Precept & independent study project
All students in the Chicago Programs pursue Independent Study Projects (ISP) related to their academic and professional goals that draw on the city’s resources to create something original: e.g., a work of art, a research paper, a service project, or a business prospectus.
The Urban Studies ISP grows out of the program's unique conception of placing students in clustered living situations, referred to as "Precepts", in various neighborhoods of the city. The Precept provides a vital center for students to interact with each other and to actively engage in the life of a Chicago neighborhood, living and learning as citizens. As members of a Precept, students live as residents of one of Chicago's many diverse and unique communities, learning about the assets of the community and the needs and issues experienced by its citizens. Guided by the faculty preceptor, students meet with residents and organizational representatives during the first part of the semester to learn about their neighborhood as a mircocosm of the city, while gaining valuable life skills in negotiating space and accessing city resources. During the second half of the semester, students construct their own ISP, providing an opportunity for them to research a specific area of interest and to learn how their efforts impact the local and larger communities in which they live.