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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

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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 genetics major Matthew Farbaniec collecting duckweed and microbe samples in Mill Pond in Durham
    Work in faculty lab on natural alternative to chemical fertilizer leads to a research project of his own
    Matthew Farbaniec is a genetics major from Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Matthew has been working in Assistant Professor Anna O’Brien’s lab. COLSA: Tell us about your research in as non-technical language as possible. Matthew Farbaniec: I’ve been researching the use of duckweed as green manure. Over the summer, I…
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  • UNH nutrition major Alexa DerBoghosian in front of a stone wall
    Finding what she was looking for at UNH
    Alexa DerBoghosian is a nutrition: health and wellness major with a dual major in ecogastronomy and a minor in culinary and food studies from Reading, Massachusetts. Along with excelling academically, Alexa is an accomplished figure skater. “I have been figure skating for most of my life, and now I am part of the UNH…
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  • UNH environmental sciences major Dakota Mako on a hike
    Working with two research teams to understand past, present and future of NH forests
    Dakota Mako is an environmental sciences: ecosystems science major who has worked in Professor Heidi Asbjornsen's and Professor Mark Ducey's labs.
    Learn More
  • UNH forest major Nicholas Forestell poses in a plaid shirt front of a tree
    Working in lab with faculty and grad students yields rewards
    Nicolas Forestell is a double major in forestry and French who is working in Professor Heidi Asbjornsen's Ecohydology Lab.
    Learn More
  • UNH dietetics major Anthony Dempsey headshot
    Working with the data from UNH's unique nutrition survey CHANAS
    Anthony Dempsey, a nutrition: dietetics major, manages data for the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey (CHANAS), a long-running survey project targeting 18 to 24 year old adults that’s unique to UNH.
    Learn More

Get the Facts

92%
of COLSA alumni are employed
or in graduate school

2023 First Destination Survey

73%
of students participate
in internships and/or research
prior to graduation

2023 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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