Campus Environment
Unparalleled Opportunities
WSU Vancouver is ideally located adjacent to a wide variety of natural resources. This situation allows an unparalleled opportunity to incorporate these environmental settings into our laboratory courses. Thus, students gain valuable "hands on" experiences while learning and conducting research. In addition, these habitats are the subject of faculty research and the opportunity to learn while working with faculty members in different research areas is high. More over, many neighboring public and private institutions (e.g. United States Fish and Wildlife, United States Geological Survey, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland State University, Legacy Hospital) provide opportunities for collaboration.
The Columbia River
 The
Columbia River stretches 1200 miles from the Canadian Rockies to
the Pacific Ocean. Major environmental issues surrounding the
river, including endangered species, hydroelectricity, water pollution,
and integrated watershed management, are of international importance. Mill Creek,
which is located on the WSU Vancouver campus, is part of the Columbia
River watershed and several science courses focus on vegetation patterns,
water quality and environmental impacts to Mill Creek and the nearby
Salmon Creek watershed. |
Mount St. Helens & the Cascades
| Mount St, Helens is located 25 miles from campus and offers unique opportunities to study the geology of the Cascade Mountains as well as the ecological process of succession following the 1980 eruption. The Cascades Volcano Observatory has plans to relocate on the WSU Vancouver campus in the near future. |  |
Temperate Rain Forests
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The Pacific NW is known for its magnificent forests and the WSU campus is surrounded by 310 acres of forest, streams and meadows that are incorporated into course material. |
Puget Sound
| The Puget Sound area, which is a short drive from campus, provides a unique area of protected coastal areas for research and education. Pristine salt marshes are a unique habitat and important nursery area for a wide variety of organisms. |  |
Washington-Oregon Coast
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Also nearby are the Washington and Oregon coastlines. These pristine areas provide opportunities to study the ecology and management of the oyster and clam industries, as well as a wide-variety of habitats including long sandy beaches, rocky intertidal areas, and mudflats. |
Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan area
| Vancouver is part of the Portland-Vancouver metro area and thus has a wide variety of available job options. In recent years these areas have seen explosive growth in high technology industries such a biotechnology, pharmacology, and a wide variety of medical sciences. |  |