About the College

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) advances the health and welfare of people, animals, and the environment through research and education in agriculture, community, human and rural development, environment and natural resources, food and nutrition, and the life sciences. CALS strives to improve the nation's food supply and maintain its safety, to enhance the environment, and to help people improve their lives.

Our students are undergraduates, graduate students, and community members all over Idaho. With seven academic departments and nearly 1,100 undergraduates, CALS is the second largest college at the University of Idaho. See our academic departments.

CALS maintains the three components of the university’s original land-grant mission: teaching, research, and extension education. In addition to academic programs, the college:

• Conducts statewide research through the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station.
• Provides information to the state and the nation through extension education.
• Participates in international development, and student and faculty exchange programs throughout the world.

Through its Educational Communications office, CALS supports the preparation, development, distribution, and marketing of information, publications, and institutional marketing projects.

What is a land-grant university?

At CALS, we’re part of an important legacy. Land-grant universities were created by the U.S. Congress in the late 1800s to make a practical college education accessible to the American people. States were granted federal land to establish a college that would teach, among other topics, agriculture, military tactics, the mechanic arts, and home economics. Topics have evolved to reflect current needs, and today, land-grant universities create and disseminate knowledge to address society’s most pressing problems, including creating alternative fuels, cleaning pollution, and treating disease.