“Flagship public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university of the University of Alaska system.”
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system and the nation's northernmost land-, sea-, and space-grant university, anchoring research across the circumpolar North. Sitting on 2,250 acres of sub-Arctic boreal forest overlooking the Tanana Valley, UAF is uniquely positioned to study phenomena most universities can only read about: the aurora borealis above its Poker Flat Research Range, permafrost and climate change across Alaska's interior, and the ecology and languages of the Indigenous peoples who have lived in the region for thousands of years. The result is a compact research university of roughly 7,500 students that punches far above its weight in Arctic biology, atmospheric science, geophysics, fisheries, petroleum engineering, and Indigenous studies. UAF is organized around a tight cluster of colleges — including the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, the College of Engineering and Mines, the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Indigenous Studies — complemented by rural community campuses in Nome, Bethel, Dillingham, and Kotzebue that serve Alaska Native villages across the state. Undergraduates routinely work alongside faculty at the Geophysical Institute, the International Arctic Research Center, the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, and the University of Alaska Museum of the North, and the Honors College offers thesis-track students a chance to pursue original research from their first year. Student life is unmistakably Alaskan: freshmen arrive in late August under the midnight sun and graduate under spring skies that never fully darken, with cross-country skiing, dog-mushing, ice-sculpting, and northern lights viewing built into the rhythm of the year. The Nanooks compete in NCAA Division I hockey and Division II across other sports, and traditions like the Starvation Gulch bonfire, the Nanook Rendezvous, and late-night aurora runs give the campus a close-knit, slightly eccentric character. For international students willing to trade big-city amenities for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the Arctic, UAF offers a rare combination of affordability, serious research, and scenery that genuinely cannot be matched anywhere else in the United States.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Research Activity
Carnegie Classification
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceFall Priority
Applications received after this may not be processed in time for fall start.
Spring
Summer
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$8,736
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$22,320
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
4 years
A field-intensive program that puts students into Alaska's boreal forests, tundra and coastlines to study caribou, salmon, seabirds and large carnivores alongside Institute of Arctic Biology researchers.
4 years
One of only a handful of ABET-accredited petroleum engineering programs in the US, with deep industry ties to the North Slope, cold-climate drilling labs and strong placement in the energy sector.
4 years
Undergraduates work with Geophysical Institute scientists on volcanism, seismology, space physics and auroral research using world-class instrumentation, including the Poker Flat Research Range.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $22,320
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
