Immersion Details and FAQs
Immersion Details and FAQs
Program Details for Students
If you're interested in participating in an immersion, first read the Moreau Center Core Commitments to understand what our programs are all about. The below description will give you a sense of what the immersion process looks like from first being selected to participate through returning from your immersion experience.
Ready to Apply? Visit the Immersions page to learn about our current opportunities and submit an application.
After applying and being selected for an immersion trip, you will participate in the pre-immersion preparation process. Immersion participants will join two preparation seminars in the fall semester (Fridays 5-7 p.m.). Spring break and summer immersions will have two spring semester prep seminars, as well (Fridays 5-7 p.m.). Additional meetings and group bonding activities will be planned by student leaders. These are intended for team building, sharing of important logistic information, and reflection on themes that will be deepened through the immersion itself.
Immersion participants commit to attending all pre-immersion seminars and meetings.
We understand that conflicts may arise; participants should communicate any conflicts with their student leader as soon as possible and determine how they will make up any missed seminars or meetings. Students going on spring or summer immersions will also be expected to participate in fundraising activities.
On your immersion, you will be accompanied by two student Immersion Coordinators and two University of Portland staff/faculty accompaniers, usually including one Moreau Center for Service and Justice staff. The student coordinators and Moreau Center Program Manager for Immersions will take care of the logistics for the immersion in collaboration with community partners. During the immersion, we are guests and visitors of our community partners; openness and flexibility are essential. While immersions vary in terms of activities, each will include opportunities to engage with the local community and learn about the critical issues impacting its members. We endeavor to learn the historical context of the social justice focus of the immersion as well as the strengths and solutions proposed by the community. While some immersions include opportunites for direct service, the emphasis is on listening, learning, and reflecting with each other and the communities and organizations we are meeting with.
Immersions are planned with simplicity in mind, and students should expect to be flexible and adaptable to new experiences. Housing will usually be shared spaces amongst the group in locations like cabins, school gyms and churches. On most immersions, meals will be prepared by the participants and served buffet style. Meals are usually vegetarian. Most dietary needs can be accommodated. Immersions generally include time spent walking and standing as we explore neighborhoods and sometimes farms, gardens, or other off sidewalk locations. We are eager to work with students and provide information so they can feel confident to participate in the immersion experience.
Please reach out to us with questions and accommodation needs. If you have disability related access needs, please reach out to Accessible Education Services at aes@up.edu. For immersion-specific questions, please reach out to the Moreau Center for Service and Justice at immersions@up.edu.
While the actual immersion trip has a start and end date, the full experience is a journey that is never truly over. More than an end goal, we believe that the immersion itself is a starting point for ongoing reflection and critical engagement of the realities of our local and global community. For this reason, participants commit to meeting at least once upon return from the trip to continue processing, sharing stories, and determining next steps toward connecting the immersion experience to life at the University of Portland and beyond. Your Immersion Coordinators, Immersion accompaniers, and other Moreau Center staff members are here as a resource to assist as you draw meaning from the immersion experience and explore ways to integrate it into your personal and academic life.
Immersion FAQs
Students: Any and every UP student is encouraged to apply to participate in a Social Justice Immersion! A diversity of experience among immersion participants is what makes them great. No matter your year in school, your major, or your experience with the social justice issue at hand, you are enthusiastically invited to apply. After filling out an application, you will participate in an interview, and then be contacted about placement. You can apply here.
Faculty and Staff: Each immersion welcomes 1-2 UP faculty or staff members to join. For more information, please go here.
Alumni: Are you a UP alum who was involved with the Moreau Center for Service and Justice as a student? We would love to welcome you to join part of an immersion! For more information, please email savoia@up.edu.
Absolutely not! While the values of the Moreau Center for Service and Justice are informed by Catholic Social Teaching and UP's Holy Cross charisms, students of all faith backgrounds are enthusiastically accepted and welcomed into our programming. All students will be asked to enter into deep reflection on immersion, but what that means for students in terms of their own religious practice or spirituality can be quite personal. Students are encouraged to both share out loud and silently ponder these personal reflections as they are comfortable. Students who wish to participate in religious services of any type during an immersion experience will be accommodated.
Applications for our immersions are posted on our website at the start of the academic year. The applications for Fall Break immersions are usually due at the end of September. Applications for Winter Break, Spring Break and Summer immersions are usually due in October.
Immersions have a selection process, including an individual or group interview, conducted by the student coordinators. Participants are selected to achieve a balanced, diverse range of ages, interests, personalities, and experiences. Your background will not necessarily make you "more qualified" for an immersion, though we do seek participants who work and travel well with others and who will embrace the values of our programs (solidarity, social justice, community, reflection).
Our immersions are community-oriented from our first gathering through our return to campus and beyond. No special preference will be given to arrange for friends to participate in immersions together, as we've found that participants can experience immersions more fully and bond with the group more deeply when they are open to building new relationships.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with knowing other people on your immersion beforehand, but one of the most rewarding aspects is coming home with a whole new group of friends! If you are selected to participate on the same immersion as a close friend, you will be encouraged to spend most of your time branching out to others in the group.
Each immersion has its own requirements.
The fall break immersions have one 2.5 hour seminar and may have one additional meeting before the immersion.
The Urban Immersion will participate in at least two 2-hour group seminars (Fridays 4-6), as well as possible additional educational seminars and group bonding opportunities that relate specifically to the Urban Immersion.
The spring break and summer immersions will all have four 2-hour group seminars (Fridays 4-6). Each immersion will have approximately 1-5 additional group meetings, bonding activities and/or service opportunities as an additional part of their preparation. These immersions will also have some fundraising requirements such as assisting with an auction or conducting a used bike sale.
Each immersion will also be strongly encouraged to have at least one post-immersion activity. This could be a service outing, educational presentation, reunion meal or other ideas the group can come up with.
The Moreau Center works hard to create access to each of its programs for all University of Portland students. We are committed to ensuring that finances are not a barrier for participation in Social Justice Immersions.
Suggested Participant Contributions for Immersions
The suggested participant contribution to participate in each immersion varies each year. This list reflects the suggested contributions for immersions that will take place during the 2025-26 school year.
Suggested contributions are just that - suggestions for financial contributions for the Social Justice Immersion you are participating in. While we expect everyone to contribute at least a small amount ($10), we encourage you to contribute more if you have the financial means to do so. We use a tier system, and have a helpful guide linked below to help you determine which tier you might best fit into within the ranges listed.
- Rural Immersion: $10 - $300
- Housing Justice Immersion: $10 - $100
- Indigenous Justice Immersion: $10 - $300
- Border Immersion: $10 - $900
- Civil Rights Immersion: $10 - $900
This varies across immersions, but simplicity is emphasized across all trips. In order to keep costs down, build community amongst participants, and engage authentically with communities that may be new to us, groups stay together in simple accommodations. There are times when groups sleep on the floors of churches, participate in rural home stays, or go several days without showering. Participants often share the responsibility of cooking meals together and cleaning up after themselves. Our student coordinators and Program Manager for Immersions work hard to make sure that all participants feel safe during immersions.
If you have any concerns regarding accommodations, please reach out to Erin Savoia, Program Manager for Immersions, at savoia@up.edu.
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