<p>A revamped Catalina Semester will run Spring 2014 for the first time. The focus is marine/coastal/island sustainability. Students will live on Catalina for the entire semester. It will be possible to return to the mainland for several three or four day weekends. The program is intended for freshmen and sophomores but a few juniors will be considered. There will be some transition help for students with USC housing and meal plans.</p>
<p>The first course will take students through full American Academy of Underwater Sciences Scientific Diver training, including small boat handling, rescue, and experiment design. Other courses in the block format, marine and coastal policy, conservation genetics, and sustainable fisheries management, will make use of science diving as necessary. Students who complete this Catalina Semester to the approval of the instructors will be highly competitive for admission to the Guam and Palau summer course that uses science diving to study marine and coastal ecosystems in Micronesia.</p>
<p>Students with competitive applications will have completed either ENST 100 or one year of biology at USC, and will demonstrate high academic potential and aptitude for work in the ocean and at field stations. Recruitment and admission will occur very early in the fall.</p>