The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) is a college unto itself at the vanguard of college access and equity in the United States.
BPI creates and protects academic spaces where students and faculty engage in ambitious college coursework, challenge one another intellectually, and build supportive community. Across seven New York State Prisons, BPI extends the full breadth and depth of the Bard College liberal arts curriculum.
Majors and Areas of Focus
Literature & Humanities
Classes include:
- Contemporary Literature of the African Diaspora
- Moby Dick: The Great American Novel
- Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Chinese, German, and Spanish
- Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese
- Once Upon a Time: The Folktales of the Brother’s Grimm
Mathematics
Classes include:
- Basic Algebra, Advanced Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus I-III
- Probability & Statistics
- Introduction to Number Theory
- Discrete Mathematics
- Graph Theory
Social Studies
Classes include:
- The Economic History of Globalization
- Origins of Modern Science
- Science in the Golden Age of Islam
- Feminism and Modern Political Thought
- Anthropology of Time and Space
Public Health
The Public Health concentration is designed to prepare students for careers in the rapidly changing fields of Public Health, healthcare, and community health. Students who complete the entire seven-course specialization are proficient in the core competencies of Public Health graduate programs, including research design and implementation.
Classes include:
- Biostatistics
- Epidemiology
- Public Health and Food Production
- Social and Economic Determinants of Health
- Urban Spaces and Health
Education
Many BPI students take a pedagogy course and put the skills they learn to use in peer tutoring and supporting other incarcerated people in their educational pursuits. Through the Education specialization, students are introduced to models for change that advocate for deeper educational access and opportunity for historically underserved communities.
Biology
Like a minor, the five-course second focus in Biology enables BA students to receive formal recognition for significant academic work in Biology alongside their major field of study.
Classes include:
- Biology of Infectious Disease
- Genetics and Evolution
- Cell Biology
- Biodiversity and Ecology of the Amazon
Beginning Reentry in College
Returning home from prison is a complex and ongoing process. At BPI, reentry preparation begins inside prison upon enrollment with the college, and builds through years of intensive academic engagement and advising. As they leave prison, alumni join an extensive network of staff, partners, and, most importantly, fellow graduates who provide critical support to navigate life post-release and build personally-meaningful futures in New York City, the Capital Region of New York, and beyond.
LEARN MORE
Jed Tucker, Senior Advisor for Reentry & Alumni Engagement; Nikko Vaughn ’15, Associate Director of Educational Programs, Persistence, & Student Success; Shawn Young ’19, Project Lead Upstate Reentry and Capital Region Initiatives; Max Kenner, Executive Director
BPI Voices
“Bringing the traditions of college into a prison is transformative, giving the people within the opportunity to reinvent themselves and change their life’s trajectory.”
— Reynaldo Perez '21