Incarcerated students in Merrimack College’s Jail Education Project are eligible to earn 3-course Certificates and pursue an Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts, with the option to continue their education at Merrimack through the Post-Incarceration Program.
JEP offers two credential pathways for incarcerated students.
The Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts is a Merrimack College degree available only to JEP students.
Students are eligible to receive Certificates in General Studies and Writing & Communication.
Students who complete two Merrimack College courses through the Jail Education Project are eligible to apply for enrollment into the Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts, a Merrimack College degree available only to JEP students. All courses offered through JEP count toward the Associate’s curriculum, and students are eligible to finish this degree at Merrimack College upon release.
Students who complete any three courses are now awarded a Certificate in General Studies from Merrimack College, and students who complete three courses in the subjects of writing and communication are eligible to receive a Certificate in Writing and Communication.
JEP is designed to maximize student success inside and outside.
100% covered by State and Federal funding.
A flexible and affordable online degree pathway.
Jail Education Project students who enroll in the Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts Degree while incarcerated will have the opportunity to continue it on campus at Merrimack upon release. To lift the financial burden on students, the Associate’s is designed to be 100% covered by state and federal funding. This degree is only available to Jail Education Project students and not the general public.
The Bachelor Degree Completion Program is a flexible, affordable online degree pathway designed for adult students with a range of college credits to finish a Bachelor’s Degree.
The local demographics of jails allows JEP to continue supporting students after release. Post-incarceration students receive assistance with financial aid and degree applications, financial support for textbooks, supplies, and technology, and academic advising.
The Jail Education Project has been supported by:
Students who complete two Merrimack College courses through the Jail Education Project are eligible to apply for enrollment into the Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts, a Merrimack College degree available only to JEP students. All courses offered through JEP count toward the Associate’s curriculum, and students are eligible to finish this degree at Merrimack College upon release.
Students who complete any three courses are now awarded a Certificate in General Studies from Merrimack College, and students who complete three courses in the subjects of writing and communication are eligible to receive a Certificate in Writing and Communication.
The local demographics of jails allow students to continue their education after release at Merrimack through the JEP Post-Incarceration Program.
Participating students may enroll in two affordable and flexible degree pathways at Merrimack, where they receive assistance with financial aid and enrollment applications, financial support for textbooks, supplies, and technology, and academic advising.
Jail Education Project students who enroll in the Associate’s in Arts in Liberal Arts Degree while incarcerated will have the opportunity to continue it on campus at Merrimack upon release. To lift the financial burden on students, the Associate’s is designed to be 100% covered by state and federal funding. This degree is only available to Jail Education Project students and not the general public.
The Bachelor Degree Completion Program is a flexible, affordable online degree pathway designed for adult students with a range of college credits to finish a Bachelor’s Degree.
Jail Education Project students who enroll in the Associate’s in Arts in Liberal Arts Degree while incarcerated will have the opportunity to continue it on campus at Merrimack upon release. To lift the financial burden on students, the Associate’s is designed to be 100% covered by state and federal funding. This degree is only available to Jail Education Project students and not the general public.
The Bachelor Degree Completion Program is a flexible, affordable online degree pathway designed for adult students with a range of college credits to finish a Bachelor’s Degree.
| Associates of Arts in Liberal Arts | 3-Course Certificates |
|---|---|
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As of 2023, students who complete two Merrimack College courses through the Jail Education Project are eligible to apply for enrollment into the Associate’s of Arts in Liberal Arts, a Merrimack College degree available only to JEP students. All courses offered through JEP count toward the Associate’s curriculum, and students are eligible to finish this degree at Merrimack College upon release. |
As of 2022, students who complete any three courses are now awarded a Certificate in General Studies from Merrimack College, and students who complete three courses in the subjects of writing and communication are eligible to receive a Certificate in Writing and Communication. |
In partnership with The Writers House, the Jail Education Project brings Writers House Visiting Writers to the jails to give a public reading and speak with incarcerated students.
Dr. Randall Horton is a writer, poet, artist, and an Associate Professor of English at the University of New Haven. He is most recently the author of Dead Weight: A Memoir in Essays, Hook: A Memoir, and {#289-128}. Horton is the recipient of two American Book Awards, the 2022 Creative Capital Award, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, the Bea Gonzalez Poetry Award, a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Literature, and the GLCA New Writers Award for Creative Nonfiction. Horton is Executive Director of Radical Reversal and the only person in the United States with seven felony convictions and academic tenure. Read more about Dr. Horton’s visit.
Dr. Christian Bolden is the author of Out of the Red: My Life of Gangs, Prison, and Redemption, recipient of the 2020 Frank Tannenbaum Outstanding Book Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Convict Criminology. He is the Robert Hunter Distinguished Professor at Loyola University-New Orleans. His areas of research include gang histories and processes, mass incarceration, and human trafficking. In 2012-2013, Dr. Bolden was the “Futurist in Residence” research fellow for the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Read more about Dr. Bolden’s visit.
Lilia Hessasta ’25, who will serve as assistant stage manager for Merrimack College's upcoming production of “The Drowsy Chaperone," was awarded Outstanding Stage Management Intern at this year’s Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
