General Graduate Degree Details

General Information

The following are general rules that apply to all UAF graduate students:

  • To be considered a full-time graduate student, you must be enrolled in at least 9 credits (which may include thesis credits) during each semester.
  • To be employed as a TA or RAship, you must be enrolled in at least 6 credits that semester
  • To be considered an active graduate student, you must be enrolled in at least 6 credits per academic year (fall, spring, summer - in that order). Those credits may include thesis credits. If you are unable to achieve that minimum number of credits, but want to continue in the program, you must apply for a "Temporary Leave of Absence" through the Graduate School. If you were a graduate student in good standing and became inactive, you may be reinstated to the graduate program by submitting the form entitled "Reinstatement to the Graduate Program." The Department Chair may request additional information from you and your advisor or committee members prior to making a decision on whether to allow reinstatement. You must be enrolled in at least 3 credits during the semester you defend your thesis or dissertation.  If you graduate in a successive semester you are required to enroll in 1 credit.
  • To remain in good standing, you must take at least 6 credits per year, maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, and be up to date on your paperwork, including annual reports.
  • The maximum time allowable for degrees is 7 years for the MS and 10 years for the PhD. This includes any leaves of absence. A student who exceeds the time limit for a degree must reapply for admission.
  • To obtain forms, go to the Graduate School web site.
  • Most forms are now processed via NextGen and may be started by the student, the advisor, or the graduate student coordinator, uaf.bw.grad@alaska.edu. When initiating a NewGen form, be sure to use the official username@alaska.edu address for everyone (e.g. dwagner10@alaska.edu, not diane.wagner@alaska.edu).
  • Forms that are not NextGen are processed through Docusign.  Docusign forms should be completed and then sent to the graduate student coordinator for the gathering of signatures.  (Please do not send these forms on your own.)

Expectations

It is important to understand your advisor’s expectations of you as a graduate student, and what you can expect from your advisor. Starting in spring semester 2023, all graduate advisors will supply their graduate students with a written set of expectations. Each advisor’s expectations will be unique, reflecting their mentoring philosophy and the type of the science that is done in the lab. A generic expectations document is provided by the Department of Biology and Wildlife that faculty may use or edit. 

General Skill-Building Courses

Your graduate committee will work with you to determine which courses you need. Most of these will be discipline specific; but we offer a number of courses that are skills-related. We strongly recommend that all students take at least two of these courses. Below are the courses, who they are suitable for, and recommended timing.

Course Who When
Research Design (BIOL F602) Students lacking extensive experience with research and proposal writing First semester in degree program
Data Analysis in Biology (BIOL F680) Students who want to learn about analytical techniques that are commonly used in the biological sciences Following (partial) collection of data
Scientific Writing, Editing and Revising in the Biological Sciences (BIOL F604) Students without extensive publication experience After data analysis has been completed
Scientific Teaching (STO F666) Students who expect to teach or interpret science for the public as part of their career Following 1 semester of TA or other teaching experience