The joint UNC-Duke University program is one of only seven centers worldwide that has been set up recently by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to train students in international relations and conflict management.
Each year Rotary International will choose 70 Rotary World Peace Scholars to participate in a two-year master's degree program focusing on international understanding at a center located in a nation other than their own. This is the inaugural year of the program.
The search for the students is intensive. Potential participants must fill out applications in the language of the country they wish to study in and must be nominated for the program by their local Rotary district. Once selected, the scholars also must fulfill all the normal admissions requirements of their assigned university.
Darla Deardorff, coordinator of the Duke-UNC center, believes the payoff is worth the effort. "This is really an amazing scholarship," she said.
The Rotary Foundation funds transportation expenses and tuition and fees for the assigned university and provides a monthly stipend for room and board.
Applicants are considered on their academic backgrounds, achievements and experience, Deardorff said. Many already hold at least one graduate-level degree.
"Ultimately, the bottom line is their demonstrated commitment to peace and international understanding," Deardorff said.
Ideally there would be 10 students at each center, Deardorff said. But because administrative details are still being worked out, only nine students are at the Duke-UNC center this year.
Scholars at the center hail from England, Australia, Colombia, Argentina, Germany, Japan and Taiwan.
