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Master of International Development Administration: Peace Corps Option
A Peace Corps Master's International Program

The MIDA – Peace Corps Option is designed for students who wish to earn the MIDA degree and to carry out two years of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  The combination of the MIDA and Peace Corps provides an opportunity to combine academic course work with practical field experience.  This option is only available to U.S. citizens as Peace Corps only accepts U.S. nationals.  Prospective students should apply for entrance into Peace Corps and into the MIDA Program concurrently.  Rather than the forty-two credit hours required for a standard MIDA, the Peace Corps Option requires thirty-six credit hours and completion of Peace Corps service. Thirty are earned at Western Michigan University and six credit hours are earned for a field paper researched and written during Peace Corps service.  A student beginning on-campus classes in September might complete them in December of the following year. It is, however, possible to earn the thirty credit hours in a rigorous ten-month course of study from September through June (four three-hour courses in the Fall term, four in Winter, and two in Spring).

Applicants should note that they want the “Peace Corps Option” on the MIDA application.  On the application to Peace Corps, applicants should note that they are also applying to the Master’s International Program (MIP) in Development Administration at Western Michigan University.  Applicants accepted for the MIDA are advised to postpone registering for classes until they have been nominated by their Peace Corps Recruiter.  In the event that an applicant is accepted into the MIDA Program but is deemed medically, legally or otherwise ineligible for Peace Corps service, the applicant has the option to transfer automatically into the standard two-year MIDA Program.

Beth Wager, MIDA/Peace Corps
student, working in a sheep
cooperative in Macedonia (2004).
Admission Requirements (same as for the standard MIDA program)

For admission to the MIDA Program, students must satisfy all of the requirements identified in the Graduate Catalog as well as the requirements listed below.  All applications for admission to the MIDA Program are screened and judged by the Department of Political Science’s Admissions Committee.

Applications are evaluated based on the following requirements.  No one requirement is sufficient to guarantee admission or dictate denial of admission.  Applicants with actual public administration experience may, under some circumstances, substitute professional achievements for undergraduate preparation.

  1. A grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in all undergraduate work. 
  2. Completion of an undergraduate degree, preferably in the social sciences, with a concentration in political science or in public administration.
  3. Some exposure to economics and/or statistics.
  4. Submission of, along with the completed admission application form, transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a one-page statement about the applicant’s interest in the MIDA Program, and any other supporting data that can assist the admissions committee.
Program Requirements

To contact the Peace Corps to obtain additional volunteer information and applications call 1-800-424-8580 or visit the Peace Corps website.

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