Catalina Residential College Maymester

Instructors: John Heidelberg (jheidelb@usc.edu) and Eric Webb (eawebb@usc.edu)

Explore the hidden world of marine microbes, the microscopic organisms that drive ocean ecosystems, influence climate, and sustain life on Earth. Based at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, this immersive field and laboratory course introduces students to the diversity, ecology, and environmental importance of aquatic microorganisms.

Students will collect water and environmental samples from Catalina’s coastal waters and use modern microbiological and molecular techniques to investigate microbial communities, nutrient cycling, and ocean health. Combining fieldwork, laboratory research, and data analysis, students will gain hands-on experience with the tools and methods used by marine microbiologists while exploring how microbes respond to natural and human-caused environmental change.

Whether you are interested in marine biology, microbiology, environmental science, biotechnology, or oceanography, BISC 431L provides a unique opportunity to study the invisible organisms that make the ocean function.

Prerequisites: BISC 103, BISC 120, OR BISC 121; counts as duplicate credit for BISC 419L

Satisfies the following degree requirements:

• B.S. in Marine Biology: counts as an approved upper-division elective; especially recommended for students interested in marine microbial ecology or biological oceanography
• Marine Biology minor: approved field-based elective
• B.S. Biological Sciences: counts as an upper-division biology elective, subject to advisor approval and degree plan
• Progressive M.S. in Marine & Environmental Biology: may reduce required graduate-level units
• Degrees in the Environmental Studies program: counts as an elective, subject to advisor approval

Instructors: Karla Heidelberg (kheidelb@usc.edu) and Noelle Held (nheld@usc.edu)

Discover marine science through hands-on research at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. This immersive field course introduces students to the ecology and oceanography of Southern California’s coastal ecosystems while developing the skills needed to conduct independent scientific research.

Students will use professional oceanographic instruments and biological sampling equipment to investigate marine habitats, analyze environmental data, and explore topics including ecosystem function, watershed and ocean connections, and human impacts on coastal environments. A highlight of the course is an oceanographic research cruise aboard a working research vessel, where students will gain firsthand experience conducting field research at sea.

Prerequisites: BISC 103, BISC 120, OR BISC 121

Satisfies the following degree requirements:

• B.S. in Marine Biology: counts toward field course or elective for Marine Biology focus area
• Marine Biology minor: approved field course
• B.S. in Biological Sciences: counts as an upper-division biology elective, subject to advisor approval and degree plan

Instructor: Wrigley Institute Dive Team

Get the training needed for underwater research and field work! This course provides extensive academic preparation in the physics, physiology, safety, and methodology of scientific diving, as well as training in sampling methods, research protocols, and diving skills at various sites around Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. 

Students who successfully complete the course will earn authorization as an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Scientific Diver, a required credential for graduate school or careers in marine science, ocean conservation, and related fields. Previous students have also gone on to careers as environmental journalists, filmmakers, dive guides, and more.

Prerequisites: Prior to the beginning of the course, students must (1) obtain basic open water scuba diving certification and (2) pass a dive physical.

Note: Informational “Discover Scientific Diving” trainings will be available at UPC October 23 and November 12 for students interested in this course. No prior scuba experience required.

Instructors: David Ginsburg (dginsbur@usc.edu) and Ryan Freedman (ryanfree@usc.edu)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to field skills and ecosystem management tools used to investigate complex environmental problems in nearshore coastal marine areas. Students will study a variety of environmental issues such as ecologically sustainable development, fisheries management, protected area planning and assessment and natural resource governance issues.

Specifically, students will be provided with active learning opportunities to work and learn in coastal environments (both above and below the water), and to gain a better understanding of the interdisciplinary complexities of implementing ecosystem management strategies in a real landscape. At the end of the course, students will present a summary of their findings to gain feedback on their results and outcomes.

Prerequisites: None required, but ENST 100 is recommended

Satisfies course requirements for the following degrees (check with your advisor for details):

• Environmental Studies major (B.A. and B.S.)
• Environmental Studies minor
• B.S. in Marine Biology
• Marine Biology minor

Instructor: Sean Fraga (sfraga@usc.edu)

What does history look like from a kayak? Based at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center, this immersive field seminar treats Pimu Catalina Island as a living archive of humanity’s long relationship with the coast.

We move between the water and the classroom. We paddle to Two Harbors, snorkel the Big Fisherman’s Cove Marine Protected Area, watch container ships transit San Pedro Channel, and spend a day in Avalon reading a tourist town as a historical document. Then we bring our observations into conversation with readings on ancient human migration, European exploration and imperialism, environmental colonialism, labor, leisure, and technology. Along the way, we’ll virtually dive a real shipwreck, play out California’s coastal future in a sea-level-rise simulation, and meet people shaping coastal conservation today.

We’ll also follow our curiosity by conducting original research, using historical maps to uncover and interpret stories about the island’s past, then sharing these insights at the Catalina Residential College Symposium. Whether you’re coming from environmental studies, history, anthropology, marine biology, English, or somewhere else entirely, ENST 484 offers a rare chance to study the coast by living with it.

Prerequisites: None

Satisfies the following degree requirements:

• B.S. in Environmental Studies: counts toward “Oceans and People” and “Sustainability and Society” concentrations
• B.A. in Environmental Studies: counts toward the “Policy and Management” concentration
• Environmental Studies minor: counts toward the 8-unit requirement for upper-division ENST courses 
• History majors/minors: counts as an elective course
• Anthropology majors/minors: may count as an elective (speak with your advisor for details)