Application FAQs

We make our application public in mid-October of each year and it is due on the second Monday of January. There will be a live link on the “Apply” page of our website.

Your application will begin the review process shortly after the application deadline. You will be contacted for a phone interview if your application is still in consideration after the first round of reviews. These interviews are an opportunity to discuss your interests and fit with the program in more detail and to offer more information on possible service opportunities. *Please note that these requests for interviews will be made via email and will be offered on a rolling basis throughout the Spring semester. After an initial interview, you may be asked to interview with one or more potential community partners.

Admissions decisions and award offers are made beginning in March and continue throughout the rest of the Spring until all program/service placement slots are filled. You will be notified if your application is no longer under consideration or you have been moved to the waitlist. Please email if you have any questions or if you would like a status update.

We can accept a draft DOS which you can request from your Peace Corps Country Director. Once you have your final DOS, please submit that to us via email.

While many graduate programs’ application deadlines are later than the Peaceworker application deadline, we recommend that you apply for both programs at the same time. In order to be eligible for a Peaceworker fellowship, you must be admitted to your graduate program of choice, so the sooner we know your admissions status, the more informed we can be in our consideration of you as a candidate for Peaceworker.

The Peaceworker program will announce admissions decisions by April 15th in most cases.

Currently we work with any graduate degree program at UMBC that is Masters or PhD level and at least 2 years in length (Peaceworker covers two years of funding and fellows are responsible for securing assistantships beyond that- we are happy to help with that). We also work with the MSW and MPH (or MSW/MPH) programs at University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the International Education Leadership and Community Planning Programs at University of Maryland, College Park. We are not able to work with any graduate programs who do NOT appear on this list.

The program is interdisciplinary and seeks to keep a balance of degrees represented. In general, there is more competition for Fellowship placements with consortium (i.e. University of MD at College Park or University of Maryland Baltimore) degree programs than for fellowship placements with UMBC graduate programs. Applicants may apply to more than one graduate program in conjunction with their Peaceworker application. While our admissions process is competitive, successful applicants write strong personal statements that demonstrate a commitment to the values and mission of the program. We look for a strong fit between the proposed graduate degree program and our available service sites, as well as fit with the personal and professional goals of the applicant. Statements that demonstrate an interest in one of our featured service placements or flexibility around service placements are more likely to be successful.

• Why you are interested in the Shriver Peaceworker Program;
• The experiences, skills, and values you would bring to the Peaceworker Program. Note: We welcome your reflections upon your identity and background (i.e., culture/ethnicity, religion, socio-economic class, race, gender, sexual orientation, other…). For example, are there aspects of your identity or background from which you have gained valuable insights, skills, or character strengths? How has critical self-reflection informed your growth and professional development?
• How you imagine concretely linking your area(s) of social concern and your proposed graduate program; and
• Given the focus of the Peaceworker Program on applying Peace Corps values to the complex urban setting of Baltimore, explain your interest in working in this context. Consider including prior experiences, how you envision integrating your Peace Corps experience into our program, how this might relate to your career goals, and what you would hope to be able to do after completing the Peaceworker program.

Yes, two references are required as a part of the Shriver Peaceworker Fellowship Application:

• One reference should come from a supervisor-level person from your Peace Corps Service (APCD, CD, PCVL where appropriate)
• The second reference should come from someone who knows you in an academic or professional setting.

Your application is not considered complete until you have submitted the online application form (you’ll receive an email confirmation after submission) and we have received your two letters of recommendation. We do not have a mechanism for alerting you that we have received your references, so please check in with your recommenders to be sure they have submitted.

Yes. We understand that applicants cannot file a FAFSAs before they file their taxes, and that this happens after the program application deadline. We need your FAFSA by early March, so as long as you submit it by March 1st, we will be happy to accept the FAFSA after the application deadline. Please be sure to submit your FAFSA to UMBC at the following code: 002105