The Peace Corps announced Feb. 18 that Cornell University ranked No. 4 among medium-sized schools on the agency’s 2016 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. Thirty-eight Cornell alumni currently volunteer worldwide.

Cornell moves up to No. 4 this year after ranking No. 5 in 2015. It has ranked in the top 5 among medium-sized schools for each of the past 10 years.

“The Peace Corps is a unique opportunity for college graduates to put their education into practice and become agents of change in communities around the world,” Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “Today’s graduates understand the importance of intercultural understanding and are raising their hands in record numbers to take on the challenge of international service.”

Alumni from more than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide have served in the Peace Corps since the agency’s founding in 1961, including 1,659 Cornellians.

In 2015, the Ithaca, New York, region ranked No. 1 nationally for per capita production of Peace Corps volunteers, with 11 area residents serving overseas.

This year’s rankings follow a 40-year high in applications for the Peace Corps in 2015 after the agency’s adoption of a simplified application process.

The Peace Corps ranks its top volunteer-producing colleges and universities annually according to the size of the student body. See the 2016 Top Colleges and Universities (pdf).