College of Natural Sciences

Our Vision

The College of Natural Sciences will serve as a beacon of hope for a better tomorrow by strengthening our disciplinary and interdisciplinary efforts and by integrating instruction and scholarship.  Working together, the faculty, staff, and students improve the public good and support the sustainable development of society through their efforts.

Mission Statement

The mission of the College of Natural Sciences is to serve as an anchor institution in Northern California for mathematics and the sciences, providing a diverse set of services to our students and the larger community.

Our undergraduate, pre-professional, and graduate programs give students the rigorous theoretical and practical training required for professional and personal success. We provide the cornerstones for a wide variety of technical disciplines beyond our college through our foundational service courses. We strive to instill in the wider campus community an understanding of the nature of science and its importance in modern society. We affirm the importance of serving the community beyond our campus as a resource for mathematics and science expertise.

About the College

We began as the School of Natural Sciences which eventually became the College of Natural Sciences when in 1967, individual departments split off with their own departments, staff and chairs.  The Life Sciences building was completed in 1972.  As part of a peak in building construction from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, the new life sciences complex was constructed. The five million dollar project began in late 1969 and was built in three sections over a period of time. The 62,401 square foot building was designed with three stories of faculty offices, classrooms, lecture rooms, and laboratories. A herbarium, a temperature controlled room, was included in the design so that plant specimens could be dried and mounted for further study.

With a capacity for 370 students, the building included a 170-seat lecture hall, which was the biggest on campus at the time. The architect for the project was John Carl Warnecke and Associates of San Francisco, and the contractor was Continental Heller Corporation. Faculty member William L. Stephens helped plan the life science facility. To make room for the new building, Sowilleno Avenue was removed and replaced with foot and bike paths between the creek and the construction area. Completed in 1972, the building was dedicated as Vesta Holt Hall in 1974.

Vesta Holt served as a Chico State faculty member from 1926 to 1957. She became head of the Biology Department in 1931 and later the chair of the Division of Natural Sciences. Holt published various guides and manuals for biology education, many focusing on her specialty of botany. The first paid sabbatical for a Chico State faculty member was given to Holt in 1953. She founded Omicron Theta Epsilon in 1927 and also created the Eagle Lake Biological Station. Shortly after her death in 1970, the life sciences complex was dedicated in her honor.

Undergraduate Programs

The college offers baccalaureate programs in biological sciences, chemistry, environmental science, geosciences, mathematics, microbiology, nutrition and food sciences, nursing, and physics. Our excellent classes in modern facilities are complemented by courses conducted at field and clinical sites throughout California and by numerous opportunities to participate in research, internships, and other field experiences.  

Pre-Professional Programs

The college offers pre-professional programs to prepare students for further education in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and dental hygiene, and to provide the background necessary for admission to specific graduate programs at this or other institutions of higher education. The college offers all the classes necessary for acceptance to any nationally recognized physician assistant program.

Graduate Programs

The college offers master's programs in biological sciences, botany, nutrition and food sciences, environmental sciences, geosciences, nursing, and science education.   Students may earn a degree in mathematics education by enrolling in an interdisciplinary master's program.

Check out all Natural Sciences degrees.