Rausser College of Natural Resources
Introduction to the College
The Rausser College of Natural Resources embraces the University of California’s public mission, serving the people of California, our nation, and the world. We conduct fundamental and applied research in the biological, physical, and social sciences. We train and educate future leaders and scholars, and engage with public and private partners to meet the pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. Through our research, teaching, and outreach, we seek equitable, scalable, and innovative solutions that address the climate crisis, promote ecological and economic sustainability, and improve human health and well-being.
The roots of Rausser College extend to the beginning of the UC system, when the federal Morrill Act established a national system of land grant universities to foster agricultural teaching and research. In 1868, the California legislature established the University of California in Berkeley and the College of Agriculture. Learn more about our history and about our plans for the future in our Strategic Plan.
Faculty, students, and researchers at Rausser College engage the issues that shape the complex, interconnected world of the 21st century, from sustainable food systems to obesity, from water policy to energy policy, and from the far-reaching impacts of climate change to the linkages between the human genome, diet, and disease.
Providing a small-college experience at the world’s greatest public university, Rausser combines hands-on experience with a rigorous education. We give our students a solid foundation and big-picture perspective that informs and inspires them after they leave our campus.
Rausser College's personalized student services program sets us apart from other colleges and academic units on campus. Thanks to our generous and active alumni base and our student-centered credo, our students benefit from the most personalized and comprehensive advising services on campus.
Rausser College's academic departments are consistently top-ranked in some of the most notable surveys, including the National Research Council, U.S. News and World Report, and several global rankings. Among the active faculty's many eminent honorees are four Nobel laureates affiliated with the 2007 Nobel Prize for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, seven MacArthur Fellows, 12 UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award winners, 40 Fulbright fellows, and 16 National Academy of Science Fellows.
Our motto is "See the bigger picture. Make a better world." When it comes to the world we live in, we need to know how what we research and learn connects us to the world and the welfare of the people who inhabit it.
Explore majors and minors available through the Rausser College of Natural Resources.