WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2015 15 times between 2000 and 2010, but a decline is projected for 2015. There were few international students at this training level although a steady increase was reported from 2000 to 2015. At the M.S. level, the number of U.S. students increased 1.7 times between 2000 and 2010, with a projected increase for 2015. There were fewer international students but the number steadily increased from 2000 to 2015. At the Ph.D. level, enrollment was unchanged for U.S. students between 2000 and 2010, but a 30 percent increase was projected for 2015. International Ph.D. student enrollment matched U.S. students in 2010 but no increase was projected for 2015. As a comparison, in the broad area of agriculture, agricultural operations and related sciences, the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Education Information System (2013) reported undergraduate enrollment grew by 4 percent in 2012 and 28 percent since 2005, whereas the graduate enrollment grew by 1 percent in 2012 and 16 percent since 2005. For natural resources and conservation programs, undergraduate enrollment increased by 1 percent in 2012 and 41 percent since 2005, however graduate enrollment in the same areas decreased by 0.2 percent in 2012 but increased 13 percent since 2005. Aquaculture programs have experienced greater percentage increases in enrollment of undergraduates and graduates over the project period, although total numbers of students are much lower. There is considerable uncertainty whether changes in industry development, budgetary pressures, and changing program directions would lead some institutions to replace aquaculture positions vacated in the future with hires in other subject areas (Fig. 5). Vacated positions are usually refilled in subject areas that are determined by university administrators, who take into account budgetary, state priority and long-term sustainable program considerations. Organized and vocal constituencies can also influence new faculty hires. In many cases the decision is based on available funding support. Most (42) surveyed institutions indicated no plans to add a new aquaculture program by 2015, but some (15) responded that new aquaculture programs were in development and would be added. Of these, 26 percent were planning to add new Ph.D. degree programs or certificates, new courses or an online M.S. program. These figures demonstrate continued support for aquaculture education/training at these institutions. Regarding attrition, a majority of responding institutions (54) indicated no plans to eliminate existing aquaculture programs, although a small number (3) indicated closure was likely. Collectively these findings suggest maintenance of the overall status quo with respect to aquaculture education/ training programs. Job placement prospects were generally considered most favorable for those earning graduate degrees, although some uncertainty was reported (Fig. 6). Only 16 percent of institutions reported having high success with extramural funding during 2000-2010, considered critical to recruit and train graduate students. University faculty require extramural grant funds to support research projects, stipends for graduate students and some to cover partial salary. Overhead funds from extramural grants are used for general departmental or program costs, including new equipment and facility operations. Sixty percent of institutions include formal mentoring or internship as a training component. Finally 59 institutions expressed interest in professional development sessions at national aquaculture conferences. The topics of greatest interest were curriculum development and innovations in teaching methods. Discussion Although not revealed in the data because of the limited time span (from 2000 to 2015), there is considerable anecdotal evidence suggesting that previous trends in student enrollment and new jobs have slowed or reversed in the last decade (2000-2010). U.S. student interest and support by some institutions began to change during this period, with some historically strong programs scaling back and others being terminated. The number of institutions starting new aquaculture programs declined from 2000 to 2009. After 2010, investment in new aquaculture programs essentially ended. More recently, however, interest in marine sciences and (CONTINUED ON PAGE 16) TOP, FIGURE 5. Likelihood of filling future vacated aquaculture positions. BOTTOM, FIGURE 6. Prospects for job placement of students completing aquaculture-related degree programs in 2010.
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