Catalina Residential College

Expand Your Horizons on Catalina Island

The Wrigley Institute Catalina Residential College, based at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, is your campus-away-from-campus for learning about the environment and sustainability. We offer residential courses on a variety of topics, with a focus on interdisciplinary and hands-on learning for future environmental leaders. Sound like you? Explore our offerings to get started!

A group of smiling Environmental Studies students walks onto the beach on Catalina Island
The Wrigley Marine Science Center is located in a marine protected area of Big Fisherman Cove.

NEW Weekend Workshops

Gain real-world professional skills through activity-packed weekend sessions at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. Open to all USC undergraduates, these 2- and 3-day courses teach skills for environmental and sustainability careers in a variety of fields.

2024 dates: March 1-3 (Catalina Island naturalist training), April 6-7 (methods in oceanography)
Cost: $35-65 per course; financial support is available

Student in Kayak

Climate Careers Spring Break

Get an inside look at “green” jobs in Los Angeles, capped off by a relaxing overnight at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island.

2024 Dates: March 12–March 15
Cost: $100 (financial support is available)

a smiling student holds a nudibranch in an outstretched hand while standing in a muddy intertidal zone a smiling student and research assistant, both wearing bright orange vests, stand on either side of a dark gray cylindrical sampling tool on the deck of a research boat

Maymester

Our Maymester program is an immersive, four-week living/learning experience that couples specialized coursework with interdisciplinary learning. Students register for and attend core classes on the island but also collaborate across disciplines on projects and explore Catalina as a group.

2024 dates: May 13-June 7
Cost: Included in spring tuition, but with additional costs for room and board (financial aid is available)

a student holds a sampling bottle while standing in clear, knee-high water with a pier and brown hills in the background a line of students walks along a dirt hiking trail toward a hill with prickly pear cactus on their left

Julymester

Like Maymester, our Julymester is an immersive, four-week program that encourages connections within and across disciplines. Students take a core class while also participating in cohort-wide learning opportunities.

2024 dates: July 15–August 9
Cost: Included in fall tuition, but with additional costs for room and board (financial aid is available)