At the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, you’ll deepen your understanding of the living world and your place within it.
The work that happens here is rooted in our land- and sea-grant mission, and connected to the needs of the local, regional, and global communities. Our faculty researchers work collaboratively across disciplines, drawing from a broad, inclusive field of human knowledge to make critical discoveries within their fields. URI’s core research facilities and specialized labs offer the latest technologies that will enable you to gather field data, synthesize vast amounts of information, and develop solutions to real world challenges. Whether you are interested in urban food systems; protecting marine wildlife; understanding what makes an organism adapt and an ecosystem thrive; or assisting policy makers in the shift towards renewable energy and sustainable natural resource management, you’ll find your place here.
URI Cooperative Extension
Education and engagement with Rhode Island communities is at the core of what we do. As a land-grant and sea-grant university, our mission is to ensure URI provides education and applied research that helps communities and improves the lives of Rhode Islanders.
learn moreNews and Stories
Fellowship Spotlight: Carli Romano on Shoreline Access in Rhode Island July 10, 2025 - As part of a CELS Summer Research Fellowship, marine affairs and political science double major Carli Romano is working with Professors Melva Treviño Peña and Jesse Reiblich on coastal access policy research in Rhode Island. 
“Doing to Learn”: Fellowship Connects Students with Food System Work July 8, 2025 - From farming to research, students in the Rhode Island Agriculture and Food Systems Fellows Program offered through URI’s Cooperative Extension are spending their summers immersed in the local food system.
Nick O’Connor on Marine Science Research Experiences July 2, 2025 - Nick O’Connor, a marine biology and aquaculture and fisheries science double major, is participating in the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program this summer at Rutgers University's Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory. He is conducting research using camera-mounted fish traps to study fish distributions around artificial reefs off the Jersey shore. 
The leopard seal in focus June 27, 2025 - While leopard seals might be easily recognized for their ominous portrayals as villains in movies, they largely remain a mystery to humans. Professor Sarah Kienle and postdoctoral researcher Emily Sperou are working to fix that by contributing to our scientific understanding of these marine apex predators.
