Immerse Yourself in Sustainability

The Wrigley Institute Julymester is a unique chance to help the planet while connecting with like-minded peers around the theme of sustainability!

Earn four units of credit in just four weeks as you explore sustainability topics in the sciences or humanities. All courses and activities take place in our unique, interdisciplinary learning environment at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island.

Applications for Julymester 2026 are now open.

Priority application deadline: Sunday, April 12 at 11:59 p.m. P.T.

The application may remain open on a rolling basis if space is still available. Students are strongly encouraged to apply by April 12 to secure a spot in their first-choice class.

Next Julymester Information Session: Wednesday, April 8 from 5-6 p.m. on Zoom.

Apply for Julymester 2026
Register for an information session

How it Works

All Wrigley Institute Julymester students complete a month-long living-learning experience on Catalina Island. In addition to participating in their core classes, students engage in interdisciplinary activities designed for the whole group. These include problem-solving sessions, field research, recreation, and special events designed to train students in environmental leadership.

All undergraduate majors at USC are welcome!

For more information about Julymester generally, read our FAQ, attend a virtual info session, or contact Hannah Maryanski Kiszla (maryansk@usc.edu). For information about specific Julymester courses, see the course list at the bottom of this page.

 

Julymester Courses

See the course descriptions below for more information about learning opportunities. Each course carries four units of credit for one month of study. Students may enroll in only one course.

Program Dates:

Monday, July 13, 2026 – Friday, August 7, 2026

Key Application Dates:

Cost:

$2,398 room and board fee. Some financial support is available. 

Apply for Julymester Financial Aid >>

Julymester courses are 4 units and are part of the fall semester course load and tuition.

Tuition is charged for this program at the unit rate for the semester until the 18-unit limit is reached. If you enroll in more than 18 units between Julymester and the fall semester, you will be charged overload tuition.

Most financial aid is transferable to Julymester tuition. However, we strongly encourage you to contact the USC Financial Aid Office to confirm the details of your aid package. 

Note: Students enrolled in Julymester’s ENGL 105x Wayfinding: A Catalina Field Guide to Creative Writing (Creative Writing for Non-Majors) are not eligible for SOAR funds. 

Apply for Julymester 2026

  • Instructor: Dr. Marci Vogel (marcivog@usc.edu)

    This course is designed to immerse students of all majors in the field of creative writing with particular focus on nature and the environment. For four weeks, we will live and write amid this singular and beautiful Pacific Coast ecosystem, taking our cue from traditional wayfinding practices of perception, observation, inquiry, and memory to chart new paths for imaginative expression. 

    Classwork includes but is not limited to: stargazing, tide pooling, daydreaming, guest lectures from professional scientists, film screenings, collaborative poetry, workshops, and generative writing exercises. We spend about half of our time “in the field,” gathering observations and notes for our creative work, and the other half considering literary craft, process, and product. Readings are designed to guide and support an engaged writing practice, orienting us to questions about the power and perils of language and providing possibilities for blazing reparative trails. 

    As writer and scholar Robert Macfarlane has said, “Humans don’t possess inbuilt bio-compasses, but we do have something arguably more powerful: storytelling.” Wherever you’re starting from in this summer of your life, a Julymester sojourn at the crossroads of Catalina and creative imagination are bound to point to a renewed sense of yourself and your place in the world.

  • Instructors: Dr. Scott Applebaum (sappleba@usc.edu) and Dr. Andres Sanchez (sanchez.a@usc.edu)

    Both water and soil are integral to human livelihood, and both are currently under threat. This class presents an overview of the issues related to water and soil sustainability, including soil development and management, the hydrologic cycle, the cycling of nutrients through both soil and water, soil and water pollution, and food security related to soil and water issues. 

    This is open to all majors and is a required course for most Environmental Studies & Science majors and minors (it is also offered as a standard fall/spring course on the university park campus).

  • Instructor: Dr. Joan Flores-Villalobos (jfloresv@usc.edu)

    This course offers an introduction to map-making, critical cartography, and the politics and history of maps through hands-on workshops and assignments. Students will spend time exploring the island and learning digital mapping tools to ultimately create their own collaborative atlas of Catalina Island. Throughout, they will consider how maps have functioned to create boundaries, consolidate power, and surveil populations, but also to contest dispossession, account for violence, and imagine alternative landscapes.

    This is open to all majors and experience levels.

Apply for Julymester 2026