Cal State LA's Prison Graduation Initiative is the first in-person bachelor's degree completion program for incarcerated students in California.
Transformation through Higher Education
Fostering Hope
The Prison Graduation Initiative transforms the lives of students by offering them the opportunity to graduate with a bachelor's degree from Cal State LA while they are incarcerated.
Since 2016, thirty-seven students have received their Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies while incarcerated, twelve students have paroled and seamlessly completed their degrees on our main campus, and six paroled graduates of the program have completed master’s degrees at Cal State LA.
Allen Burnett, '21
"For me getting a bachelor's degree means more than just getting a piece of paper. I have a responsibility to the people that I harmed to continue my education because this is what I said was going to do. There's a lot of narratives going on, but at the end of the day, it's important because it has an impact on so many other people the same way that my crime did."
Recent Events
The Inaugural Prison Graduation Initiative Convening — Thursday, April 11, 2024
Experience the transformative power of higher education at Cal State LA's inaugural event, where incarcerated bachelor's students showcase their work on collaborative projects with main campus peers.
Faculty and graduate students have the opportunity to explore teaching roles within the Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) programs. Everyone is invited to engage with current faculty and PGI alumni.
Program Pillars
Two Year BA Completion Roadmap
Our Bachelor completion degrees are designed to graduate students in two years. This timeline is particularly significant for incarcerated women students, who report concerns of completing their degrees after being released from prison due to childcare responsibilities, as well as other life circumstances.
Faculty Training Program in Transformative Prison Pedagogies
In partnership with our nationally recognized Center for Effective Teaching and Learning (CETL), we train all our faculty in transformative and inclusive pedagogies and high impact practices, specific to the prison context. Our faculty design course syllabi and create signature assignments that are inclusive, academically rigorous and create significant, rich learning experiences.
In Person Student Support Services
We offer in-person, academic and career advising, as well as individual in-person tutoring in writing, research, quantitative reasoning, computer skills, job applications, resume building and professional development.
Career Engaged Curriculum
All our faculty and tutors for the Prison Graduation Initiative have completed CETL’s yearlong faculty learning community that takes an equity-minded, critical look at the professional abilities that the workplace will demand from graduates. The resulting curriculums explicitly connect student learning in the classroom to future careers.
Community Engagement
Our approach to service learning conceives of the prison as a community, rich with possibilities for our students to apply new knowledge to affect positive change within the prison walls. Service learning also offers our incarcerated students meaningful ways to engage with our campus and local communities through non-profits like WordsUncaged and embeds community-engaged restorative justice practices into the curriculums of our PGI students and those on the main campus.
PGI Office
Student Services Building, 7320
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, Ca 90032
[email protected]
(323) 343-7616