The objective of this text is to analyse the privilege of special imprisonment afforded to those accused of crimes who possess certificates of higher education. It deals with the relation between this privilege and the university certificate established by law. For the purpose of analysis, the text seeks support in the existing legislation and in legal commentators. Based on theories of reproduction of a 'culturalist' propensity or, more exactly, on the theory of symbolic violence, it then seeks elements capable of explaining more clearly and making the significance and purpose of special imprisonment more intelligible. The article questions whether the logic of special imprisonment is not part of the unequal and hierarchical character of Brazilian society. The maintenance of hierarchies safeguards the differences between classes of individuals and the necessary distance between them on the basis of "everyone in his/her proper place". In this case, special imprisonment is an example of a segregating function for which the school system and, in particular, certificates of higher education, retain the power of persuading each person to remain in his/her proper place, in the place for which he/she is fit "by nature".