The University of Alaska Geography Program (UAGP) is an Alaska-wide resource that provides information and training in the field of geography and related disciplines. UAGP's primary mission is to deliver quality geography degree programs that take advantage of Alaska’s unique natural and cultural resources, and to serve as a public resource to help and promote inquiry into scientific, economic and cultural issues related to geography in Alaska, the polar regions, and the world.

The discipline of Geography involves the broad holistic study of the interactions among various natural /environmental, political, cultural, and economic systems, and how those interactions create the world we see today at both local and global scales. Geography takes a synthesizing and inherently interdisciplinary approach to develop an integrated understanding of climate change, resource development, energy use and conservation, geopolitics, sustainable development, assessment of natural and human-caused environmental hazards, land-use change, regional conflicts, and economic and political developments all over the world. Geography also provides the framework for the integration of emerging technologies such as GIS, Remote Sensing, and Geovisualization into a broad range of academic and professional fields.

Our faculty have regional and topical expertise in the following areas: Alaska, Circumpolar North, Pacific Rim, United States, Canada, climate change analysis, weather and climate, natural resource distribution & management, environmental studies, biogeography, mountain geography, perceptual geography, geographic information systems (GIS), North American regional cultures, cultural geography, sense of place, landscape evolution, wilderness issues, energy & sustainability issues, and more.

B.A. in Geography, Circumpolar North/Pacific Rim

B.A. in Geography & Environmental Studies (Juneau, AK)

B.S. in Geography, Environmental Studies concentration

B.S. in Geography, Landscape Analysis & Climate Change Studies concentration

B.S. in Geography, Geospatial Sciences

B.S. in Geography & Environmental Resources (Juneau, AK)

Professional Master’s in Natural Resources Management and Geography (MNRMG)

Interdisciplinary M.A., M.S., or Ph.D. in Geography

Certificate in Environmental Studies (Dillingham, AK)

In 2009 the faculty of UA Fairbanks and UA Southeast (Juneau) forged Alaska’s first undergraduate cooperative inter-campus degree program in Geography and Environmental Studies . With a shared core of required courses and approved elective course lists, students can work on one degree and seamlessly transfer between Fairbanks and Juneau to take full advantage of the faculty, research, course offerings, and geographical settings of two very distinct regions of the state: the boreal forest and continental climate of interior Alaska, and the maritime environment, temperate rainforest, and active glaciers of Southeast.
 

UAF and UAS share degree tracks for both the BA and BS in Geography, with options in Environmental Studies (BA Southeast, BS Fairbanks) and Environmental Resources (BS Southeast) . The new Environmental Certificate offered at Dillingham also shares the core courses and is designed as a gateway for continued study in Geography-Environmental Studies at the larger University of Alaska campuses.

Also available is a Regents’ Semester Exchange Program in which students take a specific schedule of courses fall semester in Fairbanks, and spring semester in Southeast, allowing students to gain the most from each campus. Future support for this program will include dedicated semester housing at the respective campuses, faculty exchanges, and joint field trips. UAGP continues to refine and expand options for cooperation and collaboration among campuses in the University of Alaska System.

 www.snap.uaf.edu

The SNAP program, directed by Dr. Scott Rupp, is charged with predicting the future—no easy task. SNAP uses the best and latest scientific research to forecast forthcoming climate-associated environmental hazards. Through the use of data sets and maps, SNAP works to project future conditions for selected variables, and comes up with rules and models that develop projections based on historical conditions and trends. Through SNAP, university researchers are conveying the societal significance of their research to Alaska’s policymakers, resource managers, and emergency responders, making current climate change research more prominent regionally and more relevant globally. The program links the university with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and industry to help develop well-informed planning for communities, transportation, coastlines, infrastructure, and natural resource management.