University Beyond Bars Information

We are University Beyond Bars, a non-profit stakeholder-driven organization founded in 2005, that empowers prisoners in Washington State to fulfill their potential through communities of higher learning that transcend prison walls. Our mission is rooted in the belief that everyone has a right to education, regardless of identity, socioeconomic status, or circumstance. We believe in the power of education to break cycles of incarceration, strengthen communities, confront racism and classism, and promote personal achievement and social reintegration. We provide transferable AA and BA degrees along with a range of cultural and college prep offerings and an Arts and Lecture series that is open to the entire prison population. Each semester UBB offers approximately 25 courses to around 300 students, many of whom are attending college for the first time. Our three educational pathways (degree, enrichment, lecture series) allow us to serve a large and diverse group of students. Participation in UBB is always elective, and is not limited based on length of sentence. Rather, we recognize that all students, can benefit from higher education and impact their peers, environment, and community, in positive and meaningful ways.