Fisheries
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
Fisheries Program
907-474-7289
www.sfos.uaf.edu/academics/
B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Degrees; Minor
Minimum Requirements for Degrees: B.A.: 125 credits; B.S.: 120 credits
The undergraduate programs in fisheries offer students broad education and training, preparing graduates to work as professionals in fisheries management, research, conservation, education, policy, harvest and marketing organizations. The programs also provide a solid foundation for graduate study for students contemplating careers in advanced research and management, administration or teaching.
The B.S. degree in fisheries provides students with the knowledge base, skill sets and hands-on experience to obtain positions within state, federal and non-governmental fisheries and natural resources conservation and management agencies in Alaska and throughout North America. Graduates with this degree will be particularly qualified to work for traditional state, provincial, federal, Alaska Native, and Native American agencies in the areas of marine and freshwater fisheries biology and management and fisheries social science.
The B.A. degree in fisheries provides students with the knowledge base, skill sets, and hands-on experience to obtain positions within the fishing and seafood processing industries in Alaska and throughout North America. Graduates with this degree will be qualified to work for traditional fisheries governmental agencies in the areas of business administration, policy development, fisheries education and outreach, or as social scientists.
The minor gives students who are majoring in other areas (i.e. wildlife biology, natural resources management, business, rural and community development, journalism, etc.) a solid introductory background in fisheries.
Fisheries students have opportunities to work with professionals from federal, state, local, tribal and private groups during their required internship or research project. These organizations often hire fisheries students for summer internships, which can turn into full-time jobs after graduation.
The undergraduate fisheries program is administered through the UAF Fairbanks campus. Students have the option of completing their program in Fairbanks or Juneau, with many fisheries courses offered via distance education for students in other outlying areas. The undergraduate fisheries program is designed as a 2+2 program in which students may complete their first two years at UAF, UAS or UAA (or other local UA campus) and their last two years in either Fairbanks or Juneau as a UAF student. Students who are interested in the 2+2 option must contact the UAF fisheries program.
Fairbanks offers an excellent location for the study of Interior Alaska aquatic habitats with a number of subarctic streams and lakes within easy reach. The Juneau Center has ready access to both marine and freshwater habitats and freshwater and seawater wet labs. The Fishery Industrial Technology Center, located in Kodiak, has facilities for work in harvest technology, seafood technology, seafood biochemistry and microbiology.
- Complete the general university requirements.
- Complete the B.A. degree requirements.
- Complete the following:*
ACCT F261--Accounting Concepts and Uses I--3 credits
ANS F350W,O--Cross Cultural Communication: Alaskan Perspectives (3)
or ANS F401--Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders--3 credits
ANTH F403W/O--Political Anthropology (3)
or ANTH F428--Ecological Anthropology and Regional Sustainability--3 credits
BA F307--Introductory Human Resources Management (3)
or BA F343--Principles of Marketing--3 credits
BA F390--Organizational Theory and Behavior (3)
or BA F330--The Legal Environment of Business (4)--3 - 4 credits
ECON F235--Introduction to Natural Resources--3 credits
ENGL F314 W,O--Technical Writing--3 credits
FISH F101--Introduction to Fisheries--3 credits
FISH F261--Introduction to Fisheries Utilization--3 credits
FISH F288--Fish and Fisheries of Alaska--3 credits
FISH F411--Human Dimensions of Environmental Systems--3 credits
FISH F490--Experiential Learning Internship--1 credit
NRM F407--Environmental Law (3)
or HIST F411--Environmental History (3)--3 credits
PS F447--U.S. Environmental Politics (3)
or PS F454--International Law and the Environment (3)
or PS F455O--Political Economy of the Global Environment (3)
or PS F458--Comparative Environmental Politics (3)--3 credits
RD F300W--Rural Development in a Global Perspective (3)
or RD F350O--Indigenous Knowledge and Community Research (3)
or RD F430--Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship (3)--3 credits
STAT F200X--Elementary Probability and Statistics--3 credits
Upper-division fisheries elective--3 credits - Minimum credits required--125 credits
* Students must earn a C grade (2.0) or better in each course.
- Complete the general university requirements. (As part of the core curriculum requirements, complete MATH F200X or F272X.)
- Complete the B.S. degree requirements. (As part of the B.S. degree requirements, complete STAT F401 or STAT F402.)
- Complete the following:*
BIOL F115X--Fundamentals of Biology I**--4 credits
BIOL F116X--Fundamentals of Biology II**--4 credits
BIOL F271--Principles of Ecology--4 credits
BIOL F310--Animal Physiology--4 credits
BIOL F362--Principles of Genetics--4 credits
BIOL F473W--Limnology (4)
or MSL F411--Current Topics in Oceanographic Research (3)
or BIOL F476--Ecosystem Ecology (3)
or BIOL F483--Stream Ecology (3)
or FISH F440--Introductory Oceanography for Fisheries (3)--3 - 4 credits
CHEM F105X--General Chemistry I**--4 credits
CHEM F106X--General Chemistry II**--4 credits
ECON F235--Introduction to Natural Resource Economics (3)
or ECON F201--Principles of Economics I: Microeconomics (3)--3 credits
ENGL F414W--Research Writing--3 credits
FISH F101--Introduction to Fisheries--3 credits
FISH F288--Fish and Fisheries of Alaska--3 credits
FISH F301--Biology of Fishes (4)
or BIOL F305--Invertebrate Zoology--4 credits
FISH F315--Freshwater Fisheries Techniques (3)
or FISH F414--Field Methods in Marine Ecology and Fisheries (3)--3 credits
FISH F411--Human Dimensions of Environmental Systems--3 credits
FISH F425--Fish Ecology (3)
or FISH F426--Behavioral Ecology of Fishes (3)
or FISH F428--Physiological Ecology of Fishes--3 credits
FISH F487W,O--Fisheries Management--3 credits
FISH F490--Experiential Learning Internship--1 credit
PHYS F103X--College Physics**--4 credits
STAT F200X--Elementary Probability and Statistics--3 credits
STAT F401--Regression and Analysis of Variance*** (4)
or STAT F402--Scientific Sampling***--3 credits - Complete 12 credits of electives* from Fisheries, Biology or Natural Resource Management (of which at least 4 credits must be upper-division).
- Complete 4 credits of electives* from Chemistry, Geology or Physics.
- Complete 4 credits of other electives*.
- Minimum credits required--120 credits
* Students must earn a C grade (2.0) or better in each course.
** Courses completed in the fisheries core may be used to meet the core natural sciences or B.S. degree natural science requirements but not both.
*** STAT F401 or STAT F402 may be used to meet the B.S. degree mathematics requirements.
Note: Fisheries majors are encouraged to reinforce their fisheries qualifications by earning a minor in a program related to fisheries. Some examples are biology, business management, chemistry, economics, mathematics, natural resources management (animal science), northern studies, statistics or wildlife.
- Complete the following:
FISH F101--Introduction to Fisheries (3)
or NRM F101--Natural Resources Conservation and Policy (3)--3 credits
FISH F288--Fish and Fisheries of Alaska--3 credits - Students must take at least 6 additional credit hours designated FISH, with the exception of any FISH F492 courses.
- Students may apply at most 3 credit hours from one of the following concentrations:
Fisheries Science
BIOL F305--Invertebrate Zoology--5 credits
BIOL F310--Animal Physiology--3 credits
BIOL F328--Biology of Marine Organisms--3 credits
BIOL F441--Animal Behavior--3 credits
BIOL F471--Population Ecology--3 credits
BIOL F472W--Community Ecology--3 credits
BIOL F473W--Limnology--4 credits
BIOL F476--Ecosystem Ecology--3 credits
BIOL F483--Stream Ecology--3 credits
NRM F370--Introduction to Watershed Management--3 credits
Fisheries Business Administration and Economics
ACCT F261--Accounting Concepts and Uses I--3 credits
ACCT F262--Accounting Concepts and Uses II--3 credits
BA F151--Introduction to Business--4 credits
BA F307--Introductory Human Resources Management--3 credits
BA F325--Financial Management--3 credits
BA F330--The Legal Environment of Business--3 credits
BA F343--Principles of Marketing--3 credits
BA F390--Organizational Theory and Management--3 credits
ECON F200--Principles of Economics--3 credits
ECON F235--Introduction to Natural Resources Economics--3 credits
ECON F335--Intermediate Natural Resource Economics--3 credits
ECON F434--Environmental Economics--3 credits
Fisheries Policy and Rural Development
ANS F350W,O--Cross Cultural Communication: Alaskan Perspectives--3 credits
ANS F401--Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders--3 credits
ANTH F242--Native Cultures of Alaska--3 credits
ANTH F403W/O--Political Anthropology--3 credits
ANTH F428--Ecological Anthropology and Regional Sustainability--3 credits
HIST F411--Environmental History--3 credits
NRM F407--Environmental Law--3 credits
NRM F430--Resource Management Planning--3 credits
PS F101--Introduction to American Government and Politics--3 credits
PS F447--U.S. Environmental Politics--3 credits
PS F454--International Law and the Environment--3 credits
PS F455O--Political Economy of the Global Environment--3 credits
PS F458--Comparative Environmental Politics--3 credits
RD F200--Community Development in the North--3 credits
RD F245--Fisheries Development in Rural Alaska--3 credits
RD F256--Co-management of Renewable Resources--3 credits
RD F265--Perspectives on Subsistence in Alaska--3 credits
RD F300W--Rural Development in a Global Perspective--3 credits
RD F350O--Indigenous Knowledge and Community Research--3 credits
RD F430--Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship--3 credits - Minimum credits required--15 credits