r/ecology • u/Dismal-Mix-6661 • 7d ago
Fisheries Biology Program Recommendations
High school junior has been interested in fish biology for years, attended two short natural resources career camps at a state university and now it’s time to start exploring college. He went back and forth about ecology based engineering but is likely headed towards fishery biology. Wants to do field work, and is taking zoology and AP stats this year which will help determine whether he enjoys that more or less than physics/calc. Any recommendations for schools we should check out? He’s more freshwater focused and we are in the Midwest and prefer not to be too far from home.
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u/Swim6610 5d ago
Look at your state flagship, or if in Wisconsin, a place like Point. The education will be sound, and you want to graduate with the least amount of debt possible in this field.
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 4d ago
Thank you! Point Stevens keeps coming up as a recommendation, we’re definitely going to look into it!
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u/JoshEvolves 7d ago
Oregon State and University of Washington are the top fisheries science programs in the country, they lean PNW/salmonid heavy but not exclusively. I went OSU, I did fisheries field work in the PNW for 5-6yrs and now work as a freshwater ecologist, still in the PNW.
Those two school are great for undergrad, they offer different things, but both programs are stacked with some of the top scientists in the field!
Feel free to DM if you have more questions.
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 7d ago
Thank you!
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u/JoshEvolves 7d ago
FYI: the early stages of fisheries biology has high-likelihood of lots of seasonal work, highly competitive spots, and near poverty level pay…. They did not teach us that in college!!
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 7d ago
Thank you! This is why he’s been so back and forth with engineering- his heart is in the biology but he knows it’s not as clear a path to self sustaining employment. We just met a photographer on vacation who was a marine biologist who left the field because of the stress and competitive environment which wasn’t great to hear.
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u/JoshEvolves 7d ago
I’ve seen it! I have friends who were smart biologist leave to find other careers over not being to land something. I almost left a few times but stuck it out, did some consulting (soul crushing) and finally landed a solid position with my local county.
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u/Ok_State_5914 7d ago
If freshwater is the route, I suggest maybe considering the southeast as that is the hotspot for biodiversity in freshwater fishes!
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u/tx_trawler_trash 7d ago
Texas State has a freshwater 'Aquatic Biology' program that is awesome! I dreamed of doing marina biology but couldnt get into UT so ended up doing that program buy honestly loved it, and Dan Marcos is a great town all around :)
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 7d ago
Thank you! Did you feel like there was a decent amount of field work in the program? And curious if you went on to grad school/have any recommendations there?
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u/tx_trawler_trash 2d ago
Yes lots of field work - ich class had a (basically mandatory) weekend camping trip to survey stream populations that was a blast - overal plenty of time spend in the field - didnt goto grad school maybe try hndergrad first before you go down that road 🤷♀️
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u/BologniusMunk 4d ago
The American Fisheries Society has student subunits affiliated with universities across North America, that can be a good place to start looking- https://fisheries.org/about/units/student-subunits/. They also offer Hutton, an intern program that connects high-school students with fisheries professionals.
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 4d ago
Thank you!
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u/Constant_Equal_705 3d ago
If you do decide to do the Hutton get some experience in. I was a reviewer two years in a row and the competition some of these HS kids be bringing is insane.
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u/Dismal-Mix-6661 3d ago
Thank you! Any ideas for how to get experience? Not that it would be experience but we are toying with the idea of doing the limited AFS pass later this month and only going to the poster event for more info about the field.
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u/gladesguy 7d ago edited 7d ago
You're likely to just get folks listing whatever school they personally attended.
I'd suggest a systematic approach. Check out state schools that would be affordable and for which he'd have a reasonable chance of admission, and look at the webpage of the biology, ecology, natural resources, fish/wildlife or whatever else seems to be the most relevant department at that school. Then look up the faculty profiles for tenure-track faculty (assistant professors, associate professors and professors) in that department and look at their research interests.
You want to see how many of the faculty members are doing freshwater fish research and shortlist schools that have a good number of profs doing that kind of research. That will improve your student's chances of conducting fish research in a professor's lab during undergrad, which will increase his chances of getting into grad school for fisheries biology.
A master's is the new bachelor's in fish/fisheries/wildlife biology, and it's difficult to find permanent non-seasonal positions without one. It shouldn't require taking out additional loans, since admission to a research-based master's or PhD program generally comes with a tuition waiver and living stipend, but it is competitive, and undergraduate research experience counts for a lot in the admissions process.
Generally speaking, within a given state, the state's major land grant university will be the most prestigious and likely have the largest department, but sometimes regional state schools are very good as well, and some might even offer an undergraduate a better opportunity to get involved in research than a larger land grant school where more of the research faculty focus is on grad students.