Author: Thu-Lan Unsoeld
Upcoming Spring 2020 Courses Announced

This spring semester, the Prison Education Project will offer 7 classes for MECC students. Classes will cover math, science, social science, writing and more. For more information on each course, please see the course descriptions below.
PEP Holds First Graduation for Class of 2019

On May 22, 2019, PEP students, their friends and family, and members of the WashU PEP community came together to celebrate the inaugural graduation of 10 students graduating with their Associate in Arts degrees from the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) at Washington University in St. Louis. All 10 graduates received Associate of […]
Bachelor of Science Degree Now Accredited for PEP Students
The Prison Education Project is excited to announce that the WashU School of Continuing & Professional Studies Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies degree is now accredited for PEP students. The Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies requires 120 total units of credit. Students must satisfy CAPS General Education Requirements, which are the same for students […]
Divided City Initiative & Prison Education Project Partnership
The Prison Education Project is excited to announce that it has partnered with the Divided City Initiative to support and develop two interdisciplinary urban humanities courses for PEP students at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. These courses will be integrated as part of the greater PEP curriculum. The first course, “Landscape Architecture: The Art and Science of […]
PEP Welcomes New Undergraduate Intern
Prison Education Project is excited to announce that junior Talia Weine, will be joining the team of PEP interns. She will be assisting PEP with research requests, course organization, and other administrative tasks. “I am so happy to be working with the Prison Education Project, because I believe that education is an integral part of […]
Upcoming Fall 2019 Courses Announced

This fall, the Prison Education Project will offer 7 classes for MECC students. Classes will cover STEM and humanities subjects, ranging from astronomy and computer science to public speaking and landscape architecture. For more information on each course, please see the course descriptions below.
For Some Inmates, Rehabilitation Includes a College Degree (Links to an external site)

‘Education is transformative’ (Links to an external site)

10 Missouri Inmates Receive Associate Degrees From University (Links to an external site)
10 inmates earn degrees, graduate in Missouri prison (Links to an external site)

It looks like any other graduation – except these graduates… (Links to an external site)

10 inmates make history as first to graduate from school’s… (Links to an external site)
Washington University graduates first class of students in prison (Links to an external site)
3rd Annual Gender Impacts Symposium Focused on Mothers & Re-Entry
On March 29th, 2019, the 3rd Annual Gender Impacts Symposium was held in St. Louis. The Gender Impacts series addresses the intersection of race, class and gender in the criminal justice system. Past symposiums have addressed the overall experiences of women in the criminal justice system, as well as the relationship between incarceration, women and […]
PEP Welcomes New Project Assistant
The Prison Education Project is excited to announce that Natasha Narayanan will be joining the PEP team as the new Project Assistant. Natasha previously worked with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, where she tutored students in math and performed various administrative tasks. She received her undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Spanish from Auburn University […]
Upcoming Summer 2019 Courses!

This summer, the Prison Education Project will offer four courses at MECC, ranging from mathematics, to research methods to humanities centered courses. For more information, please see the course descriptions below.
Crime and Punishment (Links to an external site)
Gender impacts: Mothers and reentry (Links to an external site)
Prison Education Project Prepares for New Admissions Cycle (Links to an external site)
Spring 2019 Creative Writing Workshop
This spring semester, The Prison Education Project has introduced a new Creative Writing Workshop for MECC students, led by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, a Washington University PhD graduate student. The Creative Writing Workshop works to provide students with a number of classic literary techniques, as well as to foster skills in the practice of literary criticism, […]
PEP Leaders Discuss Inclusive Teaching and Research (Links to an external site)

Gephardt Travel Grant Awarded to PEP
David Cunningham’s Order and Change in Society receives a Gephardt Travel Grant to facilitate joint class session between MECC and Danforth Campus students. This past semester, Fall 2018, the Prison Education Project had the opportunity to offer Order and Change in Society, a class taught by David Cunningham, Professor of Sociology, with assistance from Jeanette […]
New Computer Lab Installed
“MECC students now have an opportunity to leverage technology in this less conventional learning environment to further promote the success of PEP’s mission.” For the first time, during the 2018-2019 academic year, PEP students have the opportunity to type their essays and research papers, reference selected digital course materials, and access digital media. Taking further […]
Danforth Campus Research Partnership

For the first time in Fall 2018, Danforth Campus students will have the opportunity to partner with the Prison Education Project in a three-credit course. This course has a dual role as an introduction to political science research approaches and methods and a practical training opportunity in library research. Danforth Campus students will apply the information […]
PEP Welcomes Two New Undergraduate Interns
Thu-Lan Unsoeld (’21) and Petergaye Laine (’19) join the Prison Education Project as Fall 2018 Interns. They will work jointly on website design, public relations and the day to day office tasks critical to PEP as well as contribute to improvements on the program’s structure. “Having witnessed incarceration seriously limit the academic opportunities of my own […]
Fall 2018 Upcoming Events

Fall 2018 Courses Announced

Six courses to be offered for Fall 2018 semester.
Convocation 2018: Celebrating Student Achievement

On May 22, 2018, the Prison Education Project celebrated our fourth convocation ceremony for students at the MECC Campus. Barbara Schaal, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis offered remarks for the event, which was attended by students, faculty, and staff. Three current students also spoke at the […]
College in Prison: Book Discussion With Daniel Karpowitz (Links to an external site)

Barbara Baumgartner Receives Gephardt Grant for 2nd Year In A Row
Barbara Baumgartner, Associate Director of the Prison Education Project, has received the St. Louis Project Grant from the Gephardt Institute for the 2nd year in a row to host a symposium on gender and incarceration. After last year’s symposium, participants expressed interest in future conferences on related topics. As a result, this year’s symposium will examine […]
Barbara Baumgarter Receives Gephardt Grant for Gender Symposium
Barbara Baumgartner, Associate Director of the Prison Education Project, has received a Gephardt Institute Civic Engagement Fund: St. Louis Project Grant to host a full-day symposium on women and the criminal justice system. Race, class, and gender are intersecting issues in our community, and while race and class have been receiving more attention in recent […]
PEP Hosts Screening & Discussion of “When The Bough Breaks” (Links to an external site)

From Prison to College (Links to an external site)

Collateral Damage: Women, Incarceration and Children (Links to an external site)

By Barbara Baumgartner, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Associate Director, Washington University Prison Education Project
Instructors, Students Find Purpose in the Prison Classroom (Links to an external site)

PEP Hosts Panel Discussion on College Prison Education w/ BPI (Links to an external site)
