Cornell to become first Ivy League University to offer degrees in prison

https://www.cornellsun.com/article/2026/10/cornell-to-become-first-ivy-league-university-to-offer-degrees-in-prison

Cornell will become the first Ivy League university to offer a degree to incarcerated students when the Cornell Prison Education Program launches its Bachelor of Professional Studies program at Cayuga Correctional Facility in Fall 2027.

The program, offered through a partnership with Cornell’s School of Continuing Education, features organizations, markets, and society as the first approved major.

Its first cohort is expected to enroll 12 to 18 students, Jenna LaPietra, CPEP's director of strategic initiatives, wrote in a statement to The Sun. The program is expected to take approximately three years to complete.

Applicants must have an associate’s degree or at least 60 college credits and either reside at Cayuga Correctional Facility or qualify to transfer there. The School of Continuing Education will oversee admissions and is developing an application process adapted to the prison’s paper-based environment.

The new degree expands CPEP, which was founded in 2001 by Prof. Emeritus Pete Wetherbee, literatures in English. Through its partnership with SUNY Cayuga Community College, CPEP students have earned credits toward associate’s degrees, with advanced students being able to earn Cornell’s certificate in liberal arts.