International Service and Peace Corps Preparation Program

The International Service and Peace Corps Preparation Program (ISPCP) is designed to prepare students to serve in the Peace Corps or other international service organizations. The curriculum includes course work in international development, cross-cultural skills, foreign language study, and specific disciplines related to a student’s focus area in international service. The program also includes community service, either an international experience (internship, service or study abroad) or a cross-cultural domestic experience (service or internship), and intensive mentoring. Students interested in the program can submit an application to CIPA as early as the second semester of their freshman year, but no later than the first semester as a junior. Although completion of the program does not guarantee that applicants will be accepted as Peace Corps volunteers, the specialized curriculum and experience will make them strong candidates. Students must have a GPA of at least 2.5 to be accepted into the program, and maintain a GPA of at least 2.5 throughout their enrollment in the ISPCP.

Course Requirements

ISPC 1100 - International Service Seminar I: Basic Cross-Cultural Skills
ISPC 2100 - International Service Seminar II: The Service Role in Cross-Cultural Context
ISPC 3100 - International Service Seminar III: The Peace Corps Application Process
(Required only for students applying to the Peace Corps)
ISPC 2200 - Global Poverty and International Development
FREN 2211 - Intermediate French 1 AND
FREN 2212 - Intermediate French 2
-OR-
SPAN 2211 - Intermediate Spanish 1 AND
SPAN 2212 - Intermediate Spanish 2
(Other languages or prior fluency may be substituted for this requirement at the discretion of the UC Dean or CIPA Director.)
Choose two of the following core courses:
ANTH 2250 - Prin of Cultural Anthropology
ISPC 4300 - Global Food Security and Agricultural Development
ISPC 4400 - Global Public Health Issues
LING 4999 - Special Topics in Linguistics
NTSC 3860 - Environmental Science: Regional & Global Perspective on Sustainability

Other Requirements

At least 100 hours of community service and/or internship in a community development project, to be documented by the Center for Community Service. (Documented community service after matriculation but before application to the ISPCP program may count toward part of this requirement, but students must continue to engage in service activities during their junior and senior years.)
At least three semesters of peer mentor service with international students, to be arranged through CIPA. (EDUC 2245 and ROCI 4485 may count for part of the requirement.)
One international study, service, or internship experience, after matriculation at Shawnee State University, to be arranged through CIPA or approved ahead of time by the program coordinators OR one domestic internship or service experience in a cross-cultural context, to be approved ahead of time by the program coordinators.