Build Your Skills on Beautiful Catalina Island

Want to learn new skills or gain more confidence for internships and job opportunities? Looking for more real-world experience in the field, lab, or workplace? We have a workshop for you! 

Through our Weekend Workshop series for undergraduate students, you can experience our Catalina Island campus while developing valuable skills that will make you a stronger candidate for internships and jobs. Each fast-paced, 2- or 3-day course covers a specific theme focused on lab, field, or workplace activities in the environment and sustainability.

Complete our interest form to be notified when Spring 2025 workshops open for registration!

Complete the interest form

How it Works

Our new Tool-Kit weekend workshops are designed to provide first or early field, lab and professional development opportunities to USC undergraduate students. All courses in the Weekend Workshop series include a 2- or 3-day stay at the Wrigley Marine Science Center (WMSC), the Wrigley Institute’s satellite campus on Catalina Island. Students complete a fast-paced, activity-packed schedule that includes hands-on experiences in the field and/or lab.

If you have questions about the Weekend Workshop Toolkit series, please contact Wrigley Institute Education Coordinator Meghan MacGregor.

a student wearing a yellow t-shirt, black shorts, a black baseball cap, and sunglasses stands knee-deep in clear ocean water while holding a scientific sampling bottle

Weekend Workshops

Fill out the interest form below to stay up-to-date about when Spring 2025 Weekend Workshops are open for registration. See the description below for information on the types of learning opportunities available through this program.

 

Complete the interest form

  • Eligibility:

    • Weekend Workshops are open to undergraduate students in their first or second year at USC, including recent transfer students

    Required Commitments:

    • Attend a virtual pre-trip departure meeting the week before trip departure
    • Complete ~2 hours of pre-trip prep work
    • Attend events with the intent to engage, learn, and collaborate
    • Adhere to trip guidelines, USC policies, and community agreements while participating in the trip
    • Complete and turn in all required forms and waivers
    • Pay a non-refundable participant fee for the 3-day trip. This fee covers housing and activities on Catalina Island, transportation, and meals, and will be due 2 weeks prior to the trip departure date. Please indicate on the application if you would like to be considered for financial aid. You will be notified of your award during the application decision.

    * Eligibility and requirements are subject to change

  • Learn about the natural history of Catalina Island from local ecologists in the field. This workshop provides practice in skills such as species identification, and scientific interpretation, and in concepts such as conservation management and human-environment interactions. It is designed for students who are interested in fields such as conservation, environmental education, and museum work.

  • Learn oceanographic techniques in the field and lab. This workshop provides training in skills such as water sampling, data collection, and laboratory work. It is designed for students interested in careers in scientific research and marine science.