University Resources & Initiatives

NYU strives to offer a welcoming environment for those who have, directly or indirectly, had contact with the criminal justice system. In the Spring of 2019, NYU’s Prison Industrial Complex Committee began to catalogue relevant resources and services that are available at NYU. 

This portal is meant to serve as a hub for information about the justice and incarceration work going on at NYU and related student resources found in other relevant places on NYU’s websites for students, and their families. 

To Share a University resource please complete a query form on the Contact page.

Prison Industrial Complex Committee Report

In the fall of 2018, in the wake of student protests organized by the Incarceration to Education Coalition group, the NYU Office of the President formed an ad-hoc semester-long Prison Industrial Complex Committee charged with examining the ways that NYU is currently engaging these issues.

The Committee’s formal charge was to examine how the University already addresses mass incarceration and other steps that could be taken in this arena, focusing on the core university missions of research, teaching, and service at NYU on its New York campus.

The following report published May 2019 is an attempt to capture what the committee learned about what is going on at NYU related to justice and incarceration.  The report does not provide a complete picture; rather, it documents the state of the committee’s current knowledge. 

Financial Assistance for Formerly Incarcerated Students

NYU Admissions Prior Criminal Conviction Questions

NYU is committed to treating those with a criminal or disciplinary history with dignity and respect, and have developed a web resource to advise about the admissions application in relation to questions about prior criminal convictions or disciplinary actions. If you have any questions about NYU’s philosophy and approach to criminal or disciplinary offenses, please contact Jonathan Williams, Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Admissions, at +1 212 998 4554.

Bobst Library Mass Incarceration Research Guides

NYU Libraries maintains a public Mass Incarceration Research Guide. The goal of this guide is to showcase academic resources about mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex. For more information about the library’s resources, please contact Subject Librarian Jill Conte, jill.conte@nyu.edu.

Student-Led Initiatives and Organizations

There are also student-led initiatives and organizations, both undergraduate and graduate, that advocate for incarcerated or formerly incarcerated populations:

• NYU School of Law Prison Reform and Education Project
• The Dollar Bail Brigade
• Incarceration to Education Coalition
• Students for Criminal Justice Reform
•  Washington Square Legal Services Bail Fund

On Campus Student Services

Here is a list of NYU resources and information available to all students:

• • Zone Trainings- CMEP
  • Academic Resources
  • Admissions 
  • Commuter Student Services
  • Student Health Center 
  • Wasserman Center for Career Development

And a list of programs that may be of interest to formerly-incarcerated students and students whose family members have been incarcerated at NYU :  

• Mass Incarceration Conversation Series (MICS)
• The Petey Greene Program
• NYU Global Equity Fellowship
• Developing Social Sector Leaders of Color 
• The Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service 
• Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholarships

Courses Across NYU

The table below lists both undergraduate and graduate courses currently offered at NYU that are at least partially concerned with justice and incarceration.

University News

Here is a collection of the latest findings, stories, and events related to justice and incarceration at NYU.

The Intercept: Rikers in Crisis: Inside the Virus-Stricken New York Jail (04/21/20)

NYU: American Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects Eight NYU Faculty as 2019 Fellows (04/17/2019)

USA TODAY: Once Incarcerated for Drug Possession, NYU Professor Finds Inspiration and Hope for Reform (01/16/2019)

WTKR: It Looks Like Any Other Graduation – Except These Graduates Earned Their Degrees in Prison (05/25/2019)

VIBE: Meek Mill Honored with NYU’s Vanguard for Social Justice Award (06/11/2019)

CBS: What’s Wrong with America’s Criminal Justice System? 6 Questions for an Expert (08/02/2019)

WSN: NYU to Create a Scholarship for Formerly Incarcerated Students (05/31/2019)

WSN: Behind Bars, Three Men Graduate with their NYU Degrees (10/30/2018)

NY TIMES: From Prison to Ph.D.: The Redemption and Rejection of Michelle Jones (09/13/2017)