New Major: BS in Aquatic Conservation & Ecology (ACE)
We’re excited to announce a new undergraduate degree in the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences (SAFS): Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE). Coming to UW in Autumn 2025.
The Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE) degree is about the ecology of aquatic organisms, the rivers, lakes, and oceans in which they live, and how we conserve them for the benefit of people and the planet. This degree integrates the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and quantitative sciences and applies these principles to contemporary conservation and natural resource management issues.
Director’s message: Autumn 2025
Normally I spend much of this “From the Director” celebrating the various successes, innovations, and discoveries by our School’s talented faculty, students and staff. This time, I also want to acknowledge the difficult circumstances we face. Like many of our peer institutions, SAFS and the UW are facing serious challenges: a state budget deficit, shifts in federal spending priorities, and rising personnel costs. These realities have created a budgetary “perfect storm.”
Welcoming Andrea Burton, new Assistant Teaching Professor in Marine Biology and SAFS
We welcome Andrea Burton to Marine Biology and the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS), our newest faculty member. Andrea starts this month as an Assistant Teaching Professor. As a specialist in climate change biology, using molecular and ecological approaches to examine adaptive response to changing conditions, Andrea joins us from UCLA where she was a lecturer.
Tracking the population’s advance while probing the inner workings of the European green crab
For almost a decade, the Washington Sea Grant Crab Team has been surveilling the advance of the invasive European green crab. In 2015, the team was formed to engage citizen scientists in a search for the first signs of an invasion into Puget Sound, with the first documented trap of a green crab taking place a year later in August 2016. They have now been found in more than 30 trapping sites. A new story in Salish Sea Currents features tracking efforts tracking efforts and research into the invasive crab.
Explore our programs
SAFS students work alongside talented peers and faculty to engage in a rigorous and inclusive learning environment. Join us to connect with some of the best minds and immerse yourself in cutting-edge scientific research.
Meet our Faculty
Our faculty are committed leaders with broad academic expertise and interests. With access to a network of local, national and international leaders, we contribute influential research on topics ranging from organisms, populations, ecosystems, to human users of aquatic ecosystems.