Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) will waive the application fee for returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCV) who apply for entry in fall 2013.

This trial arrangement will reinforce a long history of synergy between two longstanding institutions of international affairs: Over the years, many remarkable Americans who began careers of global service in the Peace Corps went on to pursue graduate education at SIPA.

As we have seen over the past decade, solving the world’s most difficult problems — public health, climate change, energy, development, global finance and economics, and sustainability — demands collective action in response to increasingly global challenges. It requires a new kind of education, one that combines traditional quantitative analysis and management training with a global perspective. SIPA, the world’s most global public policy school, is uniquely positioned to develop leaders who can solve these challenges.

SIPA embraces a vision of policy studies that crosses national boundaries. More than any peer institution, the School focuses on transnational policy areas, applying global best practices to local issues, and training leaders to engage multiple levels of governance to reach effective solutions.

After the initial admissions cycle, SIPA will explore whether there is support to continue a program of fee waivers for returned Peace Corps volunteers in future years.

If you have questions about the new arrangement and how it may impact your application, please contact SIPA’s admissions office at [email protected].