Programs:
Home

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: How do I apply?

As a prospective student at OSU, you will apply to the OSU Graduate School, specifically to the College of Forestry MI degree program that best fits your interests. 

After being accepted by the OSU College of Forestry, and sometime during the first quarter of your grad program, you will apply to the Peace Corps as a prospective MI volunteer.  Peace Corps can only accept your application as an MI volunteer once you've been accepted to a Master's International program at a Partner Institution.

Question 2: What if I don't get into the Peace Corps?

If you are accepted into the OSU Graduate School and the OSU College of Forestry, then you will have a place at the College regardless of how your Peace Corps application process turns out.  Same goes if you have to leave the Peace Corps early, but on good terms.

Question 3: Would you recommend entering a graduate program like MI straight away, or would you advise that a tour with the Peace Corps is best experienced on its own? 

My personal opinion, based on my experience when I was a married, post-MS, 26- to 28-year-old Peace Corps volunteer (Guatemala 1996-1998), is that the older and more "experienced" a Peace Corps volunteer, the better.  An MI volunteer is slightly older than the typical post-bac.  In addition, MI volunteers seem to be self-motivated, grounded, and "on track" to a greater degree than the typical non-MI volunteer.

Ideally, an MI program will give you another year of academic and life experience, additional tools for international work, connections to an institution of higher learning, and more confidence in your applied natural resources work, all of which should positively impact your Peace Corps experience.

Question 4: Anything I can do to work toward an MI program in a year or so?

In a nutshell, some things you can do that will move you down the road toward an MI program here are:

  1. Take the GRE-- all our College of Forestry graduate programs require a GRE score as part of the application process.
  2. Peruse this website and determine if there is a specific faculty member in our College who you might like to work with-- who shares a  common interest with you. Let me know and I can help to put you in contact with these folks.
  3. Contact said faculty member(s).  If you can form a relationship with potential major professors before you apply, you'll have these people watching for your application once it arrives to our College departments.

Ultimately, you should give yourself at least six months between the time you apply to the OSU Grad School and the time you'd like to start.  More typically, prospective grad students apply by mid-January for a September (fall-term) start.  (Note that we have rolling tuition and one can start any time during the year as long as the major professor is fine with it.) 

Question 5: How long has there been an OSU College of Forestry MI Program?

 

The College of Forestry’s program began in 2009.  It received good press coverage February of 2009: