Traditionally and historically, incarcerated persons pursued training for vocations in the trades, and more recently in technology fields like coding, but graduates of Mount Tamalpais College, San Quentin’s onsite college program, earn an associate degree in liberal arts.
How does a liberal arts education contribute to the rehabilitation of incarcerated persons and their preparedness for life upon release?
The College made the following statement in its 2024/25 Annual Report: “Our core curriculum is designed to challenge students intellectually, equip them for transfer to four-year colleges and universities, provide them with skills needed to obtain meaningful employment and economic stability post-release, and prepare them to become leaders and engaged citizens.”
The associate degree that MTC students earn positions them for entry into higher education in four-year colleges and universities either during their incarceration or after their release. MTC Chief Academic Officer Amy Jamgochian said the following about the transferability of MTC credits to higher institutions:
“MTC is an accredited college, and our courses are designed to meet widely recognized standards used by systems like the California State University, California Community Colleges, and the University of California. That means that students are usually able to transfer most or all of their credits through the standard review process used by all colleges. We also have a formal transfer agreement with California State University, East Bay and are actively building additional agreements to make transfers even more seamless. MTC students have successfully transferred MTC courses to a wide variety of colleges and universities over the years, including CSU East Bay, San Francisco State University, CSU Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, and more.”
The UC and the CSU systems require some courses beyond what is needed to earn the associate degree. These classes include higher math such as precalculus, ethnic studies, life and physical sciences, and foreign language. MTC offers these courses at San Quentin.
The College’s claim that it provides essential skills for meaningful employment is rooted in part in its rigorous and mandatory math and English curriculum. In math, students must progress through college-level algebra. The English curriculum includes a succession of courses that emphasize deep, critical reading, and disciplined thinking and writing that students demonstrate in numerous essays and compositions.
By holding to these standards the program demands competence and proficiency in the proverbial “three Rs” of reading, writing, and arithmetic, all fundamental needs in modern workplaces.
Liberal arts degrees include surveys of science courses. MTC science offerings in 2024/25 included geology, biology, chemistry, physics and public health.
Several of the school’s classes are geared to prepare students for citizenship. These include courses in American government, public speaking, social ethics, U.S. history, and social psychology, among others.
In a flyer distributed at San Quentin’s reentry resource fair, the College highlighted its commitment to preparing students for citizenship: “We value freedom of expression and civil discourse. The ability to communicate across intellectual, cultural, and ideological differences is vital for fostering healthy civil society.”
Resident Michael Nickerson, a member of MTC’s 2026 graduating class, mirrored that value in words he wrote for the commencement ceremony. “My college experience has changed me and made me a more socially conscious person. I’m aware of and respectful of others’ differences, and I’m a more thoughtful and respectful individual as well.”
San Quentin resident and MTC student Anthony Galloway is working toward graduation from MTC in the future. He said that his work in the college program “shows that I can dedicate myself to a commitment and follow through the process. It shows that I have the capacity to thrive.”
Graduating with Nickerson in 2026 was San Quentin resident Keith Carter. In celebration he wrote, “Earning an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts has given me vocabulary for my own experience and a framework to understand suffering, resilience, and justice in ways I never could before. It means I can sit with a difficult text, disagree with respect, and write a sentence that says exactly what I intend. More than a credential, this degree is my declaration that education is not a reward for good behavior; it is a human right and a path home.”