The oldest American institution for environmental studies, the State University of New York College of Environmental Studies and Forestry is often considered the best American institution in the field. SUNY-ESF, as it is known, has been ranked as the greatest university in New York, and one of the premier public universities in the North East.
Landscape architecture, biotechnology, ecology, zoology, construction management, chemistry environmental engineering, forestry and natural resources conservation at SUNY-ESF are some of the most highly regarded courses. In total, the university runs more than 50 programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Mostly located in Syracuse, the fifth largest city in New York, 35 miles south east of Lake Ontario, SUNY-ESF has a plethora of regional campuses across the state whose combined area make it one of the largest public universities nationwide in terms of land ownership. The other sites facilitate a range of field work and the study of wildlife, forest ecology, ecophysiology, and more. Established in 1911 in partnership with nearby Syracuse University, the college was originally known as New York State College of Forestry, changing its name in 1972.
Alumni include Moshe Levy, an Israeli chemist and professor who discovered living polymerisation, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, who became a professor of environmental and forest biology at her alma mater after publishing award-winning books on plants and mosses.
