Despite a steady drop in recruits, Tufts ranked 15th among medium-sized colleges and universities for Peace Corps signups in 2012, according to numbers released by the Peace Corps last month.
This year marks Tufts' first appearance on the top-30 list since 2008, when its 17 volunteers placed it 16th among small colleges.
Thirty-one alumni are currently serving abroad in 2012, representing more than a 50 percent increase from last year's 20 members.
Despite its recent absence from the top of the rankings, Tufts has contributed a sizeable number of volunteers. A total of 517 Tufts alumni have served — or are still serving — as Peace Corps volunteers overseas since the organization began in 1961.
Other local colleges that made the cut included Wellesley College with 20 volunteers, Boston College with 39 volunteers and Boston University, the largest of the three, with 70 volunteers.
Allyson Snell, regional recruiter for the Boston Regional Peace Corps office, attributed Tufts' high participation in the program to the school's unique academic and social atmosphere.
"I work with all the schools in metro Boston, and Tufts is a unique place in that Tufts students are very community-oriented," Snell told the Daily.
"[Tufts students are] all into experiential learning, as I think with any school with a strong liberal arts foundation," she added. "They want diverse careers and they're hungry for that overseas experience."
Many Tufts undergraduates begin the lengthy Peace Corps application process during their senior year. The four-tier screening process involves an application, interview, nomination and medical training.
Snell added that this motivation stems in part from what she calls the "interdisciplinary" nature of Tufts programs.
"We see a lot of students in community development, and engineers who go out to do appropriate technology," she said. "Students take a lot of elective courses [such as] English education … Tufts covers the whole gamut."
Snell added that the educational environment of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is a particularly appealing option for past and future Peace Corps volunteers.
"The influence of Fletcher does play a role [in aiding recruitment]," she said. "It's cutting edge international diplomacy and development."
Kathryn Griffin, a second-year Fletcher student, applied to the school of diplomacy while concurrently serving in an indigenous community in Guatemala and preparing for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) in Guatemala City.
Griffin added that her education at Fletcher added a dimension of understanding to her experience in Guatemala.
"I went into Peace Corps knowing [only] about business development," she said. "It takes a lot more of knowing historical reasons, cultural reasons, why people I'm working with approach business in a certain way. All this affects context."
While Griffin was accepted to two competitive graduate schools, one of her motivations for attending Fletcher was its collaborative environment.
"I'm not sure if that's happening at other international relations schools, where it's more of a competitive environment," she said. "Here it's a lot of sharing experiences and helping people understand, and building off the experiences other people have had."
Experience in the Peace Corps in turn grants myriad opportunities, according to Snell.
"Our returning volunteers are in every facet of society," she said.
Shaniece Criss, a resident director in South Hall and Peace Corps veteran who worked in administrative health in Guyana, entered the Peace Corps after graduate school.
Criss attributes Tufts' high recruitment rate of Peace Corps volunteers to a combination of Tufts students' commitment to active citizenship and the public service ethos of the school.
"What I see about Tufts students is their commitment to helping in many areas," she said. "[Tufts students] have the courage and tenacity to go and serve others. They're not uncomfortable being unconventional."
