Aquaculture Specialty
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123 semester hours
The Aquaculture program is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the scientific basis, design, and management of aquaculture systems. The program provides hands-on training in a wide-range of aquaculture activities and stresses the international nature of aquaculture. Approximately 40% of the required courses are in aquaculture and agriculture with the other 60% in natural sciences and humanities.
The program produces educated aquaculturists needed by the growing aquaculture industry in Hawai‘i and throughout the world. Aquaculture graduates from UH Hilo have the training to obtain employment immediately after graduation with private firms and various government agencies as aquaculture biologists/technicians. Also, because of the broad emphasis of the program on both biology and agriculture technology, they have many of the skills required to start their own aquaculture enterprises. If students desire a career in research or teaching, the aquaculture program is designed to enable the student to be qualified for admittance to graduate programs in aquaculture and fisheries.
The area in close proximity to the UH Hilo campus has unique potential for aquaculture education. The availability of warm freshwater from wells, warm seawater, and cold seawater (from deep sea pipelines) allows the culture of most aquaculture species including trout, salmon, carp, shrimp, tropical fish, various seaweeds, and shellfish. A freshwater aquaculture facility at the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory is used for both teaching and research. A newly-developing 12-acre coastal site at Keaukaha, adjacent to the port of Hilo, is a decommissioned, converted wastewater treatment plant which will include a water quality laboratory, a pearl oyster hatchery, a marine fish hatchery, and a demonstration farm for ornamental fish cultivation. Water supplies will include freshwater, saltwater, and, after renovation of a 1200-ft deep well is complete, very cold seawater.
Agriculture: Aquaculture Specialty Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree
GROUP 1. General Education Requirements (and Assigned Credits)
- English Composition (3)
- Quantitative Reasoning (3) [See Note 1 below re: Math 121 in Group 2]
- World Cultures (6)
- Humanities (3 or more) [ENG 225 and one COM course in Group 2 fulfill 6 out of the 9 semester hours of this requirement]
- Social Sciences (6 or more) [ECON 130 fulfills 3 out of the 9 semester hours of this requirement]
- Natural Sciences [Science Courses in Group 2 fulfill all 10 semester hours of this requirement]
GROUP 1 Total: 18 – 21 Semester Credits
GROUP 2. Major Requirements (and Assigned Credits)
- Agriscience Requirements
- AG 291 Directed Work Experience (3)
- AG 497 Senior Seminar (1) [see Note 2 below]
- AGBU 320 Agribusiness Management (3) OR AGEC 330 Farm Management (3)
- AGEN 400 Aquaculture Engineering (3)
- ANSC 141 Introduction to Animal Science (3) [see Note 3 below]
- ANSC 244 Fundamentals of Animal Nutrition (3)
- AQUA 262 Introduction to Aquaculture (3)
- AQUA 352/352L Aquaculture of Fishes plus lab (4)
- AQUA 353/353L Invertebrate and Algae Culture plus Lab (4)
- AQUA 425/425L Water Quality and Aquatic Productivity Laboratory (4)
- AQUA 466 Fisheries Science (3)
- HORT 262 Principles of Horticulture (3)
- HORT 263 Hydroponics (3)
- Choose ONE course from the following three courses: (3)
- AG 375 Introduction to Genetic Analysis
- ANSC 445 Animal Breeding and Genetics
- BIOL 466 Genetics
- Required Courses from Related Fields
- CHEMISTRY (Choose ONE sequence from the following three sequences):
- CHEM 124/124D/124L General Chemistry I plus CHEM 125/125D/125L General Chemistry II (10)
- CHEM 124/124D/124L General Chemistry I plus CHEM 141/141L Survey of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (9)
- CHEM 114/114L Introductory Chemistry plus CHEM 141/141L Survey of Organic Chemistry (8)
- ECON 130 Introduction to Microeconomics (3)
- ENG 225 Writing for Science and Technology (3)
- MARE 171/171L Marine Biology-Diversity plus Lab (4)
- MARE 172 Marine Biology-Cellular Processes (3)
- MARE 201/201L Oceanography plus Lab (4)
- PHYS 106/170L College Physics plus Lab (4)
- Choose TWO course pairs from the following three course pairs (8)
- MARE 371/371L Biology of Marine Invertebrates plus Lab (4)
- MARE 372/372L Biology of Marine Plants plus Lab (4)
- MARE 484/484L Biology of Fishes plus Lab (4)
- Choose ONE course from the following two courses: (3)
- BIOL 281 General Ecology
- MARE 265 Marine Ecology and Evolution
- Choose ONE course from the following three courses: (3)
- BIOL 280 Biostatistics
- MARE 250 Statistical Applications in Marine Science
- MATH 121 Introduction to Statistics and Probability
- Choose ONE course from the following COM courses: (3)
- COM 100 Human Communication in a Diverse Society
- COM 200 Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication
- COM 251 Public Speaking
- CHEMISTRY (Choose ONE sequence from the following three sequences):
GROUP 2 Total: 90 – 95 Semester Credits
GROUP 3. Electives from all university courses. [See Note 4 below]
GROUP 3 Total: 7 – 15 Semester Credits
Total Semester Hours Required For The B.S. in Agriculture: Aquaculture Specialty: 123
Notes:
- Students who choose MATH 121 under Required Courses from Related Fields can count this course as the Quantitative Reasoning requirement in Group 1, General Education Requirements.
- AG 497 may be taken before senior year.
- ANSC 141 must be completed before taking other Animal Science courses.
- Students who decide later to pursue a graduate degree would find the following courses useful: BIOL 410; CHEM 241-242; PHYS 107; and MATH 205-206.
- Students must earn at least a 2.0 GPA in courses required for the major.
- To earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, students must fulfill the requirements for the major AND meet all of the University’s other baccalaureate degree requirements. (Please see the chapter on Baccalaureate Degree Requirements in the Catalog.)
- Students should always check course prerequisites and the frequency with which courses are offered. This information is found in Course Listings in the back of the Catalog.
- To ensure progress toward degree completion, students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor each semester before registering.