Fisheries and Aquaculture Scholar Program

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Scholar Program seeks to identify bright undergraduates in the Fisheries major at NC State who are interested in a career in fish health.  Though aquatic medicine is becoming a more popular career path, the vast majority of students are interested in either major display aquarium work or careers that include treatment of aquatic pets.  There is a serious dearth of veterinarians who are interested in the important food production aspect of aquatic health (fisheries and aquaculture).  Student who enter the program are mentored to combine their fisheries major requirements and the veterinary DVM pre-requisite courses.  They are evaluated on their academic performance and their dedication to food production aquatics, and are selected by the NC State fisheries faculty in consultation with CVM aquatics faculty.  Up to two students could be selected per year for automatic admission dependent on successful completion of admissions requirements each year.  However, the pool of potential students is such that to date at most one student has been chosen to pursue a career in aquatic health.