UCI’s new in-prison bachelor’s degree to transform lives

For people who are incarcerated, college can change their life: The likelihood that they will wind up back in prison after they’re released drops dramatically when they earn their degree. This lower recidivism rate benefits both them as individuals and society as a whole. To help people in prison along the college pathway, UCI has launched a new initiative called LIFTED, which stands for Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees. People in prison who are working on their associates degree in sociology at Southwestern College can use an existing program open to community college students to transfer to UCI and earn their bachelor's degree. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, LIFTED Director Keramet Reiter, who is an associate professor of criminology, law and society at UCI, talks about how college changes the lives of people in prison.