Master's in Aquaculture

Ghent University is a public university in Ghent, Belgium. It was founded in 1817 and is one of the largest universities in Belgium. The university has over 40,000 students and 6,000 staff members. It offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in the fields of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine, and engineering. Ghent University is ranked #121-130 in the QS World University Rankings 2024. It is also a member of the League of European Research Universities and the Coimbra Group.

The Master of Science of Aquaculture is a two-year programme at an university level on the most important aspects of aquaculture for both marine and freshwater organisms. In the first semester, basic knowledge such as biology, physiology, microbiology, statistics, informatics are broadened and/or refreshed. The second semester of the first year focuses on specific aspects in aquaculture such as larviculture and larval food production, fish and shellfish production techniques, algae culture and farm management training. The whole first semester of the second year students follow specialised courses on diseases, genetics and management at Ghent University. This master’s programme is organised solely in English and receives a diverse international audience. Several guest speakers and practicing scientists and scholars from other European institutions (and abroad) contribute to the programme. The Faculty of Bioscience Engineering has a wide range of bilateral agreements for both student and lecture exchange with universities all over the world. This offers opportunities for integration of the UGent Aquaculture curriculum with the curriculum of other universities teaching aquaculture at the MSc level, leading to a higher variety of specialised courses, internships and dissertation work. The many excursions to different fish and shellfish farms in Europe will give the student a better understanding of the industry. Students have the opportunity to follow a farm training in marine or freshwater farms or research centre. Specialised courses such as Aquatic Farm Management Training, Fish Culture Techniques, Management in the Aquaculture Industry ... compare the European situation with the situation in the student’s country of origin.. Master's Dissertation Students can choose the topic for their master’s Dissertation (thesis) in a broad range of disciplines in which the scientific staff of the master’s programmes is active. In general, the students become involved in ongoing research within the research laboratories of their promoter(s). They can however also propose their own research topic. Thanks to our extended international network, students can perform their master’s dissertation work in laboratories in other (non-) European countries. Students have to conduct research with the appropriate expertise in order to contribute to the development of a particular research domain. The ultimate goal is to initiate students into research at an academic level so that, upon completion of their master’s programme, they are able to carry out scientific research in a proper way. Specific requirements will be mentioned in the practical procedure.