The Department of Anthropology at UAF is the only anthropology program in the United States that maintains a holistic approach to circumpolar studies, providing instruction and research in all aspects of northern anthropology, with a major emphasis on Alaska and the Russian North. UAF Anthropology offers programs leading to a BA, BS, MA, and PhD. We publish an internationally recognized, refereed journal, the Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska. UAF was recently home to the secretariat of the International Arctic Social Sciences Association.

We have more than 70 undergraduate majors and 50 graduate students, and serve over 900 students per year. The department offers approximately 40 courses each year.

The Department of Anthropology is a center for teaching and research in anthropology with general focus on circumpolar regions as well as research projects and instruction covering a variety of world areas (see Research). Departmental research and teaching covers all sub-fields of the discipline: archaeological, biological, social/cultural and linguistic anthropology. The undergraduate program aims at giving students a solid introduction to the discipline with the possibility to concentrate in sub-fields. The graduate program maintains an emphasis on empirical and applied studies in various parts of the world.