About Programme: 

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme involves a 3 –year thesis/ research work into a problem in the area of specialisation. There is no course work for PhD students but where necessary, a student may be required to take some prescribed courses at the masters’ level.  Students at this level start the thesis/research work from the first year and are expected to complete after 3 years before the award of a PhD Degree.

Rationale

It has been the desire of successive governments of Ghana to bridge the increasing fish demand gap in the country which has arisen a result of consistent dwindling in marine fish landings. Aquaculture has been identified as key in addressing this gap in preference to fish import as the later requires foreign exchange outlay. Considering the many demanding issues in aquaculture both globally and locally, there is the need to build human capacity at the highest level in the discipline to effectively confront the emerging challenges. The PhD. programme in Aquaculture is therefore designed to address this need as a follow of the M.Phil. programme.

PhD Programme Structure

Candidates admitted with Bachelor’s degree and/or a taught Master’s degree (e.g., MSc) will pursue a 4-year PhD programme; candidates admitted with research-based Master’s degree (e.g. MPhil) will pursue a 3-year PhD programme.

PhD programmes are offered only in full-time mode. The periods of study are as follows:

*This applies only to candidates admitted with Bachelor’s degree for 4-year PhD programme; they will be required to take courses on discipline-specific knowledge and research skills. Candidates admitted with a taught Master’s degree will undertake 4-year research.

Supervisors may recommend appropriate courses to equip students for their research work and thesis writing. Candidates for 3-year PhD programme may be recommended to audit requisite courses.

The total credit load for each PhD programme is as follows:

*Total credit for candidates admitted with MPhil (3-year PhD) will be 90.

Entry Requirements: 

Candidates applying for admission into the PhD Aquaculture programme must hold a good research-based Master’s degree in Aquaculture, Biology or any related field of study.

Target Group

1. Master’s degree holders in Aquaculture, Biology and related fields
2. Professionals  in the Aquaculture and the Fishing industry 

Expected Output

1. Highly skilled personnel to address issues in aquaculture produced
2. Trained high-level manpower for teaching, research and extension in tertiary and other research institutions.
3. High level personnel capable of facilitating policy formulation to support the growth of aquaculture locally and regionally produced.

Progression Requirements

• Students pursuing 4-year PhD must pass all required course work (grade C minimum)
• All students should present their research proposals successfully in a seminar  
• All students must make good progress on the research activities and submit biannual progress report to the Department and UCC School of Graduate Studies (SGS)
• All students must participate in at least 75% of the regular seminars organized by Department and SGS.

Graduation Requirements

A candidate will be considered successful if his/her PhD thesis:

• Passes both internal and external assessment (60% minimum score)
• Is successfully defended in a viva voce (60% minimum score).

In addition, candidates must satisfy all SGS and UCC requirements for graduation.

Goal / Aim / Objectives: 

The goal of the PhD. Aquaculture programme is to produce high level human resource for the aquaculture sector.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Train highly skilled personnel to address issues in aquaculture
2. Produce high level personal capable of creating and disseminating relevant knowledge to promote aquaculture
3. Train high level personnel capable of facilitating policy formulation to support the growth of aquaculture locally and regionally.

Career Opportunities: 

You can find jobs in the following areas:

1. Government agencies like Fisheries Ministry
2. NGOs engaged in aquatic environmental campaign
3. Industries in fish processing and canning
4. Firms engaged in commercial fishing.