Current Students

Graduate Student Resources

A note about forms: Most forms are now processed via NextGen and may be started by the student, the advisor, or the graduate student coordinator on the Graduate School forms page. When initiating a NextGen form, be sure to use the default username@alaska.edu address for everyone (e.g. dwagner10@alaska.edu, not diane.wagner@alaska.edu - any UA email with a period in it is not valid).

You can always check the status of a form by signing into your NextGen dashboard on the left hand side of the Graduate School's forms page. From there, either search for the form or look it up in your history or pending under the top right My Forms tab. If you click the HTML icon on the right side of the row of any form it will open it to show a current view of who has signed it. The next person in line will be who the form is sitting with, so you know who to remind.

Below you will find details about the various milestones and forms you will complete along your journey to your graduate degree, laid out in chronological order.​

Prior to the start of classes
  • Participate in the Biology and Wildlife Department's New Graduate Student Orientation
  • Complete required safety trainings
  • Students who will serve as a teaching assistant (TA) the first semester must participate in the Biology and Wildlife Department's TA training
Minimum requirements for an MS degree
  • Successfully complete at least 30 credits of course work including between 6 and 12 credits of thesis (F699). At least 21 credits, including those earned for thesis and research, must be at the F600 level; the rest can be at the 400 level
  • Take at least 6 credits per year to maintain active standing
  • Pass a comprehensive examination that consists of a written thesis proposal and an oral defense of the proposal
  • Write and revise a thesis as needed in response to comments by reviewers
  • Present and defend the thesis research in a public seminar
  • Submit the final thesis to the Graduate School
  • Archive the thesis as instructed by the Graduate School
Minimum requirements for a PhD degree
  • Successfully complete at least 18 credits of thesis research
  • Take at least 6 credits per year to maintain active standing
  • Pass a comprehensive examination that consists of a written dissertation proposal and an oral defense of the proposal
  • Write and revise a dissertation as needed in response to comments by reviewers
  • Present and defend the dissertation research in a public seminar
  • Submit the final dissertation to the Graduate School
  • Archive the dissertation as instructed by the Graduate School

Students should consult with their advisor when choosing courses before a formal committee has been formed. The first time a student registers for classes, the advisor must release a hold on registration; in subsequent semesters, advisor approval is not necessary.

Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and awardees of certain scholarships and fellowships must be registered as full-time students (6 credits minimum per semester, 9 credits to be a "full time student"; any number of which may be thesis credits, F699).

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 at least 1 semester of TA or other teaching experience

The graduate student and graduate advisor decide who should be invited to serve as Graduate Advisory Committee members. The "Appointment of Graduate Advisory Committee" form can found on the Graduate School forms page (see the button on the right). This form must be used to formally establish a committee or to make changes to a committee.

Requirement for the MS Advisory Committee:

  • The Graduate Advisory Committee must contain at least 3 members, including the major advisor.

Requirement for the PhD Advisory Committee:

  • The Graduate Advisory Committee must contain at least 4 members, including the major advisor.

Requirements for both MS and PhD Committees:

  • A minimum of 2 committee members must be faculty in the program responsible for your degree program. B&W students see . ESS students see faculty in ESS Ecosystems. Faculty with emeritus status in the department may count toward the minimum number of Biology & Wildlife/ESS faculty committee members.
  • The committee of a student pursuing an MS degree in Wildlife Biology & Conservation or a PhD degree with a Wildlife Biology & Conservation concentration must contain at least one wildlife biologist. 
  • All committee members (including "collaborating" or "affiliate" faculty, see below) must have attained or exceeded the academic degree of the committee on which they are serving (e.g. must be MS with thesis, not an MBA). Rare exceptions may be granted upon request.
  • Former Biology and Wildlife faculty serving on a graduate student committee at the time they move to another UAF department or university may continue to count toward the minimum number of Biology and Wildlife faculty on that graduate committee for the tenure of the student in the program, but will not count toward the minimum on any new committees they may join after leaving B&W.

Collaborating Faculty - Collaborating faculty are faculty employed by another unit of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (e.g., Fisheries or the Geophysical Institute). A collaborating faculty member may serve on a graduate advisory committee and may co-chair alongside a Biology & Wildlife faculty member. A collaborating faculty member may request to serve as the sole chair of a Biology & Wildlife graduate committee. Such requests are reviewed by the Research Scientist and Affiliate Faculty Committee (RSAFC) and the department chair. Criteria include a PhD in a biology-related discipline and a record of success mentoring graduate students. Previous experience successfully co-chairing the advisory committee of a Biology & Wildlife graduate student is desirable.

Affiliated Faculty - Affiliated faculty are not currently employed as faculty by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Affiliates must be reviewed and approved to serve on a Biology & Wildlife graduate advisory committee.

Requests to confer affiliate faculty status for service on a graduate committee should be made by the chair of the student's committee in an email to the graduate coordinator (raelmer@alaska.edu) with cc to the department chair (dwagner10@alaska.edu). The email should include:

  • Text indicating the unique expertise that the proposed affiliate will contribute to the student’s program of study, and
  • The proposed affiliate's current curriculum vitae (CV)

The request will be reviewed by the Research Scientist and Affiliate Faculty Committee (RSAFC) and the department chair. The affiliation with CNSM is renewed annually until the student completes their degree.

Students and advisors who wish to include an affiliate on a graduate advisory committee should request to do so without delay, because the committee will not be operational until the affiliate has been approved by the department and the college.

Develop a Graduate Study Plan (GSP) with your committee for discussion and approval, then submit the appropriate form on the Graduate School's forms page (see button on the right). 

The GSP is a plan that outlines what you intend to do in terms of your research, and what courses you intend to take. It is a working document that is expected to change as your work develops and can be amended and resubmitted at any time prior to your "Advancement to Candidacy". It must include a preliminary title for your thesis/dissertation, an outline of the research proposal (or a copy of the actual proposal), and a list of committee-approved courses.

Each year, report your progress in two ways:

I. Annual Report of the Advisory Committee - Due every year by March 15th for people who were admitted in a Summer or Fall term, and by December 15th for those who were admitted in a Spring semester. Staying up to date on this report is required to remain in good standing with the Graduate School.

A. Meet with your Graduate Advisory Committee during the second semester in the program and at least once per year subsequently.

B. Each year, write a 2-5 page abbreviated self-evaluation that is to include a brief response to items 1-4:
  1. A timeline for your degree requirements, including expected completion of the following: coursework, comprehensive exams and defense, thesis/project/dissertation approval, and anticipated graduation term, even if some of these items fall far into the future.  In other words, we want you to visualize success!!
  2. Current status of your research, project, paper(s), coursework, etc.
  3. What has gone well thus far and what has not gone well.
  4. A summary of accomplishments to date (i.e. natural/social science students may have published articles, attended conferences, etc.; Liberal arts students may have participated in recitals/concerts, art shows, etc.)

    Other items you may wish to include, but are not required:

  1. What obstacles have been encountered in the last year and any anticipated obstacles along with a plan to mitigate their impact.
  2. Summary of funding to date (assistantships, scholarships, etc.).  Anticipated funding difficulties, if any. 
  3. Undergraduate courses taught/mentored, etc.
C. The committee will prepare a "Report of Graduate Advisory Committee" form that includes substantive committee chair comments regarding academic and research progress after the meeting.

II. Supplemental Annual Report - This is an online form due every year by 15 May in which you report accomplishments such as papers and grant proposals submitted and presentations delivered. This information is aggregated and used by the department as part of an assessment of the graduate programs.
  • You will receive an email in spring telling you that the reporting form is open for the year.
  • Log in to the  to access the form. 

The MS comprehensive exam consists of two portions: a written research proposal and an oral defense of the proposal, which takes place at a meeting with the graduate advisory committee. The comprehensive exam should be completed by the end of the first year in the graduate program. This timing allows the student to enter their first summer of data collection with a reviewed proposal and feedback from the full advisory committee. 

Research Proposal: Several months in advance, the student should reach out to the committee for specifications on the format and scope of the proposal. The committee may recommend a reading list on the broader scope of your research. The written research proposal must follow the general format of a research grant and include at minimum an introduction, a research plan including methodology and data analysis, and a set of references cited. The student's graduate committee may provide more specific guidelines. The proposal should be submitted to the graduate advisory committee two weeks prior to the oral defense.

Oral Defense: The oral defense of the proposal should begin with a presentation by the student on the proposed research. The presentation is followed by an oral examination administered by the graduate advisory committee on the theoretical background, experimental design, and scientific significance of the proposed research. Proposal defense questions will require students to justify the importance and feasibility of their research in a broad context.

Evaluation: If either the written or the oral portion of the proposal is unsuccessful, the student will receive a "conditional pass" or "fail" for one or both portions of the exam and will be required to redo the portions they did not pass sometime within the next 6 months. A student may retake the exam once. Any assessment other than 'pass" on the second attempt, including both "conditional pass" and "fail," may result in dismissal from the program.

Form: Upon completion of the exam, the student should initiate a "Report on Comprehensive Exam" form.

To complete the comprehensive exam, a PhD student will submit a written proposal and engage in an oral exam. The exam should be completed before the end of the 2nd year.

Written component: Several months in advance of your oral exam your committee will provide specifications on the format and scope of your research proposal (e.g. an introduction, a research plan including methodology and data analysis, and references cited). Once your advisor has agreed the proposal is ready for committee review, send the proposal to the committee. If the committee agrees your proposal is ready to defend, a date will be set for the oral exam.

Oral component: Plan to begin the oral component of the comprehensive exam with a short presentation on your proposed research. The graduate advisory committee will then conduct an oral examination. Part of the exam will focus on the specifics of your proposed research, including theoretical background, research plan, and significance. Another, broader set of questions will explore your breadth of knowledge about several topic areas relevant to your program of study. Topic areas will be defined well in advance of the exam and your committee may provide a reading or topics list of broader scope than your dissertation focus to assist with your preparation.

Evaluation: If either the written or the oral portion of the proposal is unsuccessful, the student will receive a "conditional pass" or "fail" for one or both portions of the exam and will be required to redo the portions they did not pass sometime within the next 6 months.  A student may retake the exam only once.  Any assessment other than 'pass" on the second attempt, including both "conditional pass" and "fail," may result in dismissal from the program.

Form: Upon completion of the exam, submit a "Report on Comprehensive Exam" form.

Outside Examiner: An outside examiner representing and appointed by the UAF Graduate School is required at all PhD oral examinations. The appointed examiner will be from a different department than the student and the chair of the advisory committee. The outside examiner is present to determine that a rigorous, unbiased examination is fairly administered and evaluated. Request an outside examiner two weeks prior to your scheduled exam by completing and submitting the "Request for Outside Examiner" online form located on the Graduate School's forms page (see button on the right.)