Exploring Academic Opportunities: A Guide to University of Alaska Southeast Programs

The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) is a public university established on July 1, 1987, through the restructuring and consolidation of the former University of Alaska Juneau, Ketchikan Community College, and Islands Community College (Sitka). Part of the University of Alaska System, UAS has campuses in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. The UAS Juneau campus, located on Auke Bay, offers students residential housing and the campus life experience. UAS Sitka and Ketchikan campuses offer classrooms and specialized training facilities. UAS offers both online and on-campus programs in the sciences, including marine biology, English, social science, liberal arts, business, education, construction, power technology, fisheries, maritime training, health sciences, and more.

Understanding UAS Campuses

The main campus is located in Juneau, between Auke Bay and Auke Lake. It comprises classrooms, studios, teaching and research labs, the Anderson Science building (North Pacific Marine Lab), the Áakʼw Tá Hít environmental science building, the William A. Egan Library, housing, the Student Recreation Center (Charles Gamble Jr.-Donald Sperl Joint Use Facility), and office and administrative spaces. The Technical Education Center, situated in downtown Juneau, houses technical, construction, and mechanical labs, a mine simulator, and classroom and office space.

The Sitka campus was founded as Sitka Community College in 1962. The Ketchikan campus, established as Ketchikan Community College in 1954, is the oldest campus in Southeast Alaska. Now a branch campus of UAS, the Ketchikan campus offers online degree programs, including the interdisciplinary Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, as well as Coast Guard-approved maritime industry training courses and programs. UAS Ketchikan is the only campus in Alaska to offer an Associate of Applied Science in Marine Transportation. It collaborates with Vigor Alaska Shipyard in Ketchikan, providing training opportunities for both shipyard workers and residents seeking employment with Vigor Alaska.

Academic Programs and Opportunities

UAS provides a diverse range of academic programs across its campuses, catering to various interests and career aspirations.

Sciences and Liberal Arts

UAS offers programs in the sciences, English, social science, and liberal arts. Students can study environmental science at the only university in the United States next to glacial watersheds, marine biology in a prime habitat for marine mammals, and art or English literature in the footsteps of John Muir.

Business and Education

UAS also provides programs in business and education, preparing students for careers in these fields. Students also write plans for local businesses, take the stage with Alaska’s regional theater company, or work as interns in the state legislature in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city.

Technical and Vocational Training

UAS offers programs in construction, power technology, fisheries, maritime training, and health sciences.

Construction Technology

UAS construction technology students receive the tools to build a rewarding career, with hands-on training and opportunities to build real homes.

Applied Fisheries

The Sitka campus offers applied fisheries programs, meeting the growing need for qualified professionals in fisheries and marine science.

Health Sciences

Health Sciences programs offer a range of pathways allowing students to find a program that aligns with their unique goals and passions. Programs provide foundational healthcare knowledge, skills, and behaviors for graduates to obtain employment in healthcare-related positions, continue education in a professional health program, or enhance development of those who are already employed in healthcare settings.

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Health Information Management

Health Information Management programs prepare students for a fast-paced, high-paying, in-demand field, blending an interest in medicine with information management challenges.

Medical Assisting

Medical Assisting programs train students to perform administrative and clinical tasks in ambulatory settings, such as physicians’ offices and clinics.

Marine Transportation

UAS Maritime offers USCG-approved credentials, combining sea-time and education for careers in the deck or engineering department.

Power Technology

Power Technology is a practical program for students interested in solving problems and repairing machinery.

Welding

Skilled, certified welders can find work on construction sites, in petroleum-related industries, and in jobs where heavy equipment is being used.

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Campus Life and Student Services

The University of Alaska Southeast provides a comprehensive campus life experience with various student services and resources.

Student Resource Center

The Student Resource Center (SRC) is an integral part of Student Affairs at the University of Alaska Southeast. It is the first stop for current and former UAS students seeking information and assistance. The staff of the SRC foster student success by providing services and resources that enable students to meet their academic, personal, professional, and emotional needs.

Library Services

The William A. Egan Library supports the programs and services of UAS with physical and electronic collections. Sitka students, faculty, and staff receive library services from the Egan Library in Juneau. The Ketchikan Campus Library contains approximately 36,000 volumes, 120 periodicals in print, and a collection of federal government documents.

Health and Wellbeing

The UAS Health Clinic provides physical examinations, reproductive health services, STI testing, and contraceptive options. It can treat minor injuries and illnesses, prescribe medications, and works with community health care resources. Campus recreation offers diverse recreational programs that promote and facilitate physical fitness and an active student life, whether indoors or out.

Housing Services

The UAS Juneau campus offers a variety of on-campus housing options, convenient to class locations, campus services, and recreational opportunities.

Career Services

The Juneau campus Career Services Office assists students at all three campuses with career exploration, resume development, cover letter composition, interviewing skills, and job search strategies.

Recreation and Sports Facilities

The Rec Center on the Juneau campus includes a multipurpose gym, classrooms, a climbing wall, cardio machines, a weight room, an indoor running track, a fitness studio, and outdoor gear rental. UAS has an array of intramural sports, activities, physical education courses and an Outdoor Studies Program.

Student Organizations

Student organizations enrich the UAS experience, offering opportunities for leadership development and strengthening relationships with fellow students, the campus, and the Juneau community.

General Education Requirements and Academic Policies

UAS has specific requirements for general education, double majors, and second degrees.

General Education Requirements (GERs)

General Education Requirements for Associate and Bachelor Degrees enhance academic advising and accommodate transferability and applicability of courses to general education requirements for students transferring from one unit to another. It encompasses those areas of knowledge common to associate and bachelor degrees and thus represent the minimum standards for general education. However, courses are not necessarily offered every semester. Students are advised to seek advisor assistance in meeting program degree requirements. Some degree programs require specific courses to be included in the GERs. Students should consult the degree requirements section of this catalog for the degree into which they are admitted to determine which courses should be taken as part of the 34 credit-hour-minimum general education requirements. If required courses are not taken as GERs, they must be taken as requirements or electives. Any given course may be counted as fulfilling more than one requirement in a degree program but the credit hour can only be counted once.

Double Majors

B.S. and B.A. degree-seeking students may graduate with two majors provided both majors are for the same type of degree. For example, a student may graduate with a double major in Marine Biology and Mathematics as they are both majors for a B.S. degree. For another example, a student may graduate with a double major in Art and English as they are both majors for a B.A. degree. A double major is earned by completing all general education and all degree requirements of both majors. Students must apply for and be accepted into both majors. Students may declare a double major at the time of initial admission to UAS or add a major at a later date through the change of major/degree process. The degree requirements must follow a single catalog for both majors. You many not double major within the same discipline such as B.S. Biology and B.S.

Second Degrees

An Associate of Applied Science as a second degree requires completion of a minimum of 12 semester hours of credit beyond the first (or latest) Associate of Applied Science degree. As the Associate of Arts degree is intended to provide a student with a basis of general education in order to undertake bachelor degree work, only one A.A. Second Bachelor Degree: A second bachelor degree requires completion of a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit beyond the first bachelor degree. All general University requirements, degree requirements, and requirements of the major must be met for both degrees.

Alaska Native Knowledge Graduation Requirement (ANKGR)

The University of Alaska Southeast is situated upon the ancestral home of the living and vibrant cultures of the Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian peoples. The Alaska Native Knowledge Graduation Requirement has been enacted to ensure that all graduates of UAS programs have a basic level of knowledge when it comes to the Indigenous peoples of Alaska. This requirement does not add to the total number of credits required for General Education Requirement (GER) or degree completion. Although the Alaska Native themed course requirement is separate from GERs, some ANKGR courses are also GERs. Coursework completed at UAA, UAF, and their affiliate campuses that fulfills the Alaska Native Knowledge Graduation Requirement at those institutions is transferable. Students may petition to have coursework that is not currently listed as ANKGR courses count towards this requirement, provided that it meets the Student Learning Outcomes listed below specific to Alaska Native Knowledge. Course substitution forms may be submitted to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Alaska Native Education (CACANE), which meets monthly. Because of the emphasis on Alaska Native Knowledge, however, courses offered outside of Alaska are unlikely to fulfill this requirement.

Process for Course Substitution/Addition to ANKGR List:

A student’s faculty advisor submits an Academic Course Substitution form to CACANE Co-Chairs including the course requested to fulfill the ANKGR. CACANE Faculty Co-Chair and CACANE Staff Co-Chair shall approve courses that clearly meet the intent of the ANKGR.
If there are any uncertainties, then the substitution will be placed on the monthly agenda of CACANE and will be voted on at the next meeting. When these requests are forwarded to all members of CACANE, student identifying information will be removed and the vote will focus on the course in question, and whether it meets the intention of the ANKGR.

Existing courses may be added to the ANKGR list if they include the appropriate Student Learning Outcomes approved by the Alaska Native Studies Council (listed below) and are approved by the CACANE. Courses submitted should have Alaska Native languages and/or ways of knowing as the intellectual focus of the class and not as one of many subjects that are examined through a non-Indigenous intellectual framework. Faculty members wishing to add a course to the list will submit a course description, SLOs, and syllabus to CACANE by September 1 for consideration for the following academic year. Editing courses on the ANKGR list may alter their eligibility, which would result in removal from the list. CACANE will be notified of proposed changes to any course(s) on the ANKGR list after a first reading by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, and will review the proposed changes. If it is determined that a course no longer meets the ANKGR requirements, namely that the course is not taught through an Indigenous framework and centered upon Indigenous primary source content, then it will be removed from the list by a vote of CACANE. If CACANE votes to remove a course from the list, then the Registrar will be notified immediately about the removal.

Additional Information

Accreditation

UAS is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

Research Opportunities

Although UAS is a small university, it contributes to the understanding of the unique biocultural region it inhabits, including its coastal rainforest, icefields, glaciers, and marine ecosystems. Much of the environmental research is coordinated through the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, as well as the Environmental Science, Marine Biology, and Fisheries programs.

Campus Life in Juneau

Juneau is the state capital and the largest city in southeastern Alaska. The city offers a flourishing downtown business and arts scene, an extensive library system, and public transportation. As Alaska’s capital, Juneau sits at the epicenter of Alaska’s governmental and economic affairs.

Student News Publication

The student news publication of UAS is Whalesong. Whalesong was founded in 1981 and has a circulation of 1,000.

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