Underground Scholars Initiative

Underground Scholars Initiative aims to connect formerly incarcerated and system impacted UC Berkeley students with the resources and information that will help to increase those students' prospects of success. Who we are: The Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) was created to support all prospective and current UC Berkeley students impacted by issues of mass incarceration, imprisonment, and detainment of any kind. The goal of USI is to bridge the topic of mass incarceration that is highly popularized in academia with one that is grounded in the lived experiences of UC Berkeley students. USI has the unique opportunity of making UC Berkeley a catalyst for the development of a prison-to-higher education pipeline within the University of California educational system. What we do: USI helps formerly incarcerated and system impacted individuals transition into the culture of UC Berkeley by providing community, peer counseling, scholarship information, financial aid advising, individual tutoring, and other personal and academic resources. Together we advocate for equal opportunities on behalf of previously or currently incarcerated individuals, especially those who are already attending, or may soon attend, UC Berkeley. We work directly on advocacy work for local, state, and national policies that benefit currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and move society closer to abolition and the end of mass incarceration. Why Join USI? We will connect you with a community of individuals that have been through similar experiences amidst the sometimes isolating landscape of University. We have countless networking opportunities, resources only offered to USI members and programs specially crafted with formerly incarcerated and system impacted individuals in mind. We offer funding grants, assistance with getting started on research opportunities and connections with other university programs. In short, we are doing all that we can to foster a tight knit community and support formerly incarcerated and system impacted individuals navigate CAL in every way that we can.