MSc en Aquaculture

What can you use this qualification for?

Manager in the fish farming industry, quality control, governmental or extension positions, developing new aquaculture species, managing breeding programs, sales or administration. The Master degree is also a stepping stone to an academic career.

What will you learn?

The program gives you broad and interdisciplinary strength and specialization in subjects of your choice. We offer courses in fish breeding, fish nutrition and planning and design of aquacultural plants, and you will get insight and knowledge about how those components/factors affect the effectiveness of production and influence the economic yield.

About

The study starts with introductory courses in physiology, health care, and water quality, before the fundamentals of genetics and breeding, fish nutrition and also practical and theoretical aspects of fish production and technology is covered. The aim of the study is to give the students broad practical and theoretical knowledge in different fields, before they complete their master thesis within a focus area, which can be chosen from fish breeding, fish nutrition, production technology or another area of interest, e.g. water or product quality. The master thesis project is normally taken over one year and offers great flexibility in terms of project type and location.

Learning outcomes

A candidate who has completed the education is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes, defined in knowledge, skills, and competence:

Knowledge:

• Can select the best production animals and how to supply their nutritional needs in different production environments.

• Know how to secure animal welfare in modern farm animal production systems.

Skills:

• Able to keep him-/herself up-to-date in scientific literature and new technology.

• Able to place practical solutions into a broader social perspective, such as utilization of resources, environment, and animal welfare.

Competence:

• High competence in modern aquaculture production.

• Competence to solve practical problems and participate in development projects.

• High competence in animal breeding, nutrition and production technology.

NMBU's research and study programmes are enabling people all over the world to tackle the big, global challenges regarding the environment, sustainable development, how to improve human and animal health, renewable energy sources, food production, and land- and resource management.

Campus Ås

Campus Ås houses Norway's largest interdisciplinary academic environment in the life sciences.

The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) consists of seven faculties, of which six are located at Campus Ås and one is partially located at Campus Adamstuen (until 2019):

• Biosciences
• Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Food Science
• Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management
• Landscape and Society
• School of Economics and Business
• Science and Technology
• Veterinary Medicine

A new research and teaching building for veterinary science will open in 2020, meaning all seven faculties at NMBU will then be consolidated in Ås. The Norwegian Veterinary Institute will move to Campus Ås at the same time.

Campus Ås is also home to one of Norway's most beautiful parks, with a number of historical buildings, as well as Ås Farm, where research and teaching on traditional livestock are conducted.

Campus Ås covers a total area of 600 hectares in the municipality of Ås.

Two other major institutions are also co-located with NMBU at Campus Ås: key parts of the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Research (Nofima) and the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO).

Campus Adamstuen

Campus Adamstuen is home to Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The faculty is Norway’s only institution of higher education for veterinarians with competence in two distinct academic fields: veterinary medicine and veterinary public health.

Veterinary medicine addresses animal health and well-being. Key areas include knowledge about diseases, diagnostics, and treatment. The field includes both production animals, including farmed fish, and companion animals.

Veterinary public health pertains to all aspects of preventing the spread of disease from animals to humans and is a field that is in increasing demand.

On 1 January 2014, the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH) and the University of Life Sciences (UMB) were merged to form the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), consolidating research and teaching on the entire biological production chain under a single umbrella. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine comprises four departments at Campus Adamstuen:

• Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine (Basam)
• Food Safety and Infection Biology (Matinf)
• Production Animal Clinical Sciences (Prodmed)
• Companion Animal Clinical Sciences (Sportfamed)

Campus Adamstuen is also home to the University Animal Hospital, consisting of the Companion Animal Clinic, the Equine Clinic, and the Production Animal Clinic.

The University Animal Hospital treats sick animals from the entire country and is closely linked to the research and educational activities at NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine.

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute is a biomedical research institute that shares premises with Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Campus Adamstuen. The Norwegian Veterinary History Museum is also located here.

Campus Adamstuen is scheduled to close in 2019, and NMBU School of Veterinary Medicine and the University Animal Hospital will then move into state-of-the-art veterinary premises at Campus Ås, meaning all three faculties will finally be co-located in one place. The Norwegian Veterinary Institute will move to Campus Ås at the same time.

A brand new veterinary science research and teaching building are currently being built at Campus Ås.

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine also has a division located in south-western Norway: the Section for Small Ruminant Research in Høyland, Sandnes.