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Our Student Community

Mount Tamalpais College students bring with them a wide array of life experiences and are eager to learn and enthusiastic about the opportunity to enroll in college. Our students range in age from 20 to 81 and include men and transgender women. The majority of our students are people of color. Many students are the first in their family to earn a degree, while some are working on finishing up a degree or starting a second. Some are reentering the classroom after decades away from school, while others have recently completed high school or a GED.

350

STUDENTS

Each year, approximately 350 students participate in Mount Tamalpais College courses at San Quentin.

4,300

STUDENTS

Since 1996, over four thousand students have taken at least one course with us at San Quentin.

49

YEARS OLD

Average age of an MTC student in 2024-25. The youngest student was 20, the oldest was 81.

EVENTS & EXTRACURRICULARS

2025 Resource Fair Photo #1

Resource Fair

MTC’s annual Resource Fair brings education, employment, legal support, and reentry organizations into San Quentin to connect students with programs that support transition planning and life after incarceration.

Ethics Bowl

Ethics Bowl is an MTC course where students practice moral reasoning, engage with competing perspectives, and model constructive civic dialogue through intercollegiate matches with local universities such Stanford, San Jose State, and UC Santa Cruz.

Guest Lecture Photo - Marc Greenberg

Guest Lecture Series

MTC’s Guest Lecture Series brings academics, industry leaders, and subject-matter experts into San Quentin to share research and real-world insights with students across disciplines, from science and law to art, literature, technology, and business.

Open Mic

Open Mic is an annual MTC event held at San Quentin before the winter holidays, bringing residents and the MTC community together for joy, connection, and creative expression through music, poetry, dance, and more.

STUDENT RESOURCES

Students can request unofficial or official transcripts through Mount Tamalpais College staff. To request a transcript on behalf of a student, please contact academics@mttamcollege.edu.

STUDENT HANDBOOK

COMPLAINT POLICY

Alumni Resources

If you are an alumnus of Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project), our Alumni page offers resources to support academic and professional development post-release.

Open Line

Open Line is an online journal documenting the intellectual and creative work of Mount Tamalpais College students and alumni. The site includes creative and academic writing as well as articles published in news outlets nationally.