Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences - AAS-T
Take your career to the next level with the AAS Transfer Degree in Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences. This degree is designed for students who are interested in transferring to a partnering institution to complete their bachelor’s degree. A combination of our AAS-T and a bachelor’s degree prepares students for higher level employment in aquatic research and management. Students in the AAS-T degree gain all the hands-on experience in salmon and trout hatchery operations, fisheries management, and sustainable seafood production, while also completing pre-requisite transfer courses. Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences AAS-T graduates may transfer up to 90 credits to select colleges in Washington State, allowing you to complete your bachelor’s degree in just four years.
Upon completion of the AAS-T, students also receive the Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques Certificate of Completion.
Employment Information
Data are provided on a program (not credential) level
63%1 BTC graduate placement rate (Employment Security Department- WA and OR only)
96%3 BTC graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
78%3 BTC in-field graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
$46,473 starting annual wage2
$53,133 average annual wage2
$64,731 potential annual wage2
- Employment and Wage Data Sources and Information
1Employment data come from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and reflect WA/OR employment for students enrolled at BTC between 2017-18 and 2019-20. Students are included in the employment rate if they left with a credential. Rates are not shown for programs with fewer than 10 students meeting the above criteria.
2Whatcom County and WA State wage data come from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates and reflect 2018-21 employment. Wage data represent occupations that BTC faculty have identified as the most relevant career paths for program graduates. Note that these wages reflect employees with varying educational levels/credentials. For cases in which multiple occupations have been identified by faculty, a weighted percentile is calculated using each occupation’s percentile wage and employment size estimate. Wages are not shown for programs for which occupations do not meet the ESD’s minimum thresholds for publishing. If the program has wage data from the Washington SBCTC that involves shift work, these ESD wages reflect the same number of hours used in the annual wage calculation. Starting wage = 25th percentile, median wage = 50th percentile, wage potential = 75th percentile.
3Additional employment rates are provided for programs with faculty who maintain their own employment records of students who graduated between 2017-18 and 2019-20 and who were employed within 9 months of graduation. Both overall and in field of study employment rates are included, respectively. For these programs, the format follows: ESD rate / faculty-tracked overall rate / faculty-tracked in-field rate. These additional, faculty-provided rates are particularly important for programs that tend to have graduates employed outside of WA and OR. Note that due to lack of available data, rates may represent fewer than 3 years of graduates.
Estimated Program Costs