The Center for Justice is committed to ending mass incarceration and criminalization, and advancing alternative approaches to justice and safety through education, research, and policy change. Its mission is to help transform the approaches to justice from being driven by punishment and retribution to being centered on prevention and healing. The Center is interdisciplinary and works in partnership with schools, departments, centers and institutes across Columbia, other universities, government agencies, community organizations, advocates and those directly affected by the criminal justice system.
Image Carousel with 7 slides
A carousel is a rotating set of images. Use the previous and next buttons to change the displayed slide
-
Slide 1: A man standing at the front of a classroom presenting a policy proposal
-
Slide 2: Group pic of Beyond the Bars fellows with their fists in the air
-
Slide 3: Group of Columbia graduates from the Center for Justice
-
Slide 4: Three women on stage performing a spoken word
-
Slide 5: Panelists on stage in chairs with one holding a microphone
-
Slide 6: Group picture of program graduates with their certificates
-
Slide 7: Man sitting in front of his laptop learning to code
News
This fall's cohort includes youth ambassadors, government ambassadors from city and state agencies and the courts, Columbia Law School students, and students from IE University in Madrid, who join remotely.
Our team took part in Beyond the Bars Maine across four days this year, from September 29 to October 2, 2026.
The Beyond the Bars Fellowship offers students and community members impacted by incarceration, an interdisciplinary leadership development program to deepen and expand their identity, analysis, skills and network towards ending mass criminalization and incarceration; and to create a more just and safe world through restorative, transformative and healing practices.