Graduate Program

 

General Information     Admission Requirements   Courses & Evaluations    Scholarships      Contacts

 

Watch a 2008 video presentation about student research at the Fisheries Centre

 

General Information

The Fisheries Centre at UBC was formed in 1993 as a unit of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and in 2007 became part of the then newly-formed College for Interdisciplinary Studies . The FC aims to focus and promote the multidisciplinary study of fisheries. Analytical tools developed in a broad spectrum of parent subjects, including biology, oceanography, economics, engineering, mathematics, sociology, planning and policy are employed in order to assess, appraise and forecast the impacts of both human and natural processes on fishery resources. Fisheries policy and management problems under study include assessment and management of artisanal and commercial food capture fisheries, recreational fisheries, coastal and watershed management, aquaculture biology and engineering, conflict resolution and the co-management of shared fishery resources, and the conservation of endangered exploited species in both marine and freshwater environments.

This guideline is to complement the general regulations detailed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies . The FC is not an admitting department. Students who have the agreement of a Fisheries Centre faculty member to supervise their research apply for admission to UBC Graduate Studies through other departments such as Resource Management and Environmental Studies , Zoology , Geography , or Earth and Ocean Sciences . Most departments require a research proposal as part of the admission process. Once admitted, a student's graduate program is administered through the home department, but s/he is offered study space and other opportunities at the Fisheries Centre. The Fisheries Centre and the First Nations House of Learning also encourage aboriginal students to apply for graduate studies in Master and PhD programs. More information can be found on the Aboriginal Fisheries Reseach Unit web page.

 

Admission Requirements

Students should refer to the admission requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies for general information and minimum academic guidelines. In general, a bachelors degree in Science (e.g. Ecology, Biology, Zoology), or in relevant quantitative subjects within Arts (e.g. Mathematics, Economics) will normally be required. Degrees from other disciplines will be considered where an applicant's main background is in policy or sociology of fisheries, and where evidence of quantitative experience can be provided. A master's degree is normally required for admission to the doctoral program.

(Graduate students from other universities wishing to visit the Fisheries Centre should consult the UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies webpage and the UBC Faculty Relations webpage to determine whether to apply for Regular Visiting Student status, Exchange Student status, or Visiting Scholar status.  Regular Visiting Students must follow the same application procedure outlined above for regular graduate students.)

Winter 2010 FISH Courses - updated December 20, 2010
 

Fisheries Centre graduate students should discuss course requirements with their admitting department and their Fisheries Centre research supervisor. The Fisheries Centre offers a series of fisheries courses, all of which FC students are encouraged to take for official credit or on official or unofficial audit basis at some point during their time at UBC.  Both official and unofficial auditors must have permission of the instructor.

All FISH courses listed below are confirmed for Winter Session 2010.  Some course descriptions are under revision and updates will be posted when available.  Courses with low registration are subject to possible cancellation on or before the date of the first class.

2010W FISH COURSE LIST (revised Jan 26, 2011) 

FISH 500 (3 credits) Issues in Fisheries Research: Seminars - Fisheries Management, Pauly with Trites - Terms 1 and 2
FISH 501 (3 credits) Ecosystem Modelling, Christensen - Term 1
FISH 503 (3 credits) Science and Society in Aquatic Policy, Vincent - Term 2, schedule tba 
FISH 504 (3 credits) Quantitative Analysis of Fisheries I, Martell - Term 1
FISH 505 (3 credits) Quantitative Analysis of Fisheries II, Martell - Term 2
FISH 506A (3 credits) Current Topics in Fisheries, McAllister: Bayesian Data Analysis & Statistical Modelling - moved from Term 1 to Term 2
FISH 506C (3 credits) Current Topics in Fisheries: Fisheries Economics, Sumaila - Term 2

N.B. FISH 506 is currently a 3-6 credit course; thus UBC will not give students more than a total of 6 credits of FISH 506 (regardless of the letter).  This restriction applies to the entire program for an individual student, not to each year of the student's program. The FC intends to submit a curriculum change proposal to increase the limit.

UBC graduate students may register to take FISH courses:  
 

  • for official audit using the Change Registration form at http://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/?=SD (instructor and admitting department signatures required; please provide a photocopy of completed form to the Fisheries Centre office)

Undergraduate and unclassified UBC students may take certain FISH courses with permission of their programs and permission of the instructor.  Forms are available at  http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/resources-links/forms).

In addition, students and non-students may take some FISH courses for unofficial audit by contacting the instructor to obtain permission and then sending an e-mail to office@fisheries.ubc.ca, phone 604 822-2731 

 

Evaluation of Fish Courses and Instructors

Other courses to consider:

Fisheries students may wish to consider taking some of the following courses in other UBC departments. Not all courses are offered every year - consult UBC course list and the departmental websites to confirm details.
 

AGEC 421B
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Economics of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation
AGRO 418
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Intensive Fish Production
AGSC 480
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Intensive Fish Production
AGSC 490
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Aquaculture and the Environment
ANSC 580
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Advanced Topics in Fish Culture
ANTH 460/515
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Cultural Ecology
BIOL 402
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Aquatic Ecology
BIOL 405
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Marine Ecology
BIOL 408
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Principles of Applied Ecology
BIOL 465
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Diversity and Evolution of Fishes
BIOL 509
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Population and Quantitative Genetics
CONS 486
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Fisheries Conservation and Management
CPSC 304
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Introduction to Relational Databases
ECON 308
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Introduction to Microeconomics
ECON 309
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Principles of Economics
ECON 371
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Environmental Economics
ECON 472
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Economics of Renewable Resources
ECON 571
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Economics Analysis and Natural Resources
EOSC 314
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The Ocean Environment
EOSC 315
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The Ocean Ecosystem
EOSC 478
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Introduction to Fisheries Science
EOSC 510
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Data Analysis in Atmospheric, Earth and Ocean
FRST 387
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Fish/Forestry Interactions
FRST 443
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Remote Sensing in Forestry and Agriculture
FRST 485
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Forest Water Management
FRST 504
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Landscape Ecology
GEOG 270
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Introduction to Geographic Systems
GEOG 310
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Environment and Resources
GEOG 376
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Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 471
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Applied Concepts in Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 539/
RMES 500C
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Climate Change in the 21st Century
POLI 351
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Environmental Policy and Politics

RMES 500Q/
ANTH 461

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Anthropological Study of Local Ecological Knowledge
RMES 500K
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Ecosystem Services
RMES 501
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Perspectives on Resources and Environments
SOCI 509
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Sociology of the Environment
ZOOL 523
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Fish Behaviour and Ecology
ZOOL 527
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Theoretical Population Dynamics

 

Scholarships Information

COSMOS International Graduate Travel Award - The Fisheries Centre is pleased to announce an annual ~$5,000 travel award endowed by Dr. Daniel Pauly and The University of British Columbia for a deserving international graduate student who needs support for research/field work to be conducted in the student’s region or country of origin. Proposal submission deadline is February 1 of each year.
 

Cecil and Kathleen Morrow Scholarship - The Fisheries Centre awards this as a travel research scholarship to the student making the best academic proposal for travel for research work using techniques developed at the Fisheries Centre. Application deadline April 15 each year.

Pacific Biologist Scholarship - The funds donated by the Pacific Fishery Biologists association have now been depleted and no further PFB Scholarships will be awarded.
 

 Contact Information

 

Fisheries Centre Members

The students of the Fisheries Centre can take advantage of the expertise that members of the Fisheries Centre have in various fields including Fish Behavior, Fisheries Assessment and Modelling, Tropical Fisheries, Fisheries Policy and Economics, Aquaculture, and much more.  Fisheries Centre members can serve as students' supervisors or in supervisory committees, or provide support and information.

Students interested in knowing more about the Fisheries Centre and our graduate program can contact the Fisheries Centre Graduate Secretary, at the address below:

Fisheries Centre
Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory (AERL)
2202 Main Mall
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Canada  V6T 1Z4
tel:+1 (604) 822-2731
fax:+1 (604) 822-8934
email: office@fisheries.ubc.ca
(To contact individual faculty members, see the members page)

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