1. How long is the program and when does the Peace Corps participation take place?
Students typically start the MA program in September and attend two full semesters before their Peace Corps Service. In June or July (depending on the Peace Corps placement process), you would start your Peace Corps service. This commitment is for two years. Then you would return to school in September and graduate that December for a total of 3 ˝ to 4 years of service and study.
So for example, if you were to enter the Institute in September 2007, you'd go into the Peace Corps in summer of 2008. You'd be in the field until approximately August of 2010, and return to the Institute that September. You'd complete one more semester and graduate in December of 2010.
Some of the PCMI students have chosen to stay in their country to travel in the region, or to do extended training (i.e., training new volunteers) for the Peace Corps because they liked it so much. They then returned to school in January, completed their last semester, and graduated in May. (In the example described above, if you were to do this you could graduate in May 2011.)
2. Does the TESOL/TFL degree program offer any alternative "internships" that do not involve Peace Corps service?
Yes. Recently students have completed internships in Japan, Bolivia, China, Mexico, and the USA. The Career Director works with students to assist in developing individualized short-term professional experiences. There are also many opportunities to teach part-time in the Monterey area. You can contact the Director of Career Services for more information at gslel@miis.edu or 831-647-4174.
If you are accepted by the Peace Corps, it would probably not be feasible, under most circumstances, to complete both an international internship with the Institute and your Peace Corps field service. The PCMI advisor at the Institute can discuss your options with you when you are ready.
3. What kinds of financial aid packages are available while pursuing the MATESOL degree via the PCMI Program? Are there any graduate research or teaching assistant positions?
There are many scholarships, work-study positions, and graduate assistantships. In addition, a large proportion of the students who are citizens or permanent residents have some kind of federal financial aid. Please look at the financial aid website for complete information. The tuition is typical of private schools. Also, since the Institute does not have doctoral programs, students who apply for scholarships or graduate assistantships here are not competing with PhD candidates.
Your last semester in the PCMI program is largely subsidized and portions of financial aid funds (in the form of Perkins loans) are waived for PCMI students. You can contact the Financial Aid Office for more information about Perkins loans. The e-mail address is finaid@miis.edu. To read about various scholarship and grant money available outside of the Institute, please see the External Fellowships and Scholarships web page.
4. When is the application deadline? Is there any possibility of beginning the program this coming semester?
There is no deadline for admissions; students may apply at any time. Students can start the program in either fall or spring semester.
However, the scholarship competition has very strict deadlines. For the Spring Semester 2007 the priority scholarship deadline is October 1, 2006. For the Fall Semester 2007 the priority deadlines are December 1st, 2006; February 1st, 2007; and March 15th, 2007. Typically, more scholarship money is available in the earlier distributions, which means that the earlier you apply, the greater the opportunity you will have. If you miss these deadlines, you would still be eligible for the PCMI support, and possibly for work study support, but the merit based scholarships may have already been distributed. Contact gslel@miis.edu for current information.
5. What if you complete the Peace Corps volunteer service before entering the MATESOL program? Is it possible to receive credit?
Students who complete their Peace Corps Service before entering the Institute do not receive academic credit for their Peace Corps Service. However, they are given special scholarship consideration.
As noted above, students who enroll in the PCMI program complete two semesters of graduate work before entering the Peace Corps and one semester after the two-year Peace Corps service. Some of the PCMI students choose to do their Practicum teaching in the Peace Corps. This decision lightens the load in their final semester, even though they still enroll in the Institute Practicum course. In addition, during the two-year Peace Corps period, students can complete up to four units of graduate work by doing their regular Peace Corps duties and documenting them in reports and research projects submitted to the TESOL PCMI advisor.
6. What additional degrees or certifications are available (e.g., K-12 teaching certificates)?
Some students choose to stay an extra semester at the Institute (whether or not they do the Peace Corps program) to complete a certificate program, i.e., they get additional education and specialized training. We currently offer certificates in (a) computer-assisted language instruction, (b) language program administration, (c) and in TESOL or TFL. (That is, if you are completing your MA degree in TESOL but are a proficient speaker of another language, such as Spanish, you can do an extra semester and get a Monterey Institute certificate in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.) This is not the same as a state teaching credential. The Monterey Institute does not offer a state teaching credential. However, students can receive CA teaching credentials at a local university with the assistance of Institute faculty and staff. In addition, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers can attain a California teaching credential without any additional coursework. Contact the Director of Career Services for more information at gslel@miis.edu or (831) 647-4174.
7. Can I go on to do a PhD after I complete my Peace Corps service and my MA at the Monterey Institute?
Our MA TESOL provides excellent preparation for PhD work. Many of our graduates over the years have gone on for doctorates. PhD admissions committees tend to value candidates who have gotten some work experience before enrolling in a doctoral program, so some time spent in the Peace Corps would be ideal. Also, Peace Corps service may give you the opportunity to acquire a new language, which would be a plus for a linguistics degree.
8. What happens if I don’t finish the full two years of Peace Corps service?
If you are sent home by the Peace Corps, it may be possible, under some circumstances, for the Institute to pro-rate your PCMI scholarship. (This decision would be made on a case-by-case basis.)
If you choose to leave your Peace Corps service early (not having fulfilled your two-year contract), you are welcome to return to the Institute. However, under these conditions you will not receive the PCMI scholarship during your remaining semester(s) at the Institute.
9. How do the application processes for the Institute and Peace Corps coincide? Do I have to be accepted in the Peace Corps before applying as a PCMI candidate at the Institute?
As long as your Peace Corps application process is under way by the time you arrive on campus at the Institute to attend classes, you are officially considered a PCMI candidate. You are not required to have already been accepted by the Peace Corps. If, however, you arrive on campus to begin classes without having submitted your Peace Corps application, you will not be considered a PCMI candidate.
If for any reason you are not subsequently accepted by the Peace Corps, you will no longer be considered a PCMI student at the Monterey Institute. This would mean that your third semester at the Institute would not be subsidized by the PCMI program, although you are welcome to complete your MATESOL degree.
10. What kinds of positions and sites are generally open to PCMI candidates from the Institute while they are in the Peace Corps?
PCMI TESOL positions in the past have included primarily secondary school or university English as a foreign language (EFL) classes and EFL teacher training positions. Sometimes volunteers from the Institute have served both of those functions. Because of the training you receive in your first year at the Institute, you can expect that your Peace Corps in-country directors will want to place you at the sites that require the most knowledge and expertise.
Of course, teaching or teacher training constitutes your primary responsibility. Secondary assignments or projects (generally obligatory in Peace Corps assignments) are dependent upon your skills and interests as well as particular community needs, and may well lie outside the field of education altogether. Some examples of such secondary projects are writing grant proposals for a variety of community needs, working in an orphanage, fund-raising, running summer camps for young people, starting a library, becoming involved in community environmental protection actions, translating and interpreting for local organizations, coaching sports team, AIDS Education, Environmental Education, gender and development, Earth Day activities and so on.
11. Can I extend my Peace Corps Service beyond the two-year contract?
Yes, most definitely, as far as the Institute is concerned. The length of your stay in country is up to you, the Peace Corps, and your site hosts. The important thing, in regard to your responsibilities to the Institute, is to stay in close contact with the PCMI TESOL faculty advisor (presently Dr. Kathleen Bailey) and keep her well-informed of your plans. Any decisions regarding your time of service, your departure from or return to the Institute, and your enrollment status need to be communicated and discussed with the PCMI TESOL faculty advisor.
12. Do I have any choice about what country I go to?
What country you go to depends largely on what countries are currently requesting aid from the Peace Corps, what skills are needed in those countries, what technical (work) skills you possess. Sometimes the language skills you have already developed are an additional factor.
Your Peace Corps recruiter may encourage you to state a “preferred region,” such as Central Europe, Africa, and so on. Stating that preference does not necessarily guarantee that you will be placed there - only that if your knowledge and skills fit the need of sites in that region, you will be considered for placement in that region. It has been said repeatedly by Peace Corps recruiters themselves that the more flexible you are in your expectations of where you will be sent, the more favorably your stated preferences will be considered.
