Program History at MSU

Preparing students to go global.

Since 1961, the Peace Corps has sent dedicated volunteers to more than 140 countries across the world.

In Fall 2018, MSU was one of 27 institutions nationwide invited to apply to host a prep program. The university became a partner school in February 2019.

As a Peace Corps affiliated institution, Missouri State University can suggest curriculum and provide guidance to students preparing to serve internationally and highlight their work in Public Affairs.

MSU PC Prep certificate recipients

Spring 2024

  • Seven students received a Peace Corps Prep certificate in Spring 2024, including 2 from the College of Business (COB), 2 from the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH), 1 from the College of Education (COE), 1 from the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) and 1 from the McQueary College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS).

5 people stand behind a framed print of the Peace Corps logo

Fall 2023

  • Six students received a Peace Corps Prep certificate in Fall 2023, including three from RCASH
    • One of these students is as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sri Lanka. See this Facebook post celebrating their group as the first group of Volunteers to serve in Sri Lanka since 1998.
    • One of these students is now a Peace Corps Volunteer in Vanuatu. See this article from Vanuatu Daily Post describing the arrival of the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers to the country following the pandemic.

11 people stand behind a Peace Corps banner, many holding coconuts with straws for drinking from them

Spring 2023:

  • Four students received PC Prep certificates in Spring 2023, including 2 students from the College of Humanities and Public Affairs (CHPA), 1 student from the College of Education (COE), and 1 student with a double major from CHPA and the Darr College of Agriculture (DCOA)

Missouri State PCVs and RPCVs: Where are they now?

Nadia Pshonyak (PDF, 1.5M; you need Adobe Reader to view and print this document)

  • MSU: Bachelor of Science in Philosophy with minors in Political Science and Economics, 2016
  • Peace Corps Service: North Macedonia 2016-2018
  • After Peace Corps: Worked in healthcare, education, food retail fields since then and am currently pursuing a career in international affairs
  • Currently: Pursuing a joint Master of Arts in International Policy and Development/Master of Arts in International Trade with Russian as my language of study at the Middlebury Institute of International Affairs in Monterey, California. Have been accepted as a Peace Corps Coverdell fellow there. After graduating, I hope to enter the world of international affairs and work abroad. 

Kat, who earned Peace Corps Prep certificate from MSU last year, is currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sri Lanka. She shared these photos from her first months in Sri Lanka with us.

  • SriLanka-1

    "This is when we first arrived. Our whole group was met with a warm welcome and we started our week with orientation at a hotel."

  • SriLanka-2

    "This is one of our tech classes at a local school, where we are learning teaching strategies and lesson planning."

  • SriLanka-3

    "This is me in one of my uniforms at the school where I will be doing my practicum."

  • SriLanka-4

    "This is another picture of our group on the first of the year. We went to a botanical gardens and played cricket."

  • SriLanka-5

    "This is from one of the first days at my training site near a local watering hole. At my site, I am learning Tamil very an intense and immersive way. I live with a host family and will do so at my permanent site for 2 years starting in March."

  • SriLanka-6

    In March 2024, Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn officiated the swearing-in ceremony of 20 new volunteers in Sri Lanka. These are the first volunteers to serve in Sri Lanka since 1998. Sri Lanka’s First Lady, several Sri Lankan government ministers, and the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka were also at the event.