Program of Study

The program leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources is an interdisciplinary program with core faculty drawn from the School of Food and Agriculture, the School of Marine Sciences, the School of Biology and Ecology, the School of Economics, and the College of Engineering. The graduate program in Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources is designed to train professionals for a career in aquaculture and related industries or for further academic training. The M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are intended to have a strong basis in the biological and/or physical sciences with additional training and research opportunities in areas such as aquatic health, physiology and nutrition, aquaculture production, engineering, food science & technology, social sciences, policy and economics.

The Program Faculty come from multiple disciplinary areas including engineering, pathology, physiology, nutrition, seafood processing and population and habitat modeling. Faculty work with a variety of aquatic species including, but not limited to: cod, halibut, salmon, trout, oysters, clams, mussels, sea urchins, sea horses, abalone, seaweed, and lobsters.

 

Consideration for admission to the M.S. program will be given to applicants holding a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in one of the general areas of biology, animal science, food science, nutrition or engineering. Admission to the Ph.D. program requires a master’s degree or equivalent in a science-related discipline with prior research experience. Applicants are expected to have at least a 3.0 grade-point average. Applications will be evaluated holistically using the undergraduate transcripts and references from persons knowledgeable of the student’s academic potential and work ethic. Since admission into the program depends on obtaining a suitable faculty advisor, interested students should begin the application process by first contacting potential faculty advisors to find out if they anticipate accepting new students. If an Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources faculty member encourages you to apply, indicate the faculty member’s name and your proposed research area in your application’s Statement of Purpose. Once submitted, the completed application will be considered by a review committee.

Upon admission, a program of study is planned by the student in consultation with the student’s advisory committee. Courses are selected from the graduate offerings of all University of Maine Departments. The interests, background courses, and future needs of the student will be considered in course selection. The student will participate in a research project developed in consultation with the advisory committee.

Facilities

Research facilities and associated research support are available. Among equipment available for graduate-student use, for example, are automated DNA-sequencing equipment, laser confocal and electron microscopes, digital imaging equipment, gas liquid chromatographs, scintillation counters and controlled-environment chambers. Other facilities include:

The Matthew Highlands Food Science Pilot Plant (https://umaine.edu/foodandagriculture/pilotplant/), 
Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) (https://umaine.edu/cooperative-aquaculture/),
The Ira C. Darling Marine Center (https://dmc.umaine.edu/)
Marine Science Field Station (MSFS) at the Downeast Institute (DEI) (https://downeastinstitute.org/).

Application

Applicants need to identify an area of research interest and a potential advisor at the time of application; they should feel free to contact members of the faculty to discuss possible research projects before submission of the application. A research project/thesis is a central part of both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

 

Most students are supported by research grants to individual faculty members; interested students should contact faculty members directly for further information on grant-supported assistantships. Some students choose to self-fund.

 

The program does NOT have any internal funding for assistantships.

 

We accept applications throughout the year. Be sure to contact the AAR Graduate Program Coordinator prior to submitting an application.

 

Additional information is available from the AAR Graduate Program Coordinator, E-mail: timothy.bowden@maine.edu

 

Graduate Faculty

Robert Bayer, Ph.D. (Michigan State), Professor. School of Food and Agriculture. Lobster fisheries and aquaculture nutrition, management and physiology. (rbayer@maine.edu)
Brian Beal, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Professor. University of Maine at Machias. Shellfish aquaculture, estuarine biology, marine benthic ecology, and experimental design. (bbeal@maine.edu)
Kathleen Bell, Ph.D. (University of Maryland), Professor, School of Economics. Environmental and natural resources economics, spatial modeling and analysis, human-environment interactions, and marine policy. (kpbell@maine.edu)
Tim Bowden, Ph.D. (University of Aberdeen, UK), Associate Professor, School of Food and Agriculture. Aquatic animal health, environmental impacts on animals, seasonality and circadian rhythms. (timothy.bowden@maine.edu)
Deborah Bouchard, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Associate Extension Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Aquatic animal health specialist. (deborah.bouchard@maine.edu)
Damian Brady, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), Associate Professor, School of Marine Sciences. Spatial and temporal dynamics of water quality and organism behavior. (damian.brady@maine.edu)
Ian Bricknell, Ph.D. (University of Lancaster, UK), Professor. School of Marine Sciences. Aquatic animal health, especially parasites such as sea lice. (ian.bricknell@maine.edu)
Laurie Connell, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina), Research Professor, School of Marine Sciences, Marine algae, shellfish toxins and shellfish health. (laurie.b.connell@maine.edu)
Chris Davis, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center; Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Marine Sciences, shellfish biology, aquaculture. (christopher.v.davis@gmail.com)
Keith Evans, Ph.D. (Iowa State University). Associate Professor. School of Economics. Marine resource economics, marine development, non-market valuation, and marine policy (keith.evans@maine.edu)
Erin Grey, Ph.D. (University of Chicago), Assistant Professor of Aquatic Genetics, School of Biology & Ecology. Genetics, larval ecology, benthic ecology, biofouling, invasive species, environmental DNA and RNA. (erin.grey@maine.edu) 
Michael Habtetsion, Ph.D. (Nanjing Agricultural University). Assistant Extension Professor and Fish Nutrition Specialist. Cooperative Extension and Aquaculture Research Institute. Aquatic Animal Nutrition, Immuno-nutrition and Nutrigenomics. (michael.habtetsion@maine.edu)
Heather Hamlin, Ph.D. (University of Florida). Professor. School of Marine Sciences Reproductive biology and endocrinology of aquacultured animals. (heather.hamlin@maine.edu)
Matt Hawkyard, Ph.D. (Oregon State University). Assistant Extension Professor and Fish Nutrition Specialist. Cooperative Extension and Aquaculture Research Institute. Fish and shellfish nutrition, microencapsulation and feed technology. (matt.hawkyard@maine.edu)
Kim Huguenard, Ph.D. (University of Florida). Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CIE). Coastal and ocean engineering, estuarine hydrodynamics, nearshore processes, turbulence and mixing, including aquaculture engineering. (kimberly.huguenard@maine.edu)
Sue Ishaq, Ph.D. (University of Vermont), Assistant Professor of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, School of Food and Agriculture. Animal microbiomes. (sue.ishaq@maine.edu)
Heather Leslie, Ph.D. (Oregon State University). Professor and Director of the University of Maine’s marine laboratory, Darling Marine Center. Drivers of ecological and social processes in marine systems, and how to more effectively connect science to policy and management. (heather.leslie@maine.edu)
Jean MacRae, Ph.D. (University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C., Canada). Associate Professor. Civil and Environmental Engineering (CIE). Aquaculture waste management, and nutrient recovery; testing methods. (jean.macrae@maine.edu)
Caroline Noblet, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Associate Professor. School of Economics. Consumer choice, sustainable behavior, labeling. (caroline.noblet@maine.edu)

Lewis (Brian) Perkins, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Associate Research Professor. School of Food and Agriculture. Analytical method development for bioactive compounds, naturally occurring toxins and pesticide residues in food and environmental matrices. (bperkins@maine.edu)
Jen Perry, Ph.D. (Ohio State University), Associate Professor of Food Microbiology. Investigation of the effect of probiotic supplementation and dietary modulation on the composition of the bacterial and fungal communities in the GI tract, evaluation of differences in genomic and transcriptomic profiles. (jennifer.perry@maine.edu)
Paul Rawson, Ph.D. (University of South Carolina), Professor of Marine Science.  School of Marine Science. Ecological genetics of marine invertebrates and marine bivalve aquaculture. (prawson@maine.edu)
Laura Rickard, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism. Communication in the context of science, health, environmental, and risk-based issues, with a strong focus on aquaculture and working waterfronts. (laura.rickard@maine.edu)
Denise Skonberg, Ph.D. (University of Washington), Professor. School of Food and Agriculture. Seafood by- product utilization, seafood processing, quality evaluation of aquaculture products. (denise.skonberg@maine.edu)
Joshua Stoll, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Assistant Professor, School of Marine Sciences. Ocean governance, fisheries and aquaculture policy, social-ecological systems. (joshua.stoll@maine.edu)
Peter Van Walsum, Ph.D. (Dartmouth College), Professor. Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. Seaweed processing, process engineering. (peter.vanwalsum@maine.edu)
Gayle Zydlewski, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Professor, School of Marine Sciences. Director Maine Seagrant. Environmental impact on behavior, population dynamics and physiology. (gayle.zydlewski@maine.edu)
Joseph Zydlewski, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts), Assistant Unit Leader-Fisheries U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Ecology & Environmental Science. Migratory behavior, ecology and physiology of fishes. (josephz@maine.edu)

 

External Graduate Faculty

Carrie J. Byron, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island), Assistant Professor. Department of Marine Science. University of New England. Food web ecology, trophic dynamics and carrying capacity of ocean foods production. (cbyron@une.edu)

Brian Peterson, Ph.D. Center Director, The National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center, USDA, Franklin, Maine. Research program areas address: Genetic Improvement, Growth and Development, Health, and Sustainable Production Systems for Atlantic salmon and for cold water marine finfish species. (brian.peterson@usda.gov)