College Degree Project
The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Program’s (APAEP) college degree project through Auburn University offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, focusing on business, leadership, and Human Development and Family Sciences. To earn a Bachelor of Science, students complete 120 credits, which is approximately 40 classes.
Classes are taught by faculty members and graduate students from Auburn University and other colleges and universities around the state. The APAEP college degree program offers the same curriculum taught on the main Auburn University campus.
A cohort of students is accepted to the program each year after successful completion of an application and interview process. Before officially accepted to Auburn, students complete a two-semester sequence of non-credit foundational classes in composition and math.
Stats
College degree program began at Tutwiler Prison for Women
Students presented a panel at the National Conference for Higher Education in Prison
College degree program established
Students enrolled in college degree program at Staton Correctional Facility and Tutwiler Prison for Women
Semester-long classes taught
Testimonials
College Program Student
“At the beginning of my newfound journey with APAEP, I did not have the slightest clue of the true power of education. I am still amazed at the worldly insight and the profound hope that I encounter daily. APAEP has blessed us with not only the opportunity to obtain the tools needed for success, but also a gained sense of our value as individuals...These are my classmates, my friends, my brothers, and my symbols of a bigger life, a greater goal.”
College Program Student
“I am a 43-year-old father of five. When I received my acceptance letter, it still felt like a dream. No one in my family had ever attended a major university, and yet I was standing in a prison dorm reading a letter which said I had been accepted to Auburn University. That was one of the proudest moments of my life. This program has also helped me draw closer to family. Now when I call and write home, I have a positive outlook and am able to discuss accomplishments that eclipse the shame of the mistakes I made to get here. My eight-year-old son and I discuss our grades and studying."
Community Education Student
“No other class is compared to APAEP classes: the teachers, the information, the supplies, the kindness, and the sincerity are all genuine.”
Funding
Pell Grants, available to students through the U.S. Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell Experimental Site Initiative, funds approximately 1/3 of our student tuition expenses. The remainder of the tuition, instructor salaries, textbooks, and class supplies are funded through grant scholarships and philanthropic gifts.
Stay In Touch
Connect With APAEP
Thank you for your interest in the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project. We look forward to hearing from you. Drop by the office, give us a call, or send us an email.
A Note on Language
APAEP uses human-centered language. For example, we refer to our students as students, and individuals who have experienced incarceration as system-impacted or people who are currently/formerly incarcerated.
To learn more, and see other examples, please read this open letter from Eddie Ellis, Founder of Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions, the language guide created by the Underground Scholars Initiative, the “Words Matter” Initiative from The Fortune Society, and FWD.US’s People First Campaign.