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Division of Academic and Student Affairs
Multicultural Student Affairs

Cultural Immersion Trip

Join Multicultural Student Affairs for a high-impact experience centered on building your cultural awareness while seeing and interacting with different communities across the U.S.

What is the Cultural Immersion Trip?

The Cultural Immersion Trip (CIT) program is an immersive experience where students receive the opportunity to visit different states and cities to engage in reflective conversations and discussions about cultural and historical sites while building community with other students. This trip is free of charge to students. At the end of the experience, students should have a better understanding of the different cultures that surround them and have an increased level of understanding as it relates to their cultural awareness.MSA offers the Cultural Immersion Trip experience trip in the Fall and Spring semesters. Previous experiences have included visits to Washington, DC in Spring 2025 and Nashville, TN in Fall 2025.

Fall 2026 Cultural Immersion Trips Timelines

  • Applications Open: July 31, 2026
    • To apply for any of these cultural immersion trip experiences, please click HERE.
    • To apply for a trip, attending an informational session is highly recommended. To sign up for an informational, please click HERE.
      • Informational sessions are held on the following times and days below. All times are in EST:
        • Tuesday 18th August, 2026 (11:00am – 11:30am)
        • Friday 21st August, 2026 (12:00pm – 12:30pm)
        • Monday 24th August, 2026 (4:30pm – 5:00pm)
        • Wednesday 26th August, 2026 (3:00pm – 3:30pm)
  • Applications Close: September 1, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
  • Participant Selection Notification: September 9, 2026
  • Deadline to Accept ANY TRIP: September 14, 2026 at 11:59pm EST

Fall 2026 Cultural Immersion Trip Experiences

Cultural Immersion Day Trips.
The Fall 2026 Cultural Immersion Trips will feature monthly day trips to various places within either North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia.

Fall Break Cultural Immersion Trip
The 2026 Fall Break Cultural Immersion Trip will be taking place in Baltimore, Maryland.

Fall 2026 Day Cultural Immersion Trips

  • Wilmington, North Carolina (September 26, 2026)
    • Wilmington, NC offers many publicly available sites for reflecting on history and culture.Current sites highlight this history and its development into the 21st century as they explore themes of culture, environment, and reflection. Pre-Trip Meeting: September 23rd, 2026 via Zoom from 4:30pm – 5:00pm.
    • Potential Places of Interest:
      • Bellamy Mansion Museum
      • Cape Fear Museum: Grace Street Campus 
      • Burgwin-Wright House & Gardens
      • Cameron Art Museum
      • Battleship North Carolina
  • Columbia, South Carolina (October 24, 2026)
    • The capital city of South Carolina, Columbia offers much space for reflection on cultural importance and the impact of cultural landscapes and environments. Columbia offers opportunities to view physical geography, historical monuments, and understand how civic duty actively shapes the city’s operations. Pre-Trip Meeting: October 13, 2026 via Zoom from 4:30pm – 5:00pm.
    • Potential Places of Interest:
      • Columbia Museum of Art
      • Mann-Simons Site
      • South Carolina State Museum
      • Historic Columbia Tour
      • Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
      • South Carolina State House & Gardens
  • Petersburg, Virginia (November 21, 2026)
    • Petersburg, VA offers an immersive experience for students to walk through history in the residential districts and revolutionary battlefields. The city’s geographic layout tells a story of agency and transitions, mapping military contributions. Pre-Trip Meeting: November 16, 2026 in via Zoom from 4:30pm – 5:00pm.
    • Potential Places of Interest:
      • Pamplin Historical Park
      • Historic Farmers Bank Museum
      • Historic Old Towne Petersburg Walking Tour
      • Petersburg National Battlefield

Fall Break 2026 Cultural Immersion Trip

  • Baltimore, Maryland (October 16 – October 20, 2026)
    • During fall break, students will have the opportunity to travel to Baltimore for five days, discovering the rich legacy and unique cultural charm of this fantastic port city. Pre-Trip Meeting: October 12, 2026 in MSA Suite (Talley 4261) from 5:30pm – 6:00pm.
    • Potential Places of Interest:
      • Maryland Science Center
      • The Baltimore Museum of Industry
      • Reginald F. Lewis Museum
      • The Walters Art Museum
      • Maryland Center for History & Culture
      • Historic Ships in Baltimore
      • John Hopkins University (Tour) 
      • American Visionary Art Museum

Spring Break 2026 Experience

Richmond, VA

For the Spring 2026 Cultural Immersion Trip, the Multicultural Student Affairs and Military and Veteran Services teams took students to Richmond, VA for an immersive experience that focused on military influence and how it plays a role in developing cultural awareness. Additionally, students got the opportunity to visit historical museums and cultural landmarks that have importance to Richmond and the state of Virginia. Some museums included: Virginia War Memorial & War Museum, White House of Confederacy, The Valentine Museum, Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia, and Virginia Museum of History & Art.

Fall Break 2025 Experience

Nashville, TN

For the 2025 Fall Break, Multicultural Student Affairs team took students to Nashville, TN as part of our Cultural Immersion Trip. The trip to Nashville, TN offered students the opportunity to visit Vanderbilt University where they learned about how various offices operate. Additionally, students got to visit the National Museum of African Music, Tennessee State Museum, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, Cheekwood Estates & Gardens, and the Lane Motor Museum.

Spring Break 2025 Experience

Washington, DC

The Multicultural Student Affairs team took a group of students to Washington, DC during Spring Break 2025 as part of the Cultural Immersion Trip. The cultural immersion trip to Washington, DC offered students the opportunity to visit the MLK Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, National Museum of African American History, National Museum of American History, as well as the National Museum of American Indian.

Additionally, students engaged in personal reflection sessions at the end of each day which captured that specific days events.