Welcome to the College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS).

Driven by the principles of our land-and-sea grant missions, CELS combines exceptional education, research, and outreach to improve the quality of life for local and global communities. With 9 departments, 110 faculty members, and 2,300 total students, we prioritize interdisciplinary collaboration across the broad areas of the environment and life sciences, including marine biology, biotechnology, sustainable food systems, environmental economics, management, policy, and design.

Every CELS student is given the opportunity to pursue enriching educational experiences, including internships at nearly 150 unique sites such as Save the Bay, Mystic Aquarium, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and more. From fellowships to self-designed projects, there are countless opportunities for students to work with experts in the classroom, laboratory, and field to integrate scientific discoveries with real-life applications–both on campus and beyond the university–and address the most pressing challenges of today. 

With faculty, staff, and students who come from around the world, we are a community dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone is empowered with the skills, knowledge, and passion to be lifelong learners. Join us!

Sincerely,

Dr. Becky Sartini, Interim Dean

Mission

We strive for excellence in teaching, research and service. We prepare our students with the skills, knowledge and insight to address the challenges of today’s world and support their development as lifelong learners. We foster collaboration among our undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty in experiential learning and provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge beyond the University. We address contemporary problems through innovative, relevant and scholarly research. we extend our research based knowledge through community engagement in the tradition of our Land Grant and Sea Grant heritage and are dedicated to outreach and service to our state, national, and global community.