Student Perspectives
I have been doing my PhD from Seward at the Alaska Sealife Center now for four years. Although it seems strange to say I am a UAF grad student (I spent only one semester in Fairbanks attending classes), I have had a great experience with the university and do work closely with many aspects of the campus. One of my committee members is on campus (Dr. Michael Castellini) and two others (including my advisor) are affiliated university professors here at the Sealife center. I intermingle with most UAF departments only on the phone, the web and via email but it works and I can get most things done. I do miss not having a campus and would love to take more classes if I had the chance. I spend my tuition each semester instead on thesis credits (I'll have more of than I can ever use). Still, as a marine biologist being here with access to animals and on the water is the only way I can imagine getting the full experience. I actually live in Anchorage because of my family and commute to Seward three days a week
Matthew Myers
Marine Biology Student
Being a student at UAF has afforded me opportunity to observe and participate in an enormous variety of research. Although I am primarily a botanist, I have been able to be involved in projects involving zooplankton, deep water corals and crabs. I have gained experience in diverse sampling methodologies including MOCNESS tows, vertical plankton hauls, acoustic detection of zooplankton and submersible work. This incredible suite of opportunities is due to the great variety of high quality work done at this university. Whatever your interests, the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences has someone asking questions that will excite and challenge you.
Dave Miller
Marine Biology Student
Kodiak and Fairbanks offer different aspects of the graduate school life. While Fairbanks, with its larger community and student body, can support many social and cultural activities, Kodiak, the ‘Emerald Isle’, is a great location for research. The Fishery Industrial Technology Center (FITC) is just steps away from the Gulf of Alaska. Most of us in Kodiak are here because of the amazing access to field work, but the ability to go for a morning kayak out of your back door, see bears and deer on the road system, and the quality of the close-knit island community are wonderful aspects to spending some of your time at FITC.
Most students who work out of Kodiak spend at least one semester in either Fairbanks or Juneau in order to take courses not offered over videoconferencing, which can be a good cure for ‘Island Fever.’ It’s also a good chance to network with other students and faculty, since there are usually fewer than 15 students in Kodiak at any one time. Next door to our ‘campus’ is the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center, with wet and dry labs, NOAA/NMFS and ADF&G staff, and, of course, a terrific view out into the Gulf.
I grew up in Alaska, and although I never planned to attend UAF for further study and work, I’ve loved my time at the university. UAF offered a chance to conduct applicable, real-world research that has significance beyond the confines of academia, and I have enjoyed being able to utilize the Kodiak fishing community by chartering local boats and using my skippers’ knowledge of the area. I’ve found UAF to be a great place for fisheries studies, and Kodiak’s amazing access to field work, enthusiastic faculty and students and research facilities has more than made up for being away from the “main campus” in Fairbanks.
Mary-Beth Loewen
Fisheries Student
Coming to Fairbanks from Australia was one of the easiest decisions I have had to make. The thought of living in and exploring a wild area was such a thrill. Since being here, I have undertaken course work which has included spending 4 weeks exploring the sea life in the Kenai Peninsula at UAF's Kasitsna Bay Laboratory. The opportunity to go to sea is always plentiful even with my own fieldwork on the Alpha Helix.
This summer I was given the opportunity to be part of an exploration into the Canada Basin on a Canadian Coastguard icebreaker. Looking back on my time here, I have learned a great deal about not only the ocean and its inhabitants, I have also grown as a person. I currently participate in ski-joring for racing and pleasure, also cross-country skiing and this season I am attempting to learn to teleski.
Amanda Byrd
Marine Biology Student
The University of Alaska Fairbanks provides an intimate atmosphere with a lot of interaction from prominent, cold region scientists. There is a great, diverse, international and national student body in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at UAF and most professors are very helpful and insightful.
If you are looking for supportive, encouraging interactions rather than the competitive weeding out that happens in many undergraduate programs. If you are hardy enough to handle long, cold, dark winters, most likely living with no running water and would prefer the feel of a smaller university then UAF is the University for you.
Candace Picco
Marine Biology Student