Breadcrumb
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Get Your Hands Dirty Studying Science on California’s North Coast
There’s no better place to study science than at Cal Poly Humboldt. Our community is a living laboratory with the Pacific Ocean, ancient redwoods, and other diverse ecosystems for you to explore.
The College of Natural Resources & Sciences boasts a wide variety of science-focused areas of study, from biochemistry to zoology. Our multiple fieldwork opportunities, Place-Based Learning Communities, and extensive research faculties paired with our stellar faculty and staff create an environment for you to feel inspired, challenged, and engaged with the science all around you.
Undergraduate Research
Many universities reserve research experience for graduate students. At Cal Poly Humboldt, you may conduct your own research or assist professors with their projects as early as your freshman year. Either way, you’ll put theory into practice, building a fundamental understanding of concepts and methodologies. With opportunities to present at local and national conferences, you’ll learn how to explain your findings, too. Experiences like these offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be a professional scientist and will help you discover your passion.
Fieldwork
Located on the North Coast of California, Humboldt is surrounded by ancient redwoods and close to the Pacific Ocean, mountains, and rivers. You’ll find the region’s natural environment is the perfect outdoor classroom where learning happens through real-world experience. Track elk, hike through forests to measure redwoods, or take water samples from California’s second largest river—Humboldt provides a wide range of opportunities for fieldwork, which helps develop critical thinking and collaboration skills, and a passion for learning that will take you far in life.
Personal Attention
College is a time to expand your horizons and find out who you really are, and our attentive faculty are here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you begin your program, you won’t be just another face in the crowd. You’ll be part of a community as you get to know your professors. They’ll challenge you, but they’re accessible, too. Whether through mentoring or one-on-one feedback, they’ll help you build the knowledge and skills to be successful at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Undergraduate Programs
Cal Poly Humboldt offers a wide array of science majors and programs, led by highly skilled faculty who foster a supportive environment. You will develop the critical thinking skills needed to solve complex problems in science, engineering, and natural resources, leaving you well-prepared for professional careers and higher levels of study.
Graduate Programs
Cal Poly Humboldt has an established reputation for its graduate programs in the biological, environmental, engineering, and natural resources sciences, which provide the knowledge and experience necessary to address today’s scientific problems.
Equipped for Excellence
Cal Poly Humboldt has a diverse range of research facilities, labs, and special collections as essential tools for conducting research and gaining real-world experience. Utilizing a renewable energy technology research center, a marine laboratory, and the largest botanical collection in the CSU system, you will actively engage with research during your undergraduate years.
Place-Based Learning Communities
Learning goes beyond the classroom at Humboldt—we learn from the environment we are in. Our Place-Based Learning Communities provide you with a tight-knit community of like minded peers before classes even start.
We start right away—you’ll be immersed in major-related fieldwork, seminars, and classes with students like you before the semester even begins. These connections will help you navigate college life, gain confidence, succeed academically, and gain a sense of belonging within the Humboldt community.
Alumni Updates
Colby Hay
Wildlife, 2014
Since graduating in 2014, Colby worked seasonally for MRC doing spotted owl research, and was a contracted waterfowl biologist with Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the winter of 2016, he joined the Idaho Department of Fish and Game full time to address depredations. He was promoted to Regional Wildlife Biologist in October 2019 and completed his Masters of Natural Resource from the University of Idaho in May 2026. He studied elk interaction with feedlot fence alterations over winter.
David V. Sanford
Wildlife, 1964
After graduation, David went to work with the BLM in several locations as a Range Conservationist, then transferred to the U.S. Forest Service and worked as a Survey Technician, Forestry Technician, Range Conservationist, and Wildlife Biologist. David left the Forest Service to work in the native grass seed industry both as a grower and seller. He left the seed business and worked as a researcher at the Colorado State University Yellowjacket Research Center in southwest Colorado. Seven years later, he took a job with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe as the Range Manager, then as the Agriculture Division Head. He retired in 2006. After retirement, he worked as a carpenter, substitute school teacher, tile setter, and private tour guide at Mesa Verde National Park and other archeological sites in the 4-Corners Country. Since 1971, David has owned and worked on his small farm in Montezuma County, Colorado. David says his years at Humboldt State College were among the best of his life, and he is still in touch with a few of his classmates. He would like to visit the campus someday, but he would surely get lost among all the new buildings that make up the campus today, he says. Go Lumberjacks!
Paul Andre De Georges
Fisheries Biology, 1972
Paul holds an M.S. degree in Natural Resource Management from Humboldt State University, earned in 1972. His thesis was titled “Feasibility of Artificial Reefs in Intertidal Waters.” In 2006, he completed a Doctor of Technology degree in the Department of Nature Conservation at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa, with a dissertation titled “A Critical Review of the Western Approaches to Nature Conservation and Development in Africa.”
On ResearchGate, Paul has a profile where one can download a 7-volume book titled "A Critical Evaluation of Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa," published by Edwin Mellen Press, which is essentially his doctoral thesis. Additionally, he has contributed to several peer-reviewed papers and PowerPoint presentations. He also co-authored a book titled "The Development of Taliban Factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, A Geographical Account," published in February 2010 by Amin, Osinski, and DeGeorges, also from Edwin Mellen Press.
Achievements
Find out what our students, faculty, and staff are being recognized for.
Ammar Jafaripournimchahi
School of Engineering
Published a peer-reviewed research article in Energy (Elsevier) titled “Thermodynamic Modeling and Experimental Validation of a CO₂ Scroll Compressor for Automotive Heat Pump Systems.” The study developed and experimentally validated a thermodynamic model for CO₂ scroll compressors, achieving prediction errors below 7.8% and providing insights into compressor performance under different operating conditions.
Monica Sheffer & Benjamin Hanlin
Biological Sciences
Dr. Monica Sheffer and master’s student Benjamin Hanlin received funding to investigate how spider communities reflect the health of California's redwood forests. The project will compare spider diversity in old-growth, unthinned second-growth, and restoration-thinned forests in Redwood National and State Parks. Because spiders play important roles as predators and prey, changes in their communities could provide valuable clues about how redwood forests recover after restoration. Led by Hanlin with Sheffer serving as faculty mentor, the research will establish baseline biodiversity data to help evaluate restoration efforts and support monitoring of redwood forest ecosystems.
Funding comes from Save the Redwoods League.
Andre Buchheister, Nick Som, Marisa McGrew
Fisheries Biology
Dr. Andre Buchheister, Dr. Nick Som, and new graduate student Marisa McGrew have received funding to study Pacific lamprey in the Eel River ahead of planned dam removals. Although often overlooked, Pacific lamprey are an ecologically and culturally important species that play a vital role in river ecosystems and Tribal foodways. The project will examine lamprey migration, habitat use, and seasonal movement to better understand the species before dam removal begins. Findings will help inform restoration planning, improve conservation efforts, and support future management of the Eel River ecosystem.
Funding comes from CalTrout.