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
Design with Purpose: Student-Led Landscape Architecture for Community and Place August 29, 2025 - This summer, landscape architecture students Julia Dever and Jose Andre Orozco Ortiz partnered with The Flower District—a nonprofit in Olneyville, Providence that rescues and redistributes over 100,000 flowers a year—to design a multifunctional green space that blends beauty, sustainability, and community.
New Faculty Spotlight: Caitlin Murdoch August 28, 2025 - Caitlin Murdoch joins the College of the Environment and Life Sciences this fall as an assistant professor of cell and molecular biology. - Enrollment now open for Salt Pond Smart: a new program to protect Rhode Island’s coastal waters August 26, 2025 - Salt Pond Smart, a new community engagement initiative offered through the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, is designed for homeowners along Rhode Island’s southern coast.
New Faculty Spotlight: Michael Chirillo August 24, 2025 - Michael Chirillo joins the College of the Environment and Life Sciences this fall as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
