What is an Aquaculture Degree?

Whether you want to study the biology of crustaceans, monitor the health and well-being of farm-raised fish, or manage the technical operations of a hatchery, you can get there with an aquaculture degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in biology and take specialized courses in culture techniques of salt and freshwater algae, crustaceans, finfish and mollusks.

Our aquaculture degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Biological Discovery and Introduction to Aquaculture as a freshman. Guided by highly qualified faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech:

• Ours is the first aquaculture degree program established in the U.S. (1977)
• Diverse and vast natural resources such as the estuarine habitats of the Indian River Lagoon, the Atlantic Ocean marine ecosystem, area beaches, marshes and wetlands
• Opportunities for undergraduates to participate in a variety of sponsored research and fieldwork activities
• Access to cutting-edge lab facilities and centers of excellence such as the Sportfish Research Institute and the Neotropical Paleoecology Research Group
• Professors who not only advance their fields through groundbreaking research, but involve undergraduates in the learning adventure
• 50% of required credits are in biology

Facilities: The biology department is housed in the F.W. Olin Life Sciences Building (LSB). LSB contains eight teaching labs, 12 modern research labs, a 16-workstation computer facility, and an electron microscopy suite. The indoor aquaculture facilities at Florida Tech's main campus total approximately 2,500 square feet, most of which is wet laboratory space. Recirculating systems ranging from small glass aquaria through 720-gallon tanks harbor a wide variety of aquatic species. Controlled environmental factors such as temperature, salinity and photoperiod can be imposed on any of these systems, providing outstanding capabilities for studies of reproduction, early life history, growout, nutrition, behavior and related areas of virtually any aquatic species. The department also maintains the Vero Beach Marine Laboratory where field studies in aquaculture can be performed.
Learning

Clubs and Organizations:

• Tri Beta (biological sciences honor society
• Aquaculture Society

Research: In addition to research opportunities provided through our Office of Sponsored Programs and other university sources, we offer unique and exciting field research opportunities as part of the aquaculture degree curriculum. Professors often involve undergraduate students in their sponsored research initiatives and fieldwork projects.

Internships and Cooperative Learning: Students in the biological sciences at Florida Tech have been recruited for internships by companies such as:

• American Museum of Natural Science
• Andean Biodiversity Consortium
• Baltimore Aquarium
• Brevard County Environmentally Engangered Lands Program
• Brevard Zoo
• Epcot Center
• Florida Medical Entomology Lab
• The Perry Institute for Marine Science
• Sea World Florida
• Shedd Aquarium

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: In addition to pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at Florida Tech, graduates have gone on to study at a number of universities around the country. A few of these include:

• University of Florida
• University of South Alabama
• University of Miami
• University of Texas
• University of South Florida

Outcomes - Career and Salary: Aquaculture degree graduates work for industry and government around the world, including:

• United States federal (EPA, USDA), state and local agencies
• Commercial food and ornamental aquaculture producers
• Research laboratories, aquariums and zoos
• Theme parks