Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Movement
The University of Utah Prison Education Project adamantly condemns the anti-Black violence that has added the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmed Arbery to the list of Black individuals who have been murdered by law enforcement and white supremacists. We stand in solidarity, love, and care for local and national Black communities, and join people from around the world in shared grief and rage. Read more...
Mission
Through a commitment to social transformation, UPEP advances educational equity through on-site higher education, empirical research, and advocacy.
01 HIGHER EDUCATION:
UPEP provides on-site college curriculum to two groups of students incarcerated in the Utah State Prison in Draper.
02 RESEARCH:
The Research Collaborative on Higher Education examines postsecondary education in prisons throughout the U.S.
03 ADVOCACY:
UPEP seeks to be a local, regional, and national leader in forging sustainable and mutually-beneficial prison-university partnerships that provide high quality and meaningful postsecondary opportunities for incarcerated people.
04 Justice Fellows:
The Justice Fellows summer program is new initiative that provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to gain hands-on experience working on social justice issues, such as access to education, legal representation, and community empowerment.
Ways to Give
At this time, UPEP is a non-credit program. We are actively fundraising to cover costs associated with enrollment. All costs associated with attendance are covered by the Project. Incarcerated students are not asked to financially pay for participation in UPEP.
Why higher education in prison?
Less than 5% of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in the U.S. have access to quality higher education. UPEP is working to change this reality. Check out our upcoming events and latest news here!
Volunteer Hours
Students
Volunteers
Research
Beyond Pell Restoration: Addressing Persistent Funding Challenges in Prison Higher Education Toward Racial and Economic Justice
Wednesday March 30, 2022
Beyond Pell Restoration
Leveraging the Power of Pell in Prison: Equity Challenges in Scaling the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative
Tuesday February 23, 2021
Power of Pell_ Article 2021 final
The Landscape of Postsecondary Education in U.S. Prisons, 2019
Wednesday November 20, 2019
Title: The Landscape of Postsecondary Education in U.S. Prisons, 2019. Description: The landscape of postsecondary education in U.S. Prisons, 2019. Research Brief. Salt Lake City, UT: Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison, University of Utah. Castro, E. L., Padilla, E. A., & Royer, C. E. (2019, Nov.)
The research collaborative on higher education in prison
Friday September 20, 2019
The Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison is part of the University of Utah Prison Education Project, a multi pronged approach to expand the field of quality higher education in prison. We work in collaboration with programs across the country to transform the landscape of higher education in prison through empirical research and collaboration […]