Cara Brown McCormick
Cal State LA's Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) will begin offering courses toward a bachelor's degree at the newly rebranded San Quentin Rehabilitation Center starting in fall 2026. The program will enroll an inaugural cohort of 35 incarcerated students, with a projected graduation date of spring 2028.
San Quentin was once home to California’s death chamber and, for many, a symbol of an outdated, cruel system.
The announcement about its transformation came during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 20, where Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new 81,000-square-foot Learning Center at the facility.
“Three years ago, I stood here and promised to turn this symbol of the old system into the crown jewel of a new one. Today, with the opening of this Learning Center, we are proving that rehabilitation and public safety go hand in hand — and that hope is a powerful tool for safer communities,” the governor said.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the 18-month progressive design-build project was completed on time and on budget at $239 million, funded through a lease revenue bond.
It features modern classrooms, an expanded library, podcast and recording studios, a reentry center, and outdoor spaces near the San Francisco Bay.
According to the governor’s office, “experts from around the world designed and built the Learning Center as the first in a series of updates to implement a new model of criminal justice focused on accountability, education, rehabilitation, and reentry.”
The Learning Center is central to what Newsom calls the "California Model," a rehabilitation-focused approach to incarceration drawing on practices in Norway.
The model prioritizes education and environments designed to ease the transition back into society.
Students at San Quentin will pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Applied and Professional Humanities, a curriculum designed to connect academic work with career preparation and support a successful return to life outside prison.
Cal State LA will deliver the program in partnership with Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State, with faculty from both Bay Area schools trained to teach the first cohort.
PGI has operated inside California prisons since 2016, when it became both the first program in the state to award a bachelor's degree to incarcerated students and the only such program in California to receive a Second Chance Pell designation.
It has since grown into one of the largest bachelor's degree programs for incarcerated students in the country.
San Quentin will be PGI's fourth prison location, joining facilities in Lancaster and two in Chino.