Master of Professional Science
Aquaculture
Aquaculture provides over 50% of the seafood for human consumption. As the fastest growing sector of food production, growing at a rate of ~10% annually, it has reshaped the fishery industry and fisheries management strategies worldwide. The Professional Master’s Program in Aquaculture focuses on the environmental, technological, social, economic, legal, and political aspects of sustainable aquaculture. The program covers all stages of planning and development, from site and species selection to feasibility studies, resource evaluation, hatchery and grow-out technology, and commercialization. Emphasis is placed on the environmental sustainability of commercially important marine fish species, as well as shrimp and mollusks.
The program combines extensive laboratory courses with substantial hands-on experiences at the University of Miami Experimental Hatchery (UMEH), working with broodstock, spawning, larval rearing, live feed production, nurseries, and shipping/transport. Furthermore, students participate in a field course organized in collaboration with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATCC) and conducted simultaneously with the Annual Workshop on the “Physiology and Aquaculture of Pelagics with Emphasis on Reproduction and Early Developmental Stages of yellow fin Tuna”. This 2-week, intensive field course takes place at the world renowned Achotines Laboratory in Provincia de Los Santos, on the Pacific coast of the Republic of Panama.
Sample Curriculum
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester |
|---|---|
| Aquaculture Management (MAF 512) | Aquaculture Management II (MAF 513) |
| Introduction to Marine GIS (MAF 560) | Coastal Zone Management (MAF 518)/ Or ELECTIVE |
| Economics of Natural Resources (MAF 502) OR Fisheries Socioeconomics and Management (MAF 525) | Political Ecology of Resource Management (MAF 501)/ Or ELECTIVE |
| Biology and Systematics of Fishes (MBF 687)/ Or ELECTIVE | Aquaculture Management III (MAF 519) — *SUMMER FIELD COURSE |
Other Electives:
Business School electives are applicable, with approval from Academic Advisor
Advanced Biology of Marine Invertebrates (BIL 523)
Advanced Biometrics (MBF 615)
Biometrics in Marine Science (MBF508)
Coastal Law and Policy (MAF 620)
Diseases of Marine Organisms (MBF 576)
Environmental Law (MAF 520)
Interdisciplinary Environmental Theory (ECS501)
International Ocean Law (MAF 610)
Marine Conservation Biology (MAF – NEW)
Oceans and Human Health (MBF 542)
Ocean Policy and Development and Analysis (MAF 516)
Scientific Communication (RSM 545)
Statistics for Environmental Management (RSM 512)
Sustainable Fisheries (MBF590)
Tropical Marine Biology: A Field Course (MBF514)
