During the first semester at KSU the student will be assigned an advisor who will work with the student to design a course of study based on the student’s academic background, experience, and future aspirations in terms of employment or further graduate study. By the first month of the second semester the advisor and advisee will agree on, and document, whether the student will pursue the Thesis Option or Non-Thesis Option in the program. The student and advisor will then agree on the make-up of the student’s graduate committee. The committee will consist of three voting members which will be members of the Division’s graduate faculty. Additional committee members, from within or outside of the Division, can participate but will not vote. The committee will be responsible for establishing the courses required for this student’s course of study.

To successfully complete the thesis option, 29 hours of Coursework and 6 hours of Thesis Credit (3 hours of thesis research and 3 hours for thesis writing) are required (total of 35 credit hours needed). Some of the courses can be taken as distance learning (interactive video or online), especially when students are in the field collecting data. Required courses and thesis topic must be approved by the student’s graduate committee. The purpose of the thesis option is to demonstrate the student’s ability to investigate a research topic and report the findings in proper scientific publication style. This enables the student to gain experience in a specific area of aquaculture and/or aquatic sciences and to report research results in a publishable document. Experience in literature review, experimental design, data collection, record-keeping, statistical analysis, and manuscript preparation are obtained by students completing the thesis option. Students who intend to further their graduate education (e.g. obtain a doctoral degree) should choose this option, because doctoral programs often require students to have demonstrated their ability to successfully complete a master’s thesis.

To successfully complete the non-thesis option, 35 hours of Coursework and 3 hours of Internship (Work-Study) for a total of 38 credit hours are needed. Some of the courses can be taken as distance learning (interactive video or online) especially when students are in the field during an internship. Graduate students enrolled in the Non-Thesis Option are required to perform a work-study program as determined by their major professor and approved by their committee. Some settings where the student might work include an aquaculture/aquatic sciences facility such as a fish farm, processing plant, university, or a state or federal fisheries facility. Cooperative Extension work may also be chosen. A report would be written along with a review of literature for a specific aspect of the work-study experience. A detailed proposal will be written by the student and approved by the student’s committee before the work-study is performed.

perform a work-study program as determined by their major professor and approved by their committee. Some settings where the student might work include an aquaculture/aquatic sciences facility such as a fish farm, processing plant, university, or a state or federal fisheries facility. Cooperative Extension work may also be chosen. A report would be written along with a review of literature for a specific aspect of the work-study experience. A detailed proposal will be written by the student and approved by the student’s committee before the work-study is performed.

AQU 507: Fish Genetics (3 hrs)

AQU 509: Biostatistics (3 hrs)

AQU 511: Fish Diseases (4 hrs)

AQU 512: Fish Morphology & Physiology (4 hrs)

AQU 513: Aquatic Ecology (4 hrs)

AQU 514: Basics of Fish Diseases (3 hrs)

AQU 516: Computer Applications in Statistics (1 hr)

AQU 521: Fish Nutrition (3 hrs)

AQU 522: Principles of Aquaculture (3 hrs)

AQU 525: Aquaculture Economics and Marketing (4 hrs)

AQU 527: Fish Reproduction & Spawning Techniques (4 hrs)

AQU 551: Survey of Production Methods (3 hrs)

AQU 560: Water Quality Management (4 hrs)

AQU 580: Intro. to Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resource Mgt. (3 hrs)

AQU 591: Internship (1-4 hrs)

AQU 600: Research (1-9 hrs) AQU 601: Thesis (1-3 hrs)

AQU 601: Thesis (1-3 hrs)

An application for graduation must be received in the Division of Aquaculture prior to the semester in which the program completion is expected (see the Academic Calendar for submission dates). Graduation application forms are available upon request from the Office of the Registrar. Students should refer to the following section for complete details concerning application for graduation. Fees will be billed to the student’s account by the cashier. Students will be considered candidates for graduation only if they have an overall and program graduate grade-point average of 3.0 or higher at the beginning of the term in which they wish to graduate.

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