First fish passage engineering degree debuts at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

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AMHERST, MASS. — The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced an upcoming graduate engineering degree option in ecohydrology — the first in the nation. This master’s degree in civil engineering will prepare students for a career in the specialized field of fish passage engineering.

Through a cooperative agreement, USFWS will provide financial support to the university’s department of civil and environmental engineering and will provide instructors to teach graduate-level courses in fish passage engineering. Students enrolled in the program will pursue coursework in engineering, resource conservation, and biology, plus hydraulics and hydrology.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service here in the Northeast and throughout the country is seeking to restore the sustainability and resilience of our rivers,” said USFWS northeast regional director Marvin Moriarty. “We have a great need for engineers with this specialized training. A program like this, which marries the academic training of diverse professionals and their research to on-the-ground projects that we are implementing to address the needs of aquatic species, will help move forward aquatic conservation across the entire nation.”