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 Biology and Wildlife Department. Faculty with emeritus status with the Department of Biology & Wildlife may count toward the minimum number of Biology & Wildlife 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.

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 or 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:

5. What obstacles have been encountered in the last year and any anticipated obstacles along with a plan to mitigate their impact.
6. Summary of funding to date (assistantships, scholarships, etc.).  Anticipated funding difficulties, if any. 
7. 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 B&W Restricted Site to access the form. 

The MS comprehensive exam should be completed by the end of the first year in the graduate program. The comprehensive exam consists of two portions: a written research proposal and an oral defense of the proposal at a meeting with the graduate advisory committee.

Research Proposal: Several months in advance, reach out to your 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 will be followed by an oral examination administered by the graduate advisory committee on the theoretical background, the experimental design, and the 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 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.

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.)

Upon completion of at least 9 credits of coursework, approval of the GSP, and successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam, you can apply for Advancement to Candidacy (submit form found on the Grad School website). When you apply to graduate, this form is used by the Graduate School to determine whether you are eligible. Advance to candidacy at least one semester before you graduate. 

PhD students only: If you are an RA or a TA when you Advance to Candidacy, there will be an increase in your stipend. Submitting this form simultaneously with your "Report on Comprehensive Exam" will ensure the most timely stipend increase.

Write the Thesis: Work with your committee chair (major advisor) to produce a full first draft of each chapter. This will normally require several drafts. Once your committee chair is satisfied with the draft of each chapter, submit to the remainder of your committee for comments. Usually all committee members will request further revisions. When your whole committee agrees that the entire thesis is ready to be defended, set a date for your oral defense.

Publication: An MS thesis should consist of one or two chapters of a quality suitable for publication. It is highly desirable to produce a published paper from the thesis research, but a submitted or accepted publication is not required prior to graduation.

Format: See the Graduate School's Thesis Formatting Handbook and Thesis Templates for details. Both the "manuscript" or the "monograph" formats are acceptable to the department.

Manuscript format allows the author to format each data chapter for publication as required by the target journal. This is useful if there are two data chapters intended for different journals. There may be one or more data chapters in a manuscript thesis. In addition, it must contain a general abstract, a general introduction and a general conclusion. The purpose of these general sections are to tie together the data chapters and integrate the totality of the work. 

Monograph format is typical for a thesis that consists of a single data chapter. In a monograph thesis, there is no need for a general introduction or general conclusion section. Instead, the thesis will contain one abstract, one introduction, and one conclusion (as well as all the other sections of the scientific paper).

Whether manuscript or monograph, the thesis should follow all the Graduate School guidelines; see the Graduate School web site and the UAF Thesis Formatting Handbook for these guidelines. Theses that do not conform to current Graduate School formatting guidelines will be returned to students for correction. We highly recommend that you attend a thesis formatting workshop. These are offered by the Graduate School on a regular basis; check their website for a calendar.

Authorship: It is generally accepted that the student will be first author on publications resulting from thesis chapters. Chapters that are already published and those intended for publication should include the actual or intended citation, including all co-authors.

The student is the sole author of the thesis abstract, general introduction and conclusion, and sole-authored chapters; these sections should be written in the first person singular. The first person plural is appropriate for co-authored data chapters; those authors must be identified in the thesis.

Deadlines for submission of the thesis to the Graduate School can be found here. 

A PhD dissertation usually consists of three to four manuscripts of a quality suitable for publication in scientific journals. Typically, one or several chapters have already been submitted or accepted for publication. The graduate committee should approve the chapter prior to submission for publication.

The dissertation must also include a General Introduction and a General Conclusion. The General Introduction should provide a rationale for the research as a whole. The general conclusion should synthesize the results across all of the chapters and may provide recommendations for future research.

Write the Dissertation: Work with your committee chair (major advisor) to produce a full first draft of each chapter. This will normally require several drafts. Once your committee chair is satisfied with the draft of each chapter, submit to the remainder of your committee for comments. Usually all committee members will request further revisions. After the entire committee is satisfied with a chapter, it may be submitted for publication. When your whole committee agrees that the entire dissertation is ready to be defended, set a date for your oral defense.

Format: The dissertation should be written in "manuscript format" following Graduate School guidelines. Because chapters are likely to be submitted to different journals, it is acceptable to have different formatting in different chapters.

Dissertations that do not conform to current Graduate School formatting guidelines will be returned to students for correction. We highly recommend that you attend a thesis formatting workshop. These are offered by the Graduate School on a regular basis; visit their website for a schedule. 

Authorship: It is generally accepted that the student will be first author on publications resulting from dissertation chapters. Chapters that are already published and those intended for publication should include the actual or intended citation, including all co-authors.

The student is the sole author of the dissertation abstract, general introduction and conclusion, and sole-authored chapters; these sections should be written in the first person singular. The first person plural is appropriate for co-authored data chapters; those authors must be identified in the dissertation.

Deadlines for submission of the dissertation to the Graduate School can be found here. 

Schedule: Work with the Biology & Wildlife Graduate Coordinator to schedule a 1-hour public presentation (leaving 15 minutes for questions). The public presentation will be followed by a closed-door oral defense that will take about two hours. All committee members must be present, either in person or via video-conference. 

The department encourages you to give your public presentation in a hybrid format, both in person and on Zoom. Students outside of Fairbanks may defend via Zoom only. You should feel free to invite family and friends to hear about your work.

Guidelines for setting up a Zoom defense and post-defense exam are available here.

Advertise: Defenses must be advertised at least 2 weeks prior to their occurrence. Please work with the Graduate Student Coordinator, uaf.bw.grad@alaska.edu to schedule your defense and advertise it. 

Forms: After the defense, submit a "Report on Thesis/Dissertation Defense" form for faculty signatures. If the outcome is successful, complete and submit the thesis/dissertation. If the outcome is "conditional" or "fail", the defense should be rescheduled within 6 months. A second conditional or failed defense will result in dismissal from the program.

Communication Assessment: Graduate advisory committee members will be asked to complete a short survey on the quality of oral communication after the defense. The survey is primarily for programmatic assessment, but students may request to see the feedback if they wish. The Google form can be accessed here. 

PhD only: Request an outside examiner with the "Request for an Outside Examiner" form (use the Graduate School Forms button on the right). Outside examiners are representatives of the Graduate School who ensure that the defense is fair. They may choose to participate actively.

Committee Review: Incorporate all further changes requested by the committee.

Approval Form: Initiate the electronic "Approval of Dissertation/Thesis" form on the Graduate School website.

Chair review: Submit an electronic copy of your thesis/dissertation to the department (uaf.bw.grad@alaska.edu), preferably in Word, for chair review. At the same time, attach a completed B&W Checklist. Be aware that the chair will not review a thesis/dissertation unless all the committee members have signed the "Approval of Dissertation/Thesis" form. The Chair will contact you with requests for further changes. Expect this review to take up to two weeks. 

Dean review: Once all chair-requested edits have been made and the chair confirms the document is ready for the dean and signs the "Approval of Dissertation/Thesis" form, submit the revised thesis/dissertation as a clean copy to uaf.bw.grad@alaska.edu with a note indicating it is ready for the dean to review. The dean would also prefer the document in Word. The dean may have additional comments and requested edits that you should incorporate. Expect this review to take another 2 weeks.

Graduate School: Once the dean approves your thesis/dissertation and signs the approval form, you will receive an email from the Graduate Student Coordinator with a note from the dean and comments on your thesis/dissertation. Once you incorporate any edits, save the dissertation as a pdf and upload it to Proquest. 

The Graduate School may request additional edits. Please deal with these promptly.

Printing: If you would like a bound copy of your thesis/dissertation, you can order this from ProQuest or you can send the file to another business for printing/binding. 

Graduate: Verify that you have completed all required tasks on the Graduate School's Ready to Graduate page.

You must take a minimum of 3 credits the semester you plan to defend and graduate. If you don't graduate the same semester that you defend, you will need to take 1 credit the next semester to be eligible to graduate. 

Visit the grad school's Ready to Graduate page and apply for graduation prior to the deadline.

Check the deadlines on either the MS page or PhD page.