• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Sierra Nevada University
  • Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Current UG Students
    • Admitted UG Students
    • Current Grad Students
    • Incoming Grad Students
  • Locations
  • Community
  • Parents
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • Resources
    • Online Portal
    • Student Accounts
    • Registrar
    • Transcripts
    • Information Technology
    • Academic Support
    • Disability Services
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Events
    • Directory
    • In Case of Emergency
    • COVID-19 Info
  • About
    • About SNU
    • Success at SNU
    • Recent News
    • Leadership
      • Executive Transition Leadership
      • Board of Trustees
    • Location
      • Directions
      • Campus Map
    • University Info
      • Diversity Statement
      • Consumer Information for Students
      • Internet Privacy Policy
      • Accreditation
      • History
  • SNU-UNR Transition
    • SNU to join UNR
    • Transition FAQ
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
      • Undergraduate Admissions
      • Tuition & Fees
      • Success!
      • How To Apply
    • Graduate Admissions
      • Graduate Admissions
      • How to Apply
      • Tuition & Fees
      • Meet the Team
    • Financial Aid
      • About Financial Aid
      • Apply for Financial Aid
      • Sources of Financial Aid
      • Undergraduate Scholarships
    • Request Info
  • Academics
    • All Programs & Majors
    • Undergraduate
      • Business
      • Education
      • Fine Arts
      • Humanities & Social Sciences
      • Interdisciplinary Studies
      • Science
    • Graduate
      • MFA in Creative Writing
      • MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts
      • Teaching & Education
    • Education Your Way
      • Study Abroad
      • Summer Art Workshops
      • Community Courses
  • Campus Life
    • Campus Life
    • Student Activities
    • Outdoor Adventure
    • Life in Lake Tahoe
    • Campus Info
      • On Campus
      • Residence Life
      • Prim Library
      • About TCES
  • Success
  • Athletics
  • Info
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Enroll

Science & Technology

Challenging courses and original research in the most beautiful lab on earth.

Environmental & Life Science Majors

Biology
Research, field work, and the prerequisites for advanced degrees in the life sciences.
Environmental Systems student feeds Chickadees while on class field trip

Ecology
Examine "the economy of nature" from bottom to top
Environmental Systems students explore Tahoe Meadows during class

Earth Science
Climate change and water resources are two of our most critical environmental challenges.
Earth Science students take a class trip to High Rock as a way to explore other ecosystems

Natural Resource Management
Attack environmental challenges head-on managing human interaction with the natural world.
Natural Resource Management students spend the day in Fallon, Nevada to view the birds

Challenging Coursework + Original Research

Build the foundation

Evolution. The relationship between structure and function. The chemistry and physics driving organisms and ecosystems. Ways of analyzing and modeling complex systems. Explore the core scientific concepts on which our understanding of the physical world is based, from single molecules to full-blown ecosystems.

Think like a scientist

Dive into inquiry and research from your first classes. In small classes, labs, and field courses, and in doing your own research, you will be challenged to find evidence, evaluate its reliability, and use it to draw conclusions and make sound decisions.

Learn statistics analyzing messy real-life data from available online data sets and original surveys. Practice professional techniques using our impressive collection of field and lab equipment. Develop effective scientific communication and collaboration skills – science is a team effort.

Bring it all together completing an original senior research project or professional internship tailored to your scientific interests and professional goals.

Meet Our Science Students

a banana flower in Costa Rica

Science Beyond the Classroom

The Most Beautiful Lab on Earth

The spectacular Lake Tahoe Basin is our classroom – even lab exercises often require sunscreen, hat, and waders or snowshoes. In field courses, students explore a new environment with an instructor, learning about the ecosystem, collecting data, living and breathing the course content.

 Environmental Systems students explore Tahoe Meadows during class
In the Tahoe Meadows
Science students examine the ecology systems surrounding Lake Tahoe, looking down at the lake from Mtn. Rose Highway
Lake Tahoe from the Mt. Rose Highway
Animal Behavior students spend class catching crayfish at Hidden Beach at Lake Tahoe
At Lake Tahoe’s Hidden Beach

Sustainability Matters

Commitment to sustainability – environmental, social, and economic – is embedded in our DNA here at SNU.

As scientists, we promote a deep appreciation of the natural world in all its complexity. Our students build on a strong foundation of courses in the basic sciences and scientific analysis with field courses and original research that take full advantage of our amazing location.

Students do internships with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, just upstairs from the SNU science Department, and with USFS, USGS, state parks, Desert Research Institute, medical practitioners, ranches, mines, CA & NV wildlife organizations, and environmental planning firms.

We have held field courses in the Desolation Wilderness, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Death Valley, Rogue River whitewater, Mono Lake and Yosemite, Monterey Bay, and even Belize and South Africa.

Beyond Tahoe

“The Ecology of Capetown”: South Africa, June 2015

Ecology students from the 2015 trip to South Africa hike to the top of Cape Town, South Africa
Table Mountain
2015 Ecology class goes shark diving in Cape Town, South Africa
Shark Diving!
2015 Ecology students study the ecology of Cape of Good Hope in Cape Town, South Africa
Approaching the Cape of Good Hope

Our Students say it Best

Ashley Vander Meer, a Biology, Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental Science major, tests water in Incline Village

Ashley Vander Meer

Major: Biology, Interdisciplinary Studies in Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental Science

Class of 2014

In the fall of 2012, I worked on the restoration of Rosewood Creek for my service learning.  The main cause of the restoration is to reduce sediment loading into Lake Tahoe by restoring a 7,200 foot section of Rosewood Creek between Northwood Boulevard and Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village, Nevada.Read More

Kimberly Oyervides

Major: Environmental Science, Ecology

Class of 2016

I’ve always had a passion for science, and how things work and influence each other. I chose to purse a degree in environmental science knowing that it would give me a opportunity to get a job working outdoors were I love to be. Now that I've graduated I'm working for a private company as a forester, coordinating with the USFS and BLM.Read More

SNU ecology student Tommy DiPaola lakeside

Tommy DiPaola

Major: Environmental Science, Ecology

Class of 2019

After exploring some lab science, it became clear to me that I want to explore biological science in the field! My most influential experiences at SNC have all been in the wild, those moments where you look around and realize "there's no where I would rather be than here." Read More

Ask A Question

Undergraduate Admissions
We're Here to Help
admissions@sierranevada.edu
866.412.4636
775.881.7411

Request Info

  • Sustainability
  • Liberal Arts
  • Professional Preparedness
  • Entrepreneurial Thinking

Our Community

  • Event Calendar
  • Community
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • Prim Library
  • Directory
  • COVID-19 Info

Main Interests

  • Admissions
  • Academics
  • Campus Life
  • Athletics
  • Students
  • Parents
  • SNU-UNR Transition

SNU Info

  • Mission Statement
  • Diversity Statement
  • Student Consumer Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • CA BPPE Compliance
  • Media Policy

Quick Links

  • Pay My Bill
  • SNCSIS
  • SNU Email Portal
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Faculty/Staff Email
  • Canvas Portal
  • In Case of Emergency
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Vimeo
  • Youtube
  • Linkedin
Sierra Nevada University logo

999 Tahoe Boulevard
Incline Village, NV 89451
775 . 831 . 1314

Campus Locations

Copyright © Sierra Nevada University All Rights Reserved
  • About SNU
    ▼
    • Success at SNU
    • Recent News
    • Locations
      ▼
      • Directions
    • Executive Transition Leadership
      ▼
      • Board of Trustees
    • Consumer Information for Students
      ▼
      • Diversity Statement
      • Internet Privacy Policy
      • Accreditation
  • SNU-UNR Transition
    ▼
    • Transition FAQ
  • Admissions
    ▼
    • Request Info
    • Undergraduate Admissions
      ▼
      • Tuition & Fees
      • Success!
      • How To Apply
        ▼
        • Freshman Applicants
        • Transfer Students
        • Online Degree Program
        • Military Students
        • International Students
    • Graduate Admissions
      ▼
      • How to Apply
        ▼
        • Teacher Education Applicants
        • MFA Creative Writing Applicants
        • MFA Interdisciplinary Arts Applicants
      • Tuition & Fees
    • Financial Aid
      ▼
      • Apply for Financial Aid
      • Sources of Financial Aid
      • Undergraduate Scholarships
  • Academics
    ▼
    • Undergraduate Majors
      ▼
      • Business
        ▼
        • Entrepreneurship
        • Finance and Economics
        • Global Business Management
        • Marketing
        • Ski Area & Resort Management
      • B.A. in Elementary Education
      • Fine Arts
        ▼
        • 2-D Practices
        • 3-D Practices
        • Digital Arts
        • Interdisciplinary Arts
      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        ▼
        • English and Creative Writing
        • Psychology
      • Interdisciplinary Studies
        ▼
        • Digital Arts & Business
        • Journalism
        • Outdoor Adventure Leadership
        • Psychology & Art or Music
        • Sustainability
      • Science & Technology
        ▼
        • Biology
        • Earth Science
        • Ecology
        • Natural Resource Management
      • Study Abroad
    • Graduate Programs
      ▼
      • MFA in Creative Writing
      • MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts
      • Teacher Education
        ▼
        • M.A. in Teaching
        • M.Ed. in Administration
        • M.Ed. in ELAD
        • Teacher Development
  • Campus Life
    ▼
    • Student Activities
    • Outdoor Adventure
    • Life in Lake Tahoe
    • On Campus
      ▼
      • Residence Life
      • Prim Library
      • Campus Resources
        ▼
        • Campus Technology
        • Counseling Services
        • Emergency Guide
        • Health and Wellness
        • Internships, Jobs, & Volunteering
        • Security & Safety
        • Sexual Harassment & Assault Prevention
  • Athletics
  • Success!
  • Giving
    ▼
    • Donate Now!
    • A Lifetime of Dedication
  • Community
    ▼
    • Workshops and Continuing Education
    • Summer Art Workshops
    • Exhibitions
    • The Siebens-Binz SNU Tahoe Forum
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Students
    ▼
    • Admitted Undergraduate Students
      ▼
      • Incoming Student Orientation
    • Current Undergrad Students
    • Incoming Graduate Students
    • Current Graduate Students
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Online Portal
    • Campus Locations
    • Academic Support Services
      ▼
      • Disability Student Services
    • Registrar
      ▼
      • Transcripts
    • Student Accounts
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Directory
    • In Case of Emergency
    • COVID-19 Information