A HAMPSHIRE college is to provide a range of postgraduate courses to start in September specialising in equine and fishery disciplines.

Sparsholt College is launching a number of courses, such as the masters in applied aquaculture and sports fisheries and masters in equine behaviour, performance and training, to be validated by the University of Portsmouth.

Angling is the single biggest leisure industry in the UK worth in excess of £4 billion annually and the equine industry, which as a whole provides direct and indirect employment to between 220,000-270,000 people, has a combined economic impact of £7 billion.

Martin Simmons, vice principal at the college, said: “We already have outstanding facilities here at Sparsholt College and industry experts on the teaching team.

“Extending our further and higher education offering to include taught masters courses is a natural progression for those looking to develop their professional expertise and study these specialist subjects at this advanced level. This is particularly so for our own BSc students who we were also very keen to extend a postgraduate progression opportunity to.”

Mr Simmons added: “There is a demand in both the equine and aquaculture and sports fishery sectors for professionals qualified to a masters level. We have developed these courses to deliver this advanced level of scientific knowledge which enhances our already excellent BSc course provision whilst meeting the needs of these industries.”