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
More than Dirt October 27, 2025 - URI’s Soil Judging Team took second place in both team and group categories at the recent Northeast Regional Soil Judging Competition. As students dig into the technical details of soil, they’re also developing a deeper understanding of soil’s central role in the environment.
Wolves at the coast: marine diets, ecosystem impacts October 23, 2025 - On Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island, gray wolves are exhibiting surprising behavior: hunting sea otters. URI Ph.D. candidate Patrick Bailey is investigating this shift to understand how wolves adapt to changing environments and how it affects coastal ecosystems.
A Rhode Island fisheries model for Asia-Pacific nations October 22, 2025 - At a recent forum in Indonesia, URI and Rhode Island DEM helped representatives from Southeast Asian nations shape fisheries policy, data-management, and regional cooperation by sharing expertise in managing migratory fish.
URI part of finalist team selected by National Science Foundation in Regional Innovation Engines competition October 20, 2025 - Aquaculture/Fisheries Professor Marta Gomez-Chiarri is leading efforts at the University of Rhode Island to help position New England as a national leader in the seafood industry, hoping to secure final funding through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program.
