Find your place in the living world

Accessibility controls
Pause motion
Motion: On
Play motion
Motion: Off
Increase text contrast
Contrast: Standard
Reset text contrast
Contrast: High
Apply site-wide

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.

Biological Sciences student Anup Mohanty working at his internship at Genzyme – then the world leader in biopharmaceuticals for ultra-rare diseases

Undergraduate programs

Undergraduate students may choose from a wide range of degree options to prepare for graduate study or professional careers.

Find your program
Andrew McNulty, graduate student in the MESM Wetlands, Watershed and Ecosystem Science concentration uses a soil sampling tool to describe what lies under the floodplain along the Pawcatuck River. Photo taken by MESM alumnus, Isaac White

Graduate programs

Our interdisciplinary graduate programs at the certificate, master, and doctoral levels will help you develop as an environmental leader.

Take the lead
Assistant Professor Jannelle Couret and graduate student Samantha Schofield studying Borrelia burgdorferi – the pathogen that causes Lyme disease in humans in her lab

Research

Learn more about how researchers at URI are working collaboratively across disciplines and within communities to make a meaningful impact.

Make your mark

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 more

News and Stories

  • Teaching Excellence Spotlight: Chris Floyd February 27, 2026 - Natural resources science teaching professor Chris Floyd is among the adventurous, devoted, and innovative faculty here at URI who provide immersive experiences to their students both inside and outside the classroom.
  • Next-gen environmental leaders February 24, 2026 - URI Cooperative Extension in partnership with Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is pleased to announce the launch of the 2026 Environmental Management Fellows Program and to congratulate eleven exceptional students selected for the inaugural cohort
  • URI alum Samuel Filiaggi awarded 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship February 20, 2026 - A 2025 graduate of the University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University School of Law joint-degree program and a member of URI’s undergraduate class of 2019, Samual Filiaggi is bringing an interdisciplinary approach to the national stage as a recipient of a 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship.
  • URI Ph.D. candidate selected for prestigious NOAA fellowship February 11, 2026 - Research focused on ethical and sustainable seafood markets earns Aida Pauls a spot in the competitive NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship
more News and Events

Spotlight

What does it mean to be a land-grant university?

As a public land-grant university, the University of Rhode Island's commitment to education, research, and outreach focuses on practical service to the state. In the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, we bring the land-grant mission to life by ensuring community needs inform research goals, collaborating with state and local agencies, and translating evidence-based research into practice through resources and programming with the public.

Read the story

Events