellows plan and participate as a group in at least two or more community service projects each year in addition to Peace Corps Week. These projects introduce the community to Fellows across disciplines, build community, and provide service to southern Arizona. Typical opportunities include:

  • Packing food boxes at Community Food Bank
  • Arts and crafts with refugee children
  • AIDSWalk
  • Tree planting and installation of a graywater system at Tierra Y Libertad with Watershed Management Group
  • Pecan harvesting with Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network
  • Working with Sahuaro Girl Scout Council troops on World Thinking Day
  • Beach cleanup with CEDO in Puerto Penasco, Mexico
  • Participation in Medical Reserve Corps' disaster planning exercise
  • Trash pickup on migrant trails with Humane Borders or Samaritans
  • Cooking and serving lunch at Primavera Men's Shelter
  • Census and interviewing for the National Homeless count
  • Cats in the Community Day at World Care and St. Elizabeth's of Hungary Clinic

 

 

Fellows Service Project 2012: Humane Borders Trash Pick-up

 

Professional Development and Leadership

The UA Peace Corps Fellows Club, open to all RPCV's on campus, meets monthly for professional development, special events, or social gatherings.

Professional Development Workshops
  • Working Internationally
  • Resume Writing and Interviewing
  • "Getting to Yes: Models of Negotiation"
  • Internship or poster presentations
  • Evaluation and Planning Tools
  • Disaster assessment
  • Project management training

Current events are on our Google Calendar.

Special Projects and Partnerships

Some of our special events include:

  • 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps Exhibit: "A Peace of Time"
  • Engineers Without Borders water project in Ghana
  • Fostering startup organizations, such as Watershed Management Group
  • Organizing campus programs such as Global Health Alliance and the UA Office of Sustainability
  • Desert Doves collaborations, such as raising funds for Partner Projects, serving as officers
  • Gifting "We All" posters to K-12 schools where we give talks
Third Goal Outreach - Sharing our Peace Corps Experience
  • Peace Corps Fair
  • School presentations
  • Campus talks and panels

Fellows actively participate in two service projects, Peace Corps Fair, and key events each year.

Social Events

One of the great things about our community is sharing interests.

  • PC United Soccer Team
  • Wandering Soles Ragnar Relay team
  • Softball team
  • Kickball, slacklining, camping, climbing, hiking
  • Social events/potlucks

Orientation and Mentoring

Fellows appreciate the sense of community the fellows' program provides.

  • All incoming Fellows participate in Orientation and are assigned a mentor.
  • A PCF "Moving to Tucson" guide and list for incoming fellows helps with the transition to Tucson and graduate school.
  • Some 50+ RPCV faculty and staff work at UA and there is a large RPCV community of 700-800.

Housing Opportunities

Fellows do not receive housing support. Most Fellows live off-campus, and many share a house. Some Fellows have been hired to serve as Hall Director's or RA's. Click Residence Life for opportunities. Residence Life assistants receive free housing, an assistantship, health insurance, and discounts at the book store. Apply for housing positions on the Residence Life web site beginning in late November.