As part of a movement to elevate the environmental sciences to a university-wide priority, the College has made the Environmental Sciences a priority. Environmental studies are essential to the land-grant mission and focus on some of the most important issues facing society now and in the future. Land stewardship and concern for environmental issues were part of Liberty Hyde Bailey's original vision in 1904.

Programs in natural resources, earth systems, environmental engineering, sustainable agriculture, and waste management have enabled the College to take the lead in several university research initiatives, including bio-based industries, energy and the environment, agriculture and the environment, and detection and remediation of pollutants.