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

Salmon farming*

Do you want to become an expert in salmon farming? With a master’s degree in Salmon Farming, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire Atlantic salmon production system. You’ll cover every stage from egg to harvest, from land-based hatcheries to sea-based farms and new production systems. With this expertise, you can contribute to providing healthy, nutritious food to a growing global population while supporting the sustainable growth of Atlantic salmon production.

*Study programme title under revision: 
The name of the study programme is currently under revision with a new name proposal of "Salmon farming" to reflect on the focus of the study programme. The new title will be applicable for admission year 2026/2027. The department may informally use "Salmon farming" in the meantime until the title change has been completed. 

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Application deadline:

April 15th
International applicants: December 1st

Start of Studies:

Autumn (August)

Requirements:

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

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The Salmon Farming master’s program is an innovative education, focusing on sustainability and advanced technology. It integrates key areas of salmon production, marine resource management, and aquaculture engineering. With this degree, you’ll be prepared to meet the evolving needs of consumers, industry, and society.

You will gain expertise in production technology, fish farm planning and design, and processing technology, all with a strong emphasis on sustainability and welfare. As a Salmon Farming graduate, you’ll be qualified for jobs in aquaculture production, food processing, resource management, research, teaching, consulting, and industry innovation.

The program welcomes Norwegian, European, and international students with backgrounds in food science, chemistry, biology, microbiology, natural sciences, environmental studies, health, biotechnology, aquaculture, fishery, or engineering who wish to specialize in salmon production at the M.Sc. level.

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

Career opportunities

The salmon aquaculture industry offers diverse careers across production, research, technology, and sustainability:

  • Aquaculture Operations: Managing the salmon lifecycle from egg to market, focusing on feed, health, and growth optimization.
  • Research & Development: Addressing challenges in health, feed efficiency, and waste reduction, with innovation in offshore and land-based farming.
  • Environmental & Sustainability: Reducing aquaculture’s carbon footprint, managing waste, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
  • Technical & Engineering: Designing and maintaining water quality systems and developing automation for feeding and waste management.
  • Quality Control: Testing product quality, monitoring contaminants, and implementing food safety.
  • Sales & Marketing: Expanding global markets, managing logistics, and building brand presence
     
  • 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 coursesSpecialization coursesElective coursesMaster'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.

Study advisor(s):

Nora Sunde

Nora Sunde

Advisor
Rune Grønnevik

Rune Grønnevik

Senior Advisor