Prospective JIE Scholars must be nominated by a teacher, usually working with a prison education program, occasionally by the head of a re-entry organization, and in exceptional cases by JIE alumni.

If you are interested in becoming a JIE Scholar, ask one of your teachers to recommend you for the program. We will then invite you to meet the advising team, which will discuss the program with you in further detail. If the program seems appropriate for you at this time, we will invite you to submit an application, consisting of a student information form, a personal statement, a writing sample, and teacher recommendations.

Once your application is complete, you will be interviewed by the course instructors and program directors. We are currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 cohort.

*In rare instances, we have accepted applicants to the JIE Scholars Program by self-nomination, provided that self-nominating applicants can procure recommendations and transcripts.