Master's degree (2 years)
Full time
Nordic Master in Aquatic Food Production - Safety and Quality

Atlantic salmon production: from sea to table (Earlier AQFood)

Do you want to become an expert in salmon production value chain? By acquiring a holistic perspective of salmon value chain, you can contribute to provide a healthy and nutritious food for a growing world population while contributing to a sustainable growth of Atlantic salmon production. With a master’s degree in Atlantic salmon production: from sea to table (SalmonProd), you get a unique and comprehensive knowledge and skills from the entire Atlantic salmon production and food supply chain, linking aquaculture with processing and distribution until the salmon reaches the consumers.

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Application deadline:

April 15th
International applicants: December 1st

Start of Studies:

Autumn

Requirements:

A relevant bachelor or equivalent degree in life sciences or engineering.

Requirements in detail
Applicants must hold a relevant Bachelor's degree or equivalent degree in Life sciences or engineering.
Applicants must have courses in Mathematics and/or Statistics.
There is a minimum mark requirement of C for admission.
English Language requirements for English taught programmes at NMBU: Language requirements for programmes taught in English at NMBU | NMBU

The Atlantic salmon production study programme is a unique education for the aquatic food sector linking salmon production, processing and distribution with issues of importance for tomorrow's consumers, industry and society. It is designed for students who wish to pursue a career in the salmon sector, whether they will be professionals in aquaculture production, industrial food production, natural resource management or related research, teaching and consulting activities.

The study programme is designed for Norwegian, European, and international students with background in food science, chemistry, biology, microbiology, natural sciences, environment, health, biotechnology, aquaculture, fishery and engineering who are interested in specializing in salmon production related topics at the M.Sc. level.

Read about what it's like to be a student at NMBU.

Career opportunities

An increased demand for aquatic food requires highly qualified candidates throughout the entire food chain. Atlantic salmon is the most successful marine species in aquaculture, and the idustry is employing thousands of people worldwide in all parts of the value chain. The growing salmon farming industry is becoming increasingly integrated, which means that individual companies cover several parts of the entire value chain.

As an Atlantic salmon production graduate you can work in the entire salmon farming value chain, in the aquaculture part, the processing part, within logistics, research and innovation, quality control, advisory positions within both private and public authorities depending of focus area.

Learning outcomes
The program gives you a global understanding of the aquatic food production. You will learn about the entire value chain for aquatic food, from fishery and aquaculture throughout processing, distribution until the product reaches the consumer. The program is focusing on safety and quality, from sea to table.
Program structure
This Master's degree programme is a joint two year programme consisting of a total of 120 ECTS credits.
The programme structure includes:
- Mandatory courses
- Specialization courses
- Elective courses
- Master's thesis
Study structure
In the first semester, you will take courses at intermediate and master's level in production, processing, safety and health, sustainability, logistics and innovation. During the second semester you will take more in-depth courses related to salmon production, design of salmon farms and knowledge of the salmon industry.
After the first year, you choose your master specialization, that is which part of the value chain you will focus on. You can do this through more detailed courses, through the master thesis or a combination of courses and master.
The last part of the program includes the master thesis. You can write this in cooperation with industrial partners, research institutions or at the university. You may also get the chance to sit at the partners' office (industry or research institutions). You can write a 30, 45 or 60 ECTS master's thesis.
More about the program
- Societal relevance
  The demand for aquatic food is increasing drastically worldwide and at the same time there is a pressure for more efficient production and distribution systems to deliver healthy, and safe food also taking into account the environmental and sustainability issues throughout the entire aquatic food value chain.
- Learning activities
  The teaching is varied, but the most common form is lectures and practice lessons. In some subjects there are compulsory activities such as group work, exercises in the lab with subsequent reports, project assignments, excursions and participation in seminars.
- Examination
  Many courses have a final exam that determines the entire grade in the course. The exam can be both written and oral. Other subjects have a combined assessment that includes several elements, such as e.g. mid-term exam, assignment, report or term paper, and where you get a grade on each of them. When there is portfolio assessment, each individual assignment is not assessed separately, but receives a joint grade at the end, when the portfolio is delivered. As a rule, we use letter grades, but in some subjects you get pass/fail. At the end of the study, an independent work, the master's thesis, is included, which should show understanding, reflection and maturity. The thesis is defended orally.