We recommend that you fly into Fairbanks International Airport (airport code FAI).  

On specific days during New Student Orientation, the Nanook Shuttle (a UAF sponsored vehicle) will meet you at the airport and take you to campus housing check-in. Please visit the Orientation Travel Information for the specific times and dates that the Nanook Shuttle will be running.  There is no cost for this service. The shuttle will be running a constant loop from the Fairbanks International Airport to UAF during the days when it is running. We will pick up the first flight of the day and run until the last flight of the day. Be sure to look for a sign with the New Student Orientation logo near the baggage claim area.

If you are a graduate student, you can e-mail your graduate department or supervising professor; it is not unusual for the department to makes arrangements for someone to meet a new international student. That said, we cannot guarantee that there will be someone to meet you at the airport — but the sooner you start asking and letting people know your plans, the easier it will be to make arrangements. It is also very easy to take a taxi from the airport to campus.  The ride will cost about $20. Be sure to have enough cash available (in U.S. dollars), in case you need to take a taxi (only some taxis can take credit cards). If you are living in campus housing, ask the driver to take you to UAF Bartlett Hall (the dorm on the hill) for check-in.

Please note:  it is important to make housing arrangements BEFORE arriving in Fairbanks so that you have somewhere to stay on arrival.  See the Housing page for additional information.

International students should arrive no later than August 26. This will give you time to rest after your trip to Alaska. We will be giving you a important information during orientation, and we do not want you to be too tired to remember it!

Local hotels often offer discounts to UAF students who arrive in Fairbanks before the residence halls open. When you contact them, let them know that you are a UAF student who is coming to start school, and that you learned about the discount from Orientation website.

We occassionally get questions about flying into Anchorage, and driving to Fairbanks. It is 581 kilometers (361 miles) from the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to the UAF campus, and it takes between 6.5 and 7 hours to drive. The drive is beautiful, and the trip takes you through Denali National Park, past Mt. McKinley/Denali (the tallest mountain on the North American continent), but going by taxi or railway will most likely cost you more than flying directly to Fairbanks.