Incarcerated Scholars Conference 2026

We invite students and alumni of higher education in prison programs who are currently incarcerated to contribute to our conference by submitting a presentation proposal related to one of the conference topic tracks (see below). Selected presentations will be 30 minutes long, followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with the audience.

Eligibility:

• Presenters must be a currently incarcerated students or a currently incarcerated alumni of a higher education in prison (HEP) program
• Presenters must have a proxy affiliated with a HEP program to assist with submission, coordination, and communication
• The Department of Corrections where the presenters reside must approve participation
• The facility where the presenters reside must have access to Zoom
• Presenters must be available either Wednesday, October 28 or Thursday, October 29 to present live via Zoom

Submit proposals:

1. Online through this Google Form
2. Via email by filling out the PDF of the proposal form and sending it to isc@higheredinprison.org
   
   • The PDF can be filled out electronically or printed, filled out by hand, scanned, and sent to the email address above‍

Unfortunately, we cannot accept presentation proposals submitted via mail. Those interested in submitting proposals but who don’t have internet/email access can work with a proxy from an educational program at the facility to submit online or via email OR may want to consider a creative submission instead (which can be sent via mail). 

If you are currently incarcerated, we welcome you to submit creative work to the conference (you do not have to be a current or former student to participate in this portion of the conference).

Submit proposals:

1. Online through this Google Form
2. Via email by completing the Creative Submission PDF and sending it to isc@higheredinprison.org
3. Via mail by printing and manually completing the PDF and sending it (along with the creative work) to: 
   The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison
   Attn: ISC
   1801 North Broadway, Suite 417
   Denver, CO 80202

• Learning Across Time and Community: This track explores how intellectual growth unfolds over time and through relationships with others. Sessions may reflect on returning to education, changing perspectives, evolving interests, and the role learning plays across different stages of life. Presentations may also examine classroom culture, peer learning, mentorship, and other collaborative forms of study, as well as student perspectives on rigor, instruction, advising, and the academic environments that shape higher education in prison.
• Study as Inquiry: This track celebrates curiosity and investigation. Sessions will explore questions that emerged from study, reading, observation, or experience. Presentations may feature disciplinary research, theoretical questions, philosophical arguments, or literary interpretation. Sessions can also consider how a text, argument, or idea can reshape how we see the world.
• Beyond the Classroom: This track explores how learning takes shape outside traditional academic formats. Sessions may include creative work, applied projects, demonstrations, conversations, or other approaches that share how ideas are practiced, shared, or lived. Topics may also engage wellness, mental health, faith, or other forms of reflective practice as sites of learning. Formats that invite participation or take nontraditional approaches are welcome.
• Technology and the Incarcerated Scholar: This track examines the role of technology and digital literacy in prison learning environments. Sessions may explore how students navigate limited technological access, the impact of restricted internet on research and coursework, and the importance of digital literacy for scholarship, communication, and professional development.
• Professional Pathways During Incarceration: This track focuses on opportunities for students to engage in meaningful professional work during incarceration. Sessions may highlight models of remote employment, apprenticeships, work-based learning, and other pathways that allow students to apply academic knowledge in real-world contexts. Presentations may also examine relationships between prison education programs and employers, approaches to fair compensation for skilled work, and how professional experience supports skill development, career readiness, and financial stability prior to release.

Presentation Proposals

Incarcerated scholars interested in presenting must reach out to administration/leadership at their facility as soon as they decide that they will be submitting a proposal. Facility permission will take time, and all scholars must confirm with their respective correctional facilities that they have permission to participate in advance and share that confirmation with the Alliance by September 1, 2026. Detailed instructions will be sent to those whose proposals are accepted. 

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Creative Submissions

Facility permission is not required for creative submissions, but the Alliance does need facility permission to share artist names during the conference. Creative proposals that are accepted but are submitted without a point of contact at the corrections facility will be shared anonymously. Artists interested in being named must reach out to administration/leadership at their facility as soon as they decide that they will be submitting creative work(s). Facility permission will take time, and artists will need to confirm their participation as a named artist in advance and share that confirmation with the Alliance by September 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions
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‍What kinds of things can people submit as presentation proposals? Does it have to be a class project or academic paper?

We encourage a wide range of disciplinary and scholarly work. Presentations can span academic disciplines and topics. Something that was developed for a course could be submitted as a proposal, but it doesn't have to be coursework. If you have something in mind to submit but it doesn't fit within one of the topic tracks above, please submit it regardless! We created the tracks as guides and suggested themes, not strict parameters for topics.

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Are there examples of previous proposals or presentations?

While we're unable to share previous proposals, recordings of select ISC 2024 and ISC 2025 presentations are available on YouTube (i.e. if we received the required permissions to share them publicly). These recordings should give educators and students a helpful sense of what presentations could look like in practice.

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What is the purpose and mission of ISC?

The Incarcerated Scholars Conference exists to amplify the voices, scholarship, and creativity of people pursuing higher education while incarcerated. It creates a platform for incarcerated academics to share their work with a broader audience, connect with a network of academics, and demonstrate the depth and range of intellectual life inside.

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Can formerly incarcerated people participate as presenters or artists?

ISC submissions are exclusively open to people who are currently incarcerated. However, formerly incarcerated students and alumni are warmly encouraged to submit proposals to the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP), our annual in-person conference held each spring. Learn more here.
ISC itself, the virtual conference event in October, is free and open to the public. Anyone interested is welcome to register and attend.

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How many submissions are received and accepted?

We typically receive a few dozen presentation proposals. From those, we select 12–15 presentations for the conference. For creative works, we generally receive around 100 creative submissions and feature approximately 30 of them. Selections for ISC are made by a review committee consisting of Alliance staff and currently incarcerated reviewers.

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What's the largest group that can present together as a cohort?

There's no strict cap on group presentation size. Our largest cohort to date was about 20-25 students from Cal Poly Humboldt. If your group is larger, reach out to us at isc@higheredinprison.org and we'll do our best to accommodate you.

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What is a proxy, and why are they required for presentation proposals?

Because incarcerated scholars can't always communicate or submit materials directly, ISC works with two types of proxies for presentation proposals to ensure that live, virtual presentation via Zoom during the conference is both authorized and logistically smooth:

• Educational proxy: typically a faculty member, program coordinator, or staff person affiliated with a higher education in prison program who can submit materials and communicate with the Alliance on behalf of the scholar(s).
• Corrections contact: a staff member at the facility who can help facilitate communication, approvals, or logistics on the corrections side.

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Do presenters have to be current students?

No. Currently incarcerated alumni of higher education in prison programs are also eligible to submit presentation proposals. What matters is that you were, at some point, a student in a higher education in prison program. Currently incarcerated students and currently incarcerated alumni are both welcome to submit.

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Can anyone incarcerated submit a creative work to ISC?

Yes! Creative submissions are open to any incarcerated artists, regardless of whether or not they are currently or formerly enrolled as a college student.

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Am I limited to one submission?

It depends on the type of submission:

• Scholars can submit both as part of a group presentation and as an individual presenter, if desired.
• Scholars can also submit both a presentation proposal and a creative submission, if desired.
• We ask that each artist only submit one artwork for consideration.

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