The Prison Education Program (PEP) brings Columbia courses to students who are currently incarcerated in local prisons and jails. At present, PEP operates in several state, federal, and municipal correctional facilities including: Taconic, Sing Sing, Queensboro, Edgecombe, Rikers, and Metropolitan Detention Center (Brooklyn).

Courses are offered in the social sciences, the natural sciences, the humanities, and in Columbia’s undergraduate Core Curriculum. Students earn Columbia credits through the School of Professional Studies for successfully completed coursework. Credit earned in courses taught by Columbia instructors may be used toward degree-fulfillment at other institutions, including (through our partnership with Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison) Marymount College and Mercy College. The program has received considerable media attention from PBS and cable news, as well as in feature films and documentaries.