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
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)