Odyssey Beyond Bars offers college jumpstart programs to students incarcerated in Wisconsin state prisons. We are part of the UW Odyssey Project, which for 19 years has empowered students living in poverty to overcome obstacles, find their voices and reframe their futures.
“This class has already opened my eyes to a better life for myself.”
Our jumpstart programs combine noncredit and for-credit courses with wraparound supports that help our students succeed long-term, including tutoring, academic and financial aid advising, and an alumni support network.
Many program alumni use their Odyssey Beyond Bars experience as a first step toward a college degree and as a foundation for success when they leave prison and return to their communities.
Odyssey Beyond Bars won the 2021 Eisenberg Award from the Wisconsin State Public Defender.
Read more and check out our award acceptance video!
Supporting Odyssey Beyond Bars
Support Odyssey Beyond Bars by clicking the button below. All donations are tax deductible. For questions, please contact Jenny Pressman, Director of Development and Community Partnerships, at jenny.pressman@wisc.edu.
Get Involved
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Become a Student
“Odyssey Beyond Bars has given me an opportunity to examine my experiences; it provokes you to look at things in a different way and gives you the confidence to express yourself.”–Carl Lewis, OBB student
Odyssey Beyond Bars enrolls students in Wisconsin state prisons who are interested in college but not yet enrolled in a degree program. Occasionally, we enroll students who already have some college experience.
Odyssey Beyond Bars students are admitted to UW-Madison as special students, not degree-seeking students. We often help our students pursue admission to degree programs at UW-Madison and elsewhere.
In Fall 2021, we are offering English 100 at Oakhill Correctional Institution only.
In Spring 2022, we will offer English 100 at Oakhill and three other prisons–Green Bay Correctional Institution, Racine Correctional Institution, Columbia Correctional Institution. Additionally, we will offer Non-Violence and Social Change at Oakhill.
We do not operate in any county jails or federal prisons.
Milwaukee Area Technical College, Madison College, and Moraine Park Technical College offer associate degree and certificate programs in certain Wisconsin state prisons. Interested students should ask the Education Director in their institution to learn which programs are available to them.
Become a Volunteer
Thanks for your interest in volunteering for Odyssey Beyond Bars. We are not actively recruiting new volunteers at this time. Our recruitment usually takes place in August and January.
If you would like to add your name to our prospective volunteer pool, please fill out this form. We will contact you during our recruitment period and when suitable opportunities arise.
Volunteer tutors are typically affiliated with the UW System (e.g., graduate students, faculty members, emeriti).
Undergraduate volunteers typically contribute to behind-the-scenes classroom assistance and administrative support such as typing, editing, and assisting instructors.
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OBB Alumni
If you have successfully completed at least one Odyssey Beyond Bars course, you are one of our program “alumni” and we encourage you to connect with our Alumni Support Coordinator, Pearly Wong. Pearly can help you pursue additional college courses through UW-Madison and other schools, and some of these courses are free.
Call Pearly at 608-262-3143, email her at obbalumni@dcs.wisc.edu, or send a paper letter to OBB Alumni Support Coordinator, UW Odyssey Project, 2238 S. Park Street, Madison, WI 53713. Pearly can help you identify the options available to you, even if you’re not sure what you want to do next. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you are looking for educational opportunities in the Milwaukee area, Marquette University offers free courses for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Browse available courses and apply on their website. If you have questions about Marquette’s programming, contact urbancenter@marquette.edu.
Teaching for OBB
Thanks for your interest in teaching for Odyssey Beyond Bars. OBB is not actively recruiting new instructors at this time. If you would like to add your name to our prospective instructor pool, please fill out this form. When opportunities arise, our team will contact you.
To teach for OBB, you must be affiliated with a UW university and have approval from your department to teach the course(s) you propose.
OBB in the News
Odyssey Beyond Bars project expanding classes to more state correctional facilities
Wisconsin Public Radio, February 17 2022
A Turning Point for Prison Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 4 2022
Odyssey Beyond Bars Featured on 93.1 JAMZ
JAMZ Life, April 14 2022
Writing a new future
Isthmus, February 20 2020
UW System Prison Education Initiative (UWPEI)
Odyssey Beyond Bars proudly co-leads the UW System Prison Education Initiative, a collaborative effort to advance higher education in prison through multiple UW universities statewide. This initiative is working to develop UW certificate and degree programs for our students so they can earn college credentials and build work-ready skills before they return to their communities.
In December 2021, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded the UW System and the Department of Corrections a $5.7 million grant to expand higher education in prisons statewide.
We applaud the UW System for recognizing the immense potential of our students and the positive impacts they can make on the world around them when they have opportunities for transformation and success.
Join the UW Coalition for Higher Education in Prison mailing list
Odyssey Beyond Bars is a proud founding member of the UW Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (UW CHEP). UW CHEP was established in 2020 as a UW-based collective of programs and individuals who have come together to advance higher education in Wisconsin’s prisons.
Sign up below to get quarterly UW CHEP updates.