Even peace gets ranked.

Marquette landed 25th in medium-sized colleges and universities for the “Peace Corps top colleges of 2011” rankings.

The list is compiled annually based on the size of the student body of the university or college, according to a press release from the Peace Corps. Marquette has 21 alumni undergraduates currently serving in the Corps.

The Peace Corps, which is celebrating 50 years since President John F. Kennedy established it in March 1961, works to promote “friendship and world peace” through informational technology, business development and AIDS relief, according to its website.

The George Washington University ranked first among medium colleges and universities with 72 undergraduate alumni volunteers, followed by the University of Virginia with 71 volunteers and Western Washington University in third with 60 volunteers.

Among other Wisconsin schools, the University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked 8th in large colleges and universities, with 91 alumni in the Peace Corps.

Kristin Adler, employer relations manager for the Career Services Center, said in an e-mail that the number of students at Marquette and across the nation interested in postgraduate volunteer opportunities is growing.

“Twenty-eight percent of Marquette students choose to pursue a postgraduate volunteer opportunity,” Adler said. “We are not surprised to see this number grow every year because of the campus culture and the type of student who attends Marquette.”

Terence Miller, the director for the Office of International Education, feels Marquette’s slogan of “Be The Difference” fits perfectly with the Peace Corps mission.

“One of the things we can do is reinforce the ethos of once you graduate, there is an expectation to return that service,” he said. “We should present these opportunities as an extension of undergraduate education.”

Miller feels the Peace Corps should be put forward as a positive possibility for students in post-graduation experience and encourage students and professors to mention it in class and in student organizations.

Jamie Burns, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, and Tim McCahill, a junior in the College of Business Administration, both have expressed interest in joining the Peace Corps after graduation.

“The idea that you are immersed into a culture not of your own is very enticing,” McCahill said in an e-mail. “Beyond that is the fact that you spend two years helping develop(ing) countries using skills that you’ve gained in your life up until that point.”

McCahill likes the idea of helping people gain stability in areas like economic support, education and training, but also gain the ability to help themselves, which he thinks is the ultimate goal.

Burns is considering the Peace Corps because she is interested in doing volunteer work and would like to take advantage of her Spanish minor.

“I have only heard good things, and I feel it would be life changing,” she said.

Burns feels Marquette has helped persuade her to get involved with service through doing activities, like Midnight Run.

“What is great about these opportunities is that I have learned so much from all of the people I have met,” she said.