Abby Ballou

Visiting Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice Director, Prison Education Program

Dr. Abby Ballou is director of the Boston University Metropolitan College Prison Education Program and a visiting assistant professor in MET’s Department of Applied Social Sciences. She holds a PhD in criminology and criminal justice from Northeastern University, an MPhil in English literature from the City University of New York Graduate Center, and a BA in English literature from New York University.

Dr. Ballou’s research centers on carceral education, reentry, and labor market outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals. Her recent work examines the impact of college credentials earned behind bars on employment opportunities. She was recently awarded grants from the National Institute of Justice and Arnold Ventures to explore the relationship between criminal records, education, and access to middle-skill jobs. Her work has been published in journals such as Criminology and Justice Quarterly.

Research Interests

Courses

Scholarly Works

Publications

Ballou, A. “Degrees of difference: Do college credentials earned behind bars improve labor market outcomes?” Criminology 62, no. 1 (2024): 129–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12364

Denver, M., Ballou, A., and DeWitt, S. E. “What’s in a Label? Public Use and Perceptions of Labeling Alternatives in Criminology.” Justice Quarterly (2024): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2024.2332373

Denver, M., and Ballou, A. “Collateral Consequences & Public Safety.” Arnold Ventures Public Safety Series (2022). https://craftmediabucket.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/AVCJReports_CollateralConsequencesPublic-Safety_DenverBallou_v3-1.pdf

Conferences

“Criminal Records, College Credentials, and Middle-Skill Jobs; an Audit Study in One Labor Market.” American Society of Criminology, San Francisco, Calif., November 15, 2024.

“The Impact of Carceral Education Credentials on Employer Impression Formation.” American Society of Criminology, Philadelphia, Pa., November 15, 2023.

“Step-Down Programs and Practices.” Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, National Harbor, Md., March 15, 2023.

“Criminal Histories, Postsecondary Credentials, and Perceptions of Employability.” American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, Ga., November 19, 2022.

“All Reentry is Local: Evaluating a Strategy to Reenter State Prisoners through Local Correctional Systems.” American Society of Criminology, Chicago, Ill., November 18, 2021.

“Higher Education in Carceral Settings: Moving Beyond Barriers.” American Society of Criminology, Chicago, Ill., November 20, 2021.

Funding

2025: Arnold Ventures: “More than a ‘McJob’: Criminal records, education, and access to middle-skill jobs” ($45,416).

2024: National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship for “More than a ‘McJob’: Criminal records, education, and access to middle-skill jobs” ($25,322). Award # 15PNIJ-24-GG-01577-RESS

2023: Institute for Humane Studies, Publication Accelerator Grant ($5,000).

2022–2023: Northeastern University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Dissertation Support Fund ($2,800).

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