Independent Cultural Immersion Project (ICIP)

Because studying and living in a place other than one’s home country involves so much more than travel, Holy Cross Study Abroad students truly become members of their host communities.  To further this end, students abroad develop an Independent Cultural Immersion Project (ICIP), which is an integral component of the Holy Cross Study Abroad experience.*  The ICIP is designed to immerse you in an aspect of the local community that matters deeply to you.

You are encouraged to be creative in formulating your own projects. These may be internships, community-based learning projects, or extracurricular activities, perhaps associated with a club or “society” or a sports team.  The ideal project is one that you care about and enjoy. The ICIP is not intended as an additional academic class; it is, rather, an essential way of integrating you into your host country by getting you involved from the get-go in something you care about.
 
In addition to personal satisfaction, participation in the ICIP can serve as the basis of an application for a number of prestigious fellowships awarded to students upon graduation, such as the Watson and Fulbright. Previous Study Abroad students have also adapted and enhanced ICIPs into senior year honors theses.  What’s more, the ICIP is graded and recorded on your transcript, giving graduate schools and future employers a deeper understanding of your Study Abroad experience. 

There are three basic categories of ICIPs:

* Study Abroad Internship
Through SAIs, students can work as apprentices in banks, shops, law firms, accounting firms, print and broadcast media — any area which provides a productive and enriching experience. Consult with the Study Abroad office when applying to a particular program, as Internships often require considerable advance planning.

Prior Examples:

• Banking assistant, London
• Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg
• Newspaper, York, England
• School newspaper, Mansfield College/Oxford
• Film production company, Florence
• Tour guide, medieval church, Florence
• Worked in a local restaurant as a sous-chef , Strasbourg

* Community-Based-Learning Project
Through CBLPs, students engage on a regular basis at a school or church or secular agency devoted to community service and/or social justice

Prior Examples:

• Tutor in local primary school
• Teaching Italian to local immigrants
• Establishment of a homeless shelter for battered women in York
• Set up recycling program in Leicester
• Tutoring children in English in Puebla, Mexico
• Distributing food and clothing to the homeless, Strasbourg

* Follow Your Passion
Students can develop an existing hobby or discover a new pursuit that is of real interest. You might connect with an activity on your host university’s campus that you could not have previously imagined or you might pursue an existing hobby such as ballroom dancing or cycling.

Prior Examples:

• Biology/premed student joined a theatre group and became deeply involved in acting and stage design.
• Coached emerging women’s basketball team at St Andrew’s University
• Studied traditional music (Spanish guitar, Irish accordion)
• Joined cycling team at York
• Worked with local artists
• Church Chorus
• Radio stations
• Restoration projects
• Local outdoor markets

* Students attending the Holy Cross programs in England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Melbourne, Mexico, Peru, Scotland and Spain must do an ICIP. Students at other programs are not required to do an ICIP.