Courses and Program Specializations
The College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management (CAFNRM) offers the Bachelor of Science degree. In order to earn this degree the student will choose one of the following areas of specialization, and complete its requirements.
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Aeronautical Sciences
Aviation plays a fundamental role in the lives of nearly everyone in the State of Hawaiʻi. The proposed Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Sciences is an applied degree that will make education more accessible for students interested in applied aviation careers. Aviation produces high quality jobs that will improve the lives of Hawaiʻi’s citizens.
The degree will offer students two different pathways into commercial aviation, a Commercial Professional Pilot Training concentration and a Commercial Aerial Information Technology concentration. Both concentrations share a common core of commercial aviation courses for the first 3 years, coupled with a final year of specialization.
The concentration in Commercial Professional Pilot Training (CPPT) provides a simple, direct pathway to earn all the FAA licenses and certificates required to pursue a commercial Airline Transport Pilot license and begin a career as a commercial airline pilot. The CPPT concentration is structured as 3 years of university classroom and flight simulator learning, coupled with a final year at a 6-8 month flight school program.
The concentration in Commercial Aerial Information Technology (CAIT) will provide the training and background to attain current FAA licensing for the commercial UAS operations of small drones, as well as preparation for future full integration of large UAS operations into commercial airspace. The CAIT concentration is designed to be coupled with a focus in Data Science, Geography, a STEM field or Computer Science using available electives.
Animal Health and Management
This B.S. Agriculture specialization provides students with a variety of animal science courses related to health and management. In the final years of study, students will take courses aimed at making them qualified for their next academic or professional endeavors. For those who aspire to work on farms, ranches or in the livestock industry, additional agriculture business, general agriculture, and agricultural mechanics will be provided as curriculum options. These courses will prepare students for employment opportunities with farms, dairies, ranches, equestrian centers, experiment stations, quarantine stations, veterinary clinics and zoos. For those who aspire to apply to professional school (veterinary medicine) or a graduate program (M.S. or Ph.D.), curriculum options include courses that are pre-requisites for major veterinary schools such as additional biology and chemistry courses.
CAFNRM has a 110-acre farm that has a livestock operation with beef cattle, hair sheep, meat goats, and swine. Normally at least one horse is kept at the UH Hilo farm for use in working cattle. Students have the chance to work with UH Hilo livestock during animal science labs.
View the Animal Health and Management Curriculum.
Aquaculture
Hawaiʻi's diversity of water supplies allows the culture of almost all aquaculture species including tropical fish, trout, salmon, carp, shrimp, various seaweeds, and shellfish throughout the year. Aquaculture students currently have access to a freshwater aquaculture facility at the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory. A coastal research and teaching facility (PACRC), located at Keaukaha, includes a water quality laboratory, a shellfish hatchery, a marine fish hatchery, demonstration fish culture units, and a marine animal rehabilitation facility.
Students at CAFNRM have unparralelled opportunities for hand-on learning.
A student feeding some fish
Tropical Agroecology
The B.S. Agriculture, Tropical Agroecology specialization is designed to provide an opportunity for students interested in tropical crop science or a plant-related field to have access to selected courses or topics in their area of interest. The curriculum is structured to offer a well-rounded undergraduate education emphasizing the long-term sustainability of our managed crop production systems and the surrounding ecosystems. The tropical Agroecology student learns to manage a wide variety of plant production challenges. Since production constraints in the tropics come from many sources, this curriculum draws its core courses from the areas of Plant Physiology, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Soil Science, Weed Science, Entomology, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Biotechnology, Bioeconomy and Agricultural Engineering. Graduates in Tropical Agroecology can obtain employment with private enterprises or government agencies concerned with conservation and environmental protection, crop production, plant pest control, plant ecology, laboratories specializing in plant and soil analyses, and farm services/agribusiness. Other graduates may elect to start their own enterprises or proceed to graduate school for advanced degrees.