The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) is a program of

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

that provides college education to people in prison. Currently operating in six prisons across

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, BPI's academic programs engage students in the full breadth of liberal study and end in associate and bachelor's degrees from Bard. It currently enrolls 350 students full-time in

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

programs. BPI first started making the news when its debate team won against

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2015. Since federal funding for

prison education Prison education is any educational activity that occurs inside prison. Courses can include basic literacy programs, secondary school equivalency programs, vocational education, and tertiary education. Other activities such as rehabilitation pr ...

programs was eliminated in 1995, BPI is one of a limited number of

college degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

granting programs available in U.S. prisons. BPI is also the home of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, which recruits, assists, and collaborates with colleges and universities across the country as they enter this field of work and reestablish college opportunity for people in prison in their home states. BPI is the subject of ''

College Behind Bars ''College Behind Bars'' is a 2019 American television documentary series, directed by Lynn Novick, which originally aired on PBS. It focuses on the lives and academic careers of inmates in the Bard Prison Initiative. Synopsis Incarcerated indiv ...

'', a 2019 documentary executive produced by

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

References

External links

*
PBS documentary on BPI
from

Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison
Bard College Prison charities based in the United States Charities based in New York (state) {{US-prison-stub