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
Shaping the Future of CELS: Jean VanderGheynst’s Commitment to Students, Interdisciplinary Research, and Community Impact November 25, 2025 - Dean Jean VanderGheynst brings a deep commitment to collaboration, mission-oriented research, and student success to her new role leading URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Building on the college’s strong foundation of experiential learning and environmental stewardship, she aims to position CELS as a leader in both research innovation and community impact.
Colonial gardens around us: URI Master Gardeners nurture history and plant-based lessons November 24, 2025 - More than 800 Master Gardener volunteers serve as community-based educators across the state, including some at historical sites where they help give visitors a view of how early residents employed agricultural methods that are still applicable today. 
Student Spotlight: Emma Sicheri, Animal and Veterinary Science November 20, 2025 - From working at Peckham Farm to involvement with the AVS Club to mentoring first-year students, Emma Sicheri has found many ways to turn her interests into meaningful opportunities in CELS. She says that her experiences at URI have fueled her passion for veterinary medicine, her leadership skills, and her sense of community. 
Seal mothers care for deceased pups, exhibiting unique mammalian behavior in Antarctic predator species November 18, 2025 - A new paper by University of Rhode Island post-doctoral researchers Emily Sperou and Renato Borras-Chavez in the journal Polar Biology discusses a unique phenomenon observed in a reclusive Antarctic animal: postmortem attentive behavior, or PAB, in the solitary leopard seal.
