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 College of LIFE SCIENCES AND AGRICULTURE

At the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, we seek to make a difference — from identifying the molecular pathway that leads to a new treatment for disease, to understanding the complex forces that impact our ecosystems and natural landscapes, to finding solutions for a global food system tasked with feeding billions.

Here, you will deepen your understanding of the world and learn to find sustainable responses to the planet’s biggest challenges. Leading edge research and hands-on experiences, combined with practical skill building in the lab and in the field, will create a firm foundation for your future.

When you graduate, you will join thousands of Wildcats who are forging their own paths to success, from here in New Hampshire to every corner of the world. 


Programs of Study

Departments

students with horse

Explore Undergraduate Scholarships


We offer many scholarships just for COLSA students that reward your achievements and help make college more affordable.

Undergraduate Scholarships

Owen Kanter '20 conducts moose research in New Hampshire.

Discover Research
Opportunities


Unique, hands-on research projects lead to challenges and achievements that extend far beyond the classroom.

Research Opportunities

olivia heghmann and amber ganley examine cayas teeth

Set Your
Course


Discuss goals and design your career plan with help from the professionals at our St. Martin Career Exploration Office.

Career Office 

UNH Diversity Statement

The University of New Hampshire is committed to building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty and staff can thrive. We also are committed to providing open and inclusive access for all alumni, volunteers, learners, employees and visitors seeking to participate in our programs and activities. We venture to sustain a campus environment that fosters mutual respect and understanding. We believe diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion are foundational values inextricably linked to achieving our core educational mission and embrace the many characteristics of our community members that make them uniquely themselves. Here, you belong and all are welcome.

UNH Land, Water and Life Acknowledgement

As we all journey on the trail of life, we wish to acknowledge the spiritual and physical connection the Pennacook, Abenaki and Wabanaki Peoples have maintained to N’dakinna (homeland) and the aki (land), nebi (water), olakwika (flora) and awaasak (fauna) that the University of New Hampshire community is honored to steward today. We also acknowledge the hardships they continue to endure after the loss of unceded homelands and champion the university’s responsibility to foster relationships and opportunities that strengthen the well-being of the Indigenous People who carry forward the traditions of their ancestors.

Listen to the acknowledgement read by Denise Pouliot, the Sag8moskwa (Head Female Speaker) of the Cowasuk Band of Pennacook Abenaki People from Alton, New Hampshire and a member of the Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective (INHCC), which includes her husband Paul Pouliot, several UNH faculty members and students, local grassroots organizers and community members and several members of other New England tribes.

  • UNH biology student Carrie Hill stands at a railing by the sea
    Taking her place in a welcoming community for women in STEM
    Carrie Hill ’25 is a biology major and triple minor in biomedical science, genetics and psychology.
    Learn More
  • UNH student Durga Raja at the launch event for the Sustainability Fellowship program
    Calculating carbon emissions for a Sustainability Fellowship
    Durga Raja ’25 is an environmental and resource economics and sustainability dual major from Nashua, New Hampshire.
    Learn More
  • Olivia Audet talks with vendor at a New Hampshire farmer's market
    A Fellowship to Support Food Safety in New Hampshire
    Olivia Elliott ’26 is a nutritional sciences major from Exeter, New Hampshire who received a Sustainability Fellowship from the UNH Sustainability Institute.
    Learn More
  • UNH student Rain Bugado in Italy
    Work at the UNH Herbarium has Nurtured a Love of Plants
    Rain Bugado ’25 is a biology and French major from Berwick, Maine. Thanks to her experience working in the UNH Albion R. Hodgdon Herbarium, Rain discovered a love and appreciation of plants. COLSA: Why did you choose UNH? Rain Bugado: I originally chose UNH for a few reasons, the first of which being that I had heard many good…
    Learn More
  • UNH student Olivia Audet in a field wearing a UNH sweatshirt
    A Summer Fellowship to Support a Passion for Sustainability
    Olivia Audet ’24 is an environmental conservation and sustainability major from Middlebury, Vermont who is interning at Scrapp, a company that develops smart waste programs for businesses, brands and retailers aiming to transition to zero-waste, thanks to a Sustainability Fellowship from the UNH Sustainability Institute.
    Learn More

Get the Facts

#2

in ecology research

Journal of Ecology

Top 10%
Biological and Biomedical Sciences

College Factual

Top 10%
General Biology

College Factual

#7
in Natural Resources and Conservation
Universities.com
#8
in Dairy Science

Universities.com

93%
of COLSA alumni are employed
or in graduate school

First Destination Survey

75%
of students participate
in internships and/or research

First Destination Survey

77%
Average acceptance rate of
current students and recent grads
who applied to veterinary school
— well above the national average

 

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