The mission of the College is to advance knowledge in its core areas by fulfilling its evolving land grant responsibilities and those of the University of Massachusetts. To accomplish this, the College offers broad educational opportunities to a wide spectrum of public audiences, conducts applied and basic research that addresses the needs of citizens, businesses, and public agencies and makes numerous outreach opportunities accessible to its constituents. The College is uniquely qualified, equipped and committed to fulfilling its land grant responsibilities by promoting and contributing to economic development, and solving problems in agriculture and the food system; urban landscapes; forests, watersheds and wetlands; and the complex relationships between the natural environment and society through programs in the critical areas of:

• Evaluation of impacts of science and technology on issues of human health and wellness.
• Addressing issues associated with land use planning, protection of biodiversity, and environmental quality locally, regionally, and globally.
• The application of genomics and proteomics to the study of agriculturally and environmentally important organisms.
• Integration of studies on the molecular, cellular, organismal, population, community, and ecosystem level.
• Applied agricultural sciences.
• Elucidation of genetic diversity (microbial, plant, and animal).
• Use of Information Technology such as geographic information systems and bioinformatics as research and teaching tools.