Alaska Fairbanks University

[Joshua Helios]

Dear All,

I was going through the University of Alaska Fairbanks website and planning to apply for an MS in resource and applied economics course there. Any info on education in Alaska?

I am looking at a low budget for my Masters course, tuition,living costs. And I won't be looking to enter the job market after my masters because I'll straight away move for my PhD after that.

Is Alaska a way to go?

Regards,

Joshua

[rangers1919]

Dear All,

I was going through the University of Alaska Fairbanks website and planning to apply for an MS in resource and applied economics course there. Any info on education in Alaska?

I am looking at a low budget for my Masters course, tuition,living costs. And I won't be looking to enter the job market after my masters because I'll straight away move for my PhD after that.

Is Alaska a way to go?

Regards,

Joshua

I don't know about the program specifically, but I do know about Alaska, and UAF. First thing to know about is obviously the weather, if you are not from Alaska you are going to be shocked at how cold it is during the school season in Fairbanks (-50 F sometimes). UAF is supposed to be a decent university for the ranking it has. It is considered the best in Alaska, but I think that is primarily due to being a Land, Sea, and Space Grant recipient. They have more graduate opportunities for research than UAA, so they are ranked higher. The fact that the program contains resource economics is a plus for someone looking to move to a Phd program in my opinion. Alaska is loaded with natural resources including fish, timber, oil, natural gas, copper, gold, etc., combine this with relatively few academic and professional economists, and it seems there are a ton of opportunities for original research. I am not sure about UAF, but I know UAA has sister-school programs with schools in Russia which open the opportunities for research in international economics. The fish go from Alaska near Russia so there have been papers studying this. There is also a large segment of Alaska which is accessible from Fairbanks called the Bush. These are rural communities which are accessible only by plane, and sometimes boat, which may present opportunities for research in rural economics and their use of the natural resources. Many of the native corporations own land in Alaska which are regulated differently than the State lands which have also been studied.

The actual campus of UAF looks decent when I've been there, but I haven't walked around it much. By no stretch is it an amazing campus. I am not sure about the cost of living in Fairbanks as far as apartments go, but gas is high in Alaska, and generally housing is too. If you are going to actually look for a part-time job while you study I think it might be difficult to find anything in Fairbanks. The town is mostly a military, airport, and refinery town. I personally think the town is kind of a dump, without much to do in winter. There is a decent night life because the town has so many military people looking to go crazy, but I have to imagine it would get old quickly. If you like outdoor recreation there is a lot to do if you can stand the cold. I know quite a few people who have lived there, and they all have mixed reviews. Almost all of them have said they like it, but said they got a little bored. These were all students going for 4 years, or sometimes longer if they were only part-timers though. You can always fly to Anchorage for $200 or so (or drive it in 6-8 hours). A lot of people do this for long weekends to see something new. Most likely in Fairbanks most students will be local to Alaska so you can go to Anchorage with them if you don't want to go alone.

I think overall it could be worth it for the experience and for the price. If you take over a year for the program you will most likely be eligible for the Permanent Fund which is a little over $1000. You have to be a resident for a year I believe, without leaving for a certain amount of consecutive days during that period.