Rural Development

College of Rural and Community Development
Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development
907-474-6528 Toll-free 888-574-6528
www.uaf.edu/danrd/

B.A., M.A. Degrees; Minor

Downloadable PDF

Minimum Requirements for Degree: 120 credits

Rural development degree programs are designed to educate a new generation of community leaders for rural Alaska. The B.A. degree can be earned either on the Fairbanks campus or through distance delivery. Special application requirements and deadlines apply for distance B.A. degree programs. Students applying for acceptance into the Rural Development program need to complete two department-specific requirements in addition to general university admission: an oral interview with faculty and a written questionnaire. Findings from this process will be used to support the department advising process and assist students in connecting with faculty and mentors. The questionnaire and instructions for the oral interview are found on the DANSRD website under "How to Apply."

Students in the rural development program gain a broad understanding of Alaska's relationship to the global economy and an appreciation for sustainable development strategies. Students also learn specific tools essential for community leadership, including business plan and grant proposal writing, community visioning and planning processes, computer business applications, project management, and evaluation techniques. Graduates typically take positions with tribal and municipal governments, fisheries, tourism and other private businesses, Native corporations, regional health corporations or nonprofits, and state/federal agencies.

Within the B.A. degree program, students will select and develop a concentration in one of five areas:

• The community health and wellness concentration is for students with a strong interest in health and wellness. Students focus on the various facets of a healthy rural community. Going beyond the basics of health care, they explore different aspects of wellness within a community and develop tools to attain community wellness goals. Students blend and apply both contemporary and traditional health and wellness tools. Graduates may find employment with tribal governments, health consortia, clinics and schools.
• The community research and indigenous knowledge concentration is for students with interests in applied research involving Alaska Native communities, cultures, languages, ceremonial performances and histories. Students learn principles of ethical research, explore issues of intellectual and cultural property rights, and acquire skills to do ethnographies, oral histories, community surveys and needs assessments, and archival research. Graduates may find employment with museums, ANCSA corporations, tribal governments, and state and federal agencies.
• The concentration in indigenous organization management is designed for students interested in development and operations of indigenous organizations in rural Alaska. Students develop an understanding of the history and constitutional basis for tribal governance, basics of federal Indian law, principles and practices of self-determination, and the mandates of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. They develop skills in planning, budgeting and human resources management. Students can pursue a special interest, such as management of health programs, tribal governance programs or Alaska Native corporations, and tailor the concentration to these specifications through choice of related courses and electives. Graduates may find employment with tribal and municipal governments and organizations, ANCSA corporations, and state and federal agencies.
• The natural resource development concentration is designed for students with an interest in land and resources development, co-management and conservation. Students learn about traditional ecological knowledge, principles of natural resources management and policy, adaptive management, conservation and ecotourism, and skills for effective public/private/tribal collaboration in resource management. Management strategies for addressing climate change are explored. Graduates may find employment with ANCSA corporations, regional and tribal entities, or state and federal agencies.
• The concentration in rural community business and economic development planning is for students interested in creating sustainable economies in rural and indigenous communities, with a focus on small business development. Students learn to develop business and marketing plans, economic development planning, and basic principles of financial and human resources management for rural enterprises. Graduates find employment in ANCSA corporations, regional development organizations, economic development agencies and as local entrepreneurs.

For more information contact the department toll-free at 888-574-6528 or visit our website: www.uaf.edu/danrd/.

Major -- B.A. Degree

Concentrations: Community Health and Wellness; Community Research and Indigenous Knowledge; Indigenous Organization Management; Natural Resource Development; or Rural Community Business and Economic Development Planning.

1. Complete the general university requirements.
2. Complete the B.A. degree requirements.
3. Complete the following:*
   RD F300W--Rural Development in a Global Perspective--3 credits
   RD F325--Community Development Strategies--3 credits
   RD F350O--Indigenous Knowledge and Community Research--3 credits
   RD F351--Strategic Planning for Rural Communities--3 credits
   RD F352--Rural Business Planning and Proposal Development--3 credits
   RD F400--Rural Development Internship--3 credits
   RD F450--Managing Rural Projects and Programs--3 credits
   RD F475W--Rural Development Senior Project--3 credits
4. Complete the following:*
   RD elective--3 credits
   RD, ANS, TM or ED electives--6 credits
5. Complete one of the following concentrations:
   Community Health and Wellness
   Complete 21 credits from the following:***
   ANS F242--Native Cultures of Alaska--3 credits
   ANS F275--Yup'ik Practices in Spirituality and Philosophy--3 credits
   ANS F330--Yup'ik Parenting and Child Development (Kuskokwim Campus only)--1-3 credits
   ANS F348W--Native North American Women--3 credits
   ANS F350W,O--Cross Cultural Communication: Alaskan Perspectives--3 credits
   ANS/ED F370--Issues in Alaska Bilingual and Multicultural Education--1 credit
   ANS/ED F420--Alaska Native Education--3 credits
   ANS F461--Native Ways of Knowing--3 credits
   EBOT F100--Introduction to Ethnobotany--3 credits
   HUMS F260--History of Alcohol in Alaska--1 credit
   HUMS F263--Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)--1 credit
   HUMS F264--Culture, Chemical Dependency and Alaska Natives--1 credit
   HUMS F265--Substance Abuse and the Family--1 credit
   HUMS F280--Prevention and Community Development--3 credits
   RD F401--Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders--3 credits
   RD F462--Rural Health and Human Service Systems--3 credits
   RD F465--Community Healing and Wellness--3 credits
   RD F470/670--The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Pre-1971 to present--3 credits
   RD F492--Rural Development Leadership Seminar--1-3 credits
   RHS; any advisor-approved courses varies
   RNS F120--Alaska Native Food Systems--3 credits
   TM F114--Tribal Justice in Tribal Court--1 credit
   TM F116--Juvenile Justice in Tribal Court--1 credit
   TM F117--Tribal Court Enforcement of Decisions--1 credit
   TM F118--Tribal Community and Restorative Justice --1 credit
   
   Community Research and Indigenous Knowledge
   Complete 21 credits from the following:***
   ANL F256--Introduction to Alaska Native Languages: History, Status and Maintenance--3 credits
   ANL F287--Teaching Methods for Alaska Native Languages--3 credits
   ANL F315--Alaska Native Languages: Eskimo-Aleut--3 credits
   ANL F316--Alaska Native Languages: Indian Languages--3 credits
   ANS F202X--Aesthetic Appreciation of Alaska Native Performance--3 credits
   ANS F242--Native Cultures of Alaska--3 credits
   ANS F275--Yup'ik Practices in Spirituality and Philosophy--3 credits
   ANS F315--Tribal People Development--3 credits
   ANS/ANTH F320W--Language and Culture in Alaska--3 credits
   EBOT F200--Seminar in Ethnobotany--1 credit
   HIST F446--American Indian History--3 credits
   HIST F490W--Researching and Writing North American History--3 credits
   NORS F470--Oral Sources: Issues in Documentation--3 credits
   NORS F484W,O--Seminar in Northern Studies--3 credits
   RD F110--Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Land Claims in the 21st Century--1 credit
   RD F265--Perspectives on Subsistence in Alaska--3 credits
   RD F268--Rural Tourism: Planning and Principles--3 credits
   RD F280--Resource Management Research Techniques--3 credits
   RD F401--Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders--3 credits
   RD F425--Cultural Resource Issues--3 credits
   RD F430--Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship--3 credits
   RD F470--The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Pre-1971 to present--3 credits
   RD F492--Rural Development Leadership Seminar (may earn up to six credits)--1-3 credits
   
   Indigenous Organization Management
   Complete 21 credits from the following:***
   ABUS F232--Contemporary Management Issues--3 credits
   ABUS F263--Public Relations--3 credits
   ABUS F273--Managing a Small Business--3 credits
   ANS F310--Indigenous Land Settlements--3 credits
   ANS F325--Native Self Government--3 credits
   ANS/PS F425--Federal Indian Law and Alaska Natives--3 credits
   ANS F450--Comparative Indigenous Rights and Policies--3 credits
   BA F307--Introductory Human Resources Management--3 credits
   BA F317W--Employment Law--3 credits
   BA F457--Training and Management Development--3 credits
   NORS/PS F205--Leadership, Citizenship and Choice--3 credits
   NRM F101--Natural Resources Conservation Policy--3 credits
   NRM F464--Wilderness Management--3 credits
   RD F280--Resource Management Research Techniques--3 credits
   RD F401--Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders--3 credits
   RD F427--Tribal Contracting and Compacting--3 credits
   RD F430--Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship--3 credits
   RD F451--Human Resource Management for Indigenous Communities--3 credits
   RD F460--Women and Development--3 credits
   RD F492--Rural Development Leadership Seminar (may earn up to six credits)--1-3 credits
   TM F101--Introduction to Tribal Government--3 credits
   TM F105--Introduction to Tribal Finance Applications--3 credits
   TM F120--Introduction to Tribal Natural Resource Management--3 credits
   TM F130--Introduction to Utility Management--2 credits
   TM F201--Advance Tribal Government--3 credits
   TM F205--Advanced Tribal Finance Applications--3 credits
   TM F225--Cross Connections: Adapting and Integrating Principles of Management Conservation--3 credits
   
   Natural Resource Development
   Complete 21 credits from the following:***
   ABUS F158--Introduction to Tourism--1-3 credits
   AMIT F101--Introduction to Mining--3 credits
   EBOT F100--Introduction to Ethnobotany--3 credits
   EBOT F200--Seminar in Ethnobotany--1 credit
   ENVI F101--Introduction to Environmental Science--3 credits
   FISH F101--Introduction to Fisheries--3 credits
   FISH F261--Introduction to Fisheries Utilization--3 credits
   HLRM F120--History of Domesticated Alaskan Ungulates--1 credit
   HLRM F140--High Latitude Range Management--2 credits
   NRM F101--Natural Resources Conservation and Policy--3 credits
   NRM F453--Harvesting and Utilization of Forest Products--3 credits
   NRM F461--Interpretive Services--3 credits
   NRM F464--Wilderness Management--3 credits
   RD F245--Fisheries Development in Rural Alaska--3 credits
   RD F255--Rural Alaska Land Issues--3 credits
   RD F265--Perspectives on Subsistence in Alaska--3 credits
   RD F268--Rural Tourism: Planning and Principles--3 credits
   RD F280--Resource Management Research Techniques--3 credits
   RD F425--Cultural Resource Issues--3 credits
   RD F430--Indigenous Economic Development and Entrepreneurship--3 credits
   RD F492--Rural Development Leadership Seminar (may earn up to six credits)--1-3 credits
   TM F120--Introduction to Tribal Natural Resource Management--3 credits
   TM F170--Fundamentals of Rural Transportation--4 credits
   TM F225--Cross Connections: Adapting and Integrating Principles of Management Conservation--3 credits
   TM F271--Rural Transportation Planning--1 credit
   
   Rural Community Business and Economic Development Planning
   Complete 21 credits from the following:***
   ABUS F101--Principles of Accounting I--3 credits
   ABUS F151--Village Based Entrepreneurship--1-3 credits
   ABUS F154--Human Relations--3 credits
   ABUS F155--Business Math--1-3 credits
   ABUS F161--Personal and Business Finance--3 credits
   ABUS F272--Small-Business Planning--3 credits
   AMIT F101--Introduction to Mining--3 credits
   ANS/RD F315--Tribal People and Development--3 credits
   ANS F325--Native Self Government--3 credits
   ANS/PS F450--Comparative Indigenous Rights and Policies--3 credits
   CM F201--Construction Project Management--3 credits
   CM F202--Project Planning and Scheduling--3 credits
   NRM F101--Natural Resources Conservation and Policy--3 credits
   RD F110--Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Land Claims in the 21st Century--1 credit
   RD F250--Grant Writing for Community Development--1-3 credits
   RD F268--Rural Tourism: Planning and Principles--3 credits
   RD F427--Tribal Contracting and Compacting--3 credits
   RD F460--Women and Development--3 credits
   RD F470/670--The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Pre-1971 to present--3 credits
   RD F492--Rural Development Leadership Seminar (may earn up to six credits)--1-3 credits
   TM F170--Fundamentals of Rural Transportation--4 credits
   TM F171--Introduction to the Indian Reservation Roads Program--1 credit
6. Minimum credits required--120 credits




* Students must earn a C- grade or better in each course.

** Concentration area and elective credits may also fulfill the humanities, social science or mathematics general requirements for the B.A. degree. Prerequisites are required for many of these courses; however, prerequisites do not apply to the credit requirement.

*** Recommended courses. Course substitutions relevant to the concentration area may be made with approval of the Rural Development faculty advisor.

Minor

1. Complete the following:
   Any three-credit RD course at the 300 level or above--3 credits
   RD electives at the F200 level or above--12 credits
2. Minimum credits required--15 credits