1997-98 UAF Catalog

Degrees and Programs

Course Description Index

Fisheries

School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
Program in Fisheries
(907) 474-7289

Degrees: B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

Minimum Requirements for Degrees: B.S.: 130 credits; M.S.: 30 additional credits; Ph.D.: open.

The fisheries undergraduate curriculum program is intended to provide broad basic education and training. Holders of the bachelor's degree will be qualified to enter the management, law enforcement, and public information-education phases of fisheries work. Students contemplating careers in research, administration, advanced management, or teaching will find the bachelor's curriculum a solid foundation for graduate study. The undergraduate program is offered at Fairbanks only.

Graduate degree program students attend classes and work with faculty in Juneau and/or Fairbanks, and academic programs can be developed in one of the following subject areas: Fisheries Management (Juneau/Fairbanks); Fish/Invertebrate Biology (Juneau/Fairbanks); and Aquaculture (Juneau only). Research assistantships are available; applicants should contact the Fisheries Program for further information and application forms.

The geographic location of Fairbanks is advantageous for the study of interior Alaska aquatic habitats. A number of subarctic streams and lakes are within easy reach. Main access to the marine environment from the Fairbanks campus is in Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet.

The Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (JCSFOS), houses the UAF Fisheries Science Program in southeast Alaska. (Juneau students should also reference the University of Alaska Southeast catalog.) The Juneau Center has well equipped labs, including both freshwater and seawater wet labs and computer labs. There is ready access to both marine and freshwater habitats, and it is located near the Auke Bay National Marine Fisheries Service Laboratory, just north of Juneau. The Fishery Industrial Technology Center (FITC) is located in Kodiak. It has new facilities for work in harvest technology, seafood technology, seafood biochemistry, and microbiology.

Fisheries students in both Fairbanks and Juneau have an opportunity for association with personnel of both federal and state conservation agencies and these agencies hire a number of students for summer field work.

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Fisheries -- B.S. Degree

  1. Complete the general university and B.S. degree requirements. Some of the Fisheries core courses below may be used to meet these requirements as indicated by *.
  2. Complete the following major requirements. A total of 130 credits must be earned for the Bachelor of Science in Fisheries. Courses completed in A, B, and C areas must be graded "C" or better.
    1. Fisheries Core Courses (79-84 credits):
      General (39-42 credits)
      CHEM 105X, 106X -- General Chemistry (8 credits)
      CS or CIOS courses (3 credits)
      ECON 200 -- Principles of Economics (4)
           or ECON 235 -- Natural Resource Economics (3)
           or both ECON 201 and 202 -- Principles of Economics I and II (6) (3-6 credits)
      ENGL 314 -- Technical Writing
           or ENGL 414 -- Research Writing (3 credits)
      *MATH 200X and 201X -- Introduction to Calculus (8 credits)
      NRM 101 -- Conservation of Natural Resources (3 credits)
      PHYS 103X-104X -- College Physics (8 credits)
      STAT 200 -- Elementary Probability and Statistics
           or STAT 300 -- Statistics (3 credits)
      Biology (27 credits)
      *BIOL 105X, 106X -- Fundamentals in Biol. I and II (8 credits)
      BIOL 210 -- Animal Physiology (4 credits)
      BIOL 271 -- Principles of Ecology (4 credits)
      BIOL 362 -- Principles of Genetics (4 credits)
      BIOL 473 -- Limnology
           or MSL 411 -- Current Topics in Oceanographic Research
           or BIOL 477 -- Ecology of Streams and Rivers (3 credits)
      MSL 111X -- The Oceans (4 credits)
      *May be applied to general University requirements simultaneously.
      Fisheries (13-15 credits)
      FISH 336 -- Aquaculture of Marine Species
           or FISH 380 -- Marine Fishes of Alaska
           or FISH 384 -- Biology of Freshwater Fish of Alaska (3 credits)
      FISH 400 -- Fisheries Science (3 credits)
      FISH 401 -- Fisheries Management (3 credits)
      FISH 427 -- Ichthyology
           or BIOL 305 -- Invertebrate Zoology (4-5 credits)
    2. Fisheries Electives (18 credits):
      (Choose any Fisheries course (FISH) not already applied to requirements or any courses from the following list to total 18 credits.)
      BIOL 305 -- Invertebrate Zoology (5 credits)
      BIOL 328 -- Biology of Marine Organisms (3 credits)
      BIOL 473 -- Limnology (3 credits)
      BIOL 477 -- Ecology of Streams and Rivers (3 credits)
      CHEM 212 -- Chemical Equilibrium and Analysis
           and CHEM 213 -- Quantitative Analysis Laboratory (4 credits)
      CHEM 321-322 -- Organic Chemistry
           and CHEM 324 -- Organic Laboratory (9 credits)
      GEOG 205 -- Elements of Physical Geography (3 credits)
      MSL 411 -- Current Topics in Oceanographic Research (3 credits)
      STAT 401 -- Regression and Analysis of Variance
           and/or STAT 402 -- Scientific Sampling (3-7 credits)
    3. Electives to total 130 credits.
      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, Wildlife Biology. Recommended electives (other courses may be substituted) include:
      ANTH 242 -- Native Cultures of Alaska (3 credits)
      BA 307 -- Personnel Management (3 credits)
      BIOL 317 -- Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates (4 credits)
      BIOL 342 -- Microbiology (4 credits)
      BIOL 407 -- Aquatic Entomology (3 credits)
      BIOL 418 -- Developmental Biology (3 credits)
      BIOL 442 -- Bacteriology and Immunology (5 credits)
      BIOL 471 -- Population Ecology (3 credits)
      BIOL 472 -- Communities and Ecosystems (3 credits)
      BIOL 477 -- Ecology of Streams and Rivers (3 credits)
      BIOL 480 -- Water Pollution Biology (3 credits)
      CHEM 451 -- General Biochemistry (3 credits)
      CHEM 452 -- Biochemistry Laboratory (3 credits)
      ECON 438 -- The Economics of Fisheries Management (3 credits)
      GEOG 338 -- Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
      GEOG 302 -- Geography of Alaska (3 credits)
      GEOG 402 -- Resources and Environment (3 credits)
      GEOS 304 -- Geomorphology 3
      JB 101 -- Intro. to Mass Communication (3 credits)
      JB 311 -- Magazine Article Writing (3 credits)
      NRM 204 -- Natural Resources Legislation and Policy (3 credits)
      NRM 277 -- Introduction to Conservation Biology (3 credits)
      NRM 303 -- Environmental Ethics and Actions (3 credits)
      NRM 370 -- Introduction to Watershed Management (3 credits)
      NRM 407 -- Environmental Law (3 credits)
      PS 201 -- Comparative Politics (3 credits)
      PS 212 -- Intro. to Public Administration (3 credits)
      PS 263 -- Alaska Native Politics (3 credits)
      PS 302 -- Congress and Public Policy (3 credits)
      PS 420 -- Environmental Politics (3 credits)
      SOC 309 -- Urban Sociology (3 credits)
      WLF 303 -- Wildlife Management Techniques (3 credits)
      WLF 419 -- Waterfowl and Wetlands Ecology and Management (3 credits)
    Minimum credits required (130 credits)

Bachelor of science candidates are strongly urged to obtain work experience in fisheries-related positions with public resource agencies or private firms. Faculty members can help students contact potential employers. Fisheries undergraduate students will be asked each fall to describe their work experience of the previous year.

Graduate Degree Requirements

Fisheries -- M.S. Degree

Admission Requirements

  1. Complete a personal statement concerning educational and career goals.
  2. Complete university application requirements.
  3. Prerequisites: calculus, elementary statistics, ichthyology or invertebrate zoology, computer competency.

Degree Requirements

  1. Complete UAF degree requirements.
  2. Complete a thesis and pass an oral defense of thesis and oral comprehensive examination.
  3. Students working in subject areas involving significant non-English literature may be expected to read the appropriate foreign language.
  4. Course Requirements
    Complete a minimum of 30 credits, of which 24 credits must be at the 600 level.
    Required courses (12-18 credits)
    STAT 401 -- Regression and Analysis of Variance (4 credits)
    Graduate seminars (2 credits)
    FISH 699 -- Thesis 6-12
    Electives (12-18 credits) 12-18

Fisheries -- Ph.D. Degree

Admission Requirements

  1. Have an earned master's degree in a fisheries-related field.
  2. Complete a personal statement concerning educational and career goals.
  3. Complete university application requirements.

Degree Requirements

  1. Complete UAF degree requirements.
  2. Complete at least one year of full-time coursework, as approved by the student's advisory committee.
  3. Pass a written (plus sometimes an oral) comprehensive examination.
  4. Complete a thesis exhibiting a substantial and original contribution to fisheries knowledge, and pass an oral defense of thesis.