Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees

UCR LIFTED (Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees) seeks to expand access to a UCR Bachelor’s degree to students living inside a prison in the Inland Southern California region.

Through this program we seek to amplify the voices of those incarcerated nationally and provide avenues for them to become future advocates for those who have are currently and have been formerly incarcerated.

Recent research has shown that of the 4,500 degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S., only 7% (315) provide some form of higher education in prison spaces (Castro, Padilla, and Royer, 2019). Even fewer provide a bachelor’s degree that can be completed while incarcerated. The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison estimates the number of such institutions at 53. 

The UCR LIFTED program will allow students currently located at Norco CRC  to fully complete a UCR Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, Society, and Human Development while incarcerated. UCR courses will be offered face-to-face by faculty members in the School of Education and the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Admitted students will take the same courses offered on campus by faculty who are leaders in their respective fields. UCR LIFTED, co-led by Assistant Professor Amos Lee and Professor Farah Godrej with a team of four additional faculty,  aims to provide a meaningful opportunity for incarcerated students to re-envision their future as they earn their degree.