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  • A series of three images showing, from left to right, two men at a biopharma lab, two women loading a fishing boat with shellfish traps, and a woman putting a milking device on a cow.

    THRIVE Spring 2023

    Discover how COLSA prepares graduates for 21st century careers through workforce development and career counseling in biotechnology and other industries. Learn how COLSA students and alum are serving others and leading change in key fields. Read the stories here.

  • A banner showing, from left to right, a female measuring a tree, a male sitting on a rock underneath a tree in fall, and a male faculty member speaking to a group in the forest.

    INSPIRED Forestry

    In the Winter 2023 edition of INSPIRED, learn about NH Agricultural Experiment Station research focused on anticipating challenges and finding solutions to better sustain and more effectively manage and enjoy New Hampshire's diverse forest ecosystems.

  • UNH Undergraduate Research Conference

    You Belong Here

    Discover how COLSA can prepare you for a life dedicated to what matters most to you. Watch this video.

  • Studying Sustainability at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture

    Studying Sustainability

    This is your world. Learn how we can work together to protect it.

  • Biotechnology Master's Degree Program

    New Biotechnology Master's Degree Program

    Earn BOTH a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in molecular and cellular biotechnology in just five years. Find out more about our new accelerated BS/MS degree program here.

  • Reasons to choose COLSA

    Reasons to Choose COLSA

    There are so many reasons why you should spend the next four years with us. Here are our top ten.

  • UNH students at the Shoals Marine Laboratory

    Come Here, Go Anywhere

    Prepare yourself for life beyond college by taking advantage of the wide-range of hands-on research opportunities on and off campus.

  • UNH Accelerated Master's Degree Program

    UNH Accelerated Master's Degree Program

    Graduate with your bachelor’s AND a master’s degrees in just 5 years! Attend a virtual information session on March 6 or April 4. Learn more and register here.

 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. 

Launch Academics - Life Sciences & Agriculture


Programs of Study

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DEPARTMENTS

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students with horse

Explore Undergraduate Scholarships


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

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

LEARN MORE

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.

  • A Major Opportunity
    Meet Madi Wing, zoology major and double minor in animal science and animal behavior, from Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
    A Major Opportunity
    Meet Madi Wing, zoology major and double minor in animal science and animal behavior, from Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
  • A perfect opportunity turns into perfect fit
    Emily Kiss ’25 is a wildlife and conservation biology major from Madison, Conn. who spent her summer interning at the South Florida Wildlife Center thanks in part to a stipend she received from COLSA’s SOAR fund.
    A perfect opportunity turns into perfect fit
    Emily Kiss ’25 is a wildlife and conservation biology major from Madison, Conn. who spent her summer interning at the South Florida Wildlife Center thanks in part to a stipend she received from COLSA’s SOAR fund.
  • In Alaska, Listening to Whales
    Emma Iovene ’24 is a marine, estuarine and freshwater biology major who spent the summer interning in Alaska for the Sound Science Research College, thanks in part to financial support she received from COLSA’s SOAR Fund.
    In Alaska, Listening to Whales
    Emma Iovene ’24 is a marine, estuarine and freshwater biology major who spent the summer interning in Alaska for the Sound Science Research College, thanks in part to financial support she received from COLSA’s SOAR Fund.
  • Love for marine animals leads to internship
    Olivia Lucia ’26 is a marine, estuarine and freshwater biology major who is spending the summer caring for marine animals and conducting research as part of her internship at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
    Love for marine animals leads to internship
    Olivia Lucia ’26 is a marine, estuarine and freshwater biology major who is spending the summer caring for marine animals and conducting research as part of her internship at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
  • A summer spent rehabilitating wildlife
    Wildlife and conservation biology major Emily Chesterton ’25 talks about her rewarding internship at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
    A summer spent rehabilitating wildlife
    Wildlife and conservation biology major Emily Chesterton ’25 talks about her rewarding internship at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

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
2021 First Destination Survey
70%
of students participate
in internships and/or research
2021 First Destination Survey
80%
Average acceptance rate of
current students and recent grads
who applied to veterinary school
— well above the national average

 

Recent Stories

Laura Brown (left), owner of Fox Point Oysters, and Ray Grizzle, a UNH professor of biological sciences, watch as a crane operated by Riverside & Pickering Marine Contractors deposits oyster shells at the Nannie Island reef restoration site.

Bringing Oysters Back to NH’s Great Bay

Bringing Oysters Back to NH’s Great Bay

COLSA research team leads the charge on regional efforts to restore native oyster reefs in New...

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Two hands work on mounting a specimen at the Hodgedon Herbarium at UNH.

UNH Hodgdon Herbarium Nears Complete Digitization of Entire Collection

UNH Hodgdon Herbarium Nears Complete Digitization of Entire Collection

New project makes nearly all archives publicly accessible online...

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Scientist in a "bunny suit" works on a NASA project in a clean room

Research Receives $210 Million in Competitive Funding in FY23

Research Receives $210 Million in Competitive Funding in FY23

Steadily increasing funding supports research that improves lives in NH and beyond...

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