Welcome to the College of Liberal Arts
2023 Holi Festival hosted outside of the Wood Center Pavilion, 3/25/23.
UAF Photo by Leif Van Cise
Chart your course in a place where learning is hands-on, purpose-driven, and built to help you forge a path that truly means something.
At UAF’s College of Liberal Arts, your education is rooted in place, possibility, and real-world experience. You can study mental health policy while working with rural communities, carve bone in the Native Arts Studio, explore political cooperation in the circumpolar North, or conduct archaeological fieldwork just miles from campus. And along the way, you’ll gain the critical skills to think deeply, communicate clearly, and create meaningful change—wherever your path leads.
Our programs are designed to let you build a college experience as unique as your ambitions. With close faculty mentorship, small classes, and opportunities for hands-on research, fieldwork, and cultural engagement, you'll connect disciplines in unexpected ways and graduate with both practical experience and a broader perspective. And with Alaska as your backdrop, your college journey will be as adventurous as it is inspiring.
Start exploring. Your future begins here.
The CLA Experience
(from left) Rei Suzuki-Smith, Jose Rodriguez, Cole Newcomer and Lizzie Stitz tend to the wood-fired kiln in the early morning hours in April 2024.
Joey Sparaga sifts dirt through a sieve while participating in an archeological field camp at a dig site near Delta Junction.
Sean Enfield (MFA Creative Writing, '21) performs as Gil Scott-Heron for Dead Writers 2018.
Brandon Boylan, the program director of Arctic and Northern Studies (ACNS), welcomes the crowd at the first annual ACNS program reception held in Anchorage, Alaska in April 2025.
An audience member poses a question at the Journalism, the First Amendment, and Covering Trump panel held in April 2025.
Joy Castro reads an excerpt from her book Island of Bones as part of the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series April 3rd, 2025.
UAF students in an Intro to American Politics class visited the Morris Thompson Cultural Center to explore Alaska’s political history through culture, land, and language.
The Circumpolar Music Series led by Term Assistant Professor, Sean Dowgray, accompanied by fellow Music Department students, faculty, and volunteers at the Davis Concert Hall, on Feb. 21, 2025.
Created by UAF film students in FLPA 271/431/498/499, Pink Violet follows a college actor whose intense dedication to her role sparks concern from those closest to her.
Faculty and students of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program prepare to "Chalk the Walk" for Suicide Prevention Month in September 2024.
West Valley teacher Joy Grubis, left, and UAF Professor Daní Sheppard show off some cool shades during the Psychology Fair hosted by UAF students and West Valley High School.
Robin Shoaps, Professor of Applied Linguistics & Anthropology, mentors undergraduate UAF Department of Anthropology student, Meredith McMahon, an URSA Spring 2023 Student Project Awardee.
Inuit-soul group Pamyua performed and led an interactive workshop at UAF’s Davis Concert Hall as part of the Circumpolar Music Series in the Davis Concert Hall, September 2022.
UAF's Student Drama Association hosts the first Enchanted Eyes Masquerade Ball in the Great Hall on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
Need to Know
Time to Register!
Wondering who to talk to for academic advising? First-year students and anyone with fewer than 24 credits start with the UAF Advising Center. CLA undergraduate students with more than 24 credits meet with our CLA undergraduate advisors. Grad students: connect with your department's program coordinator.
Find Your AdvisorNew Student Orientation
Join UAF’s New Student Orientation and get connected to the people, programs, and tools that will help you succeed. These four packed days are designed to guide you through campus life, resources, academics, and everything in between.
New Student OrientationParty in the Park
Kick off fall 2025 at Party in the Park on August 28 from 12–3 p.m. at Constitution Park! Meet UAF clubs and departments, explore resources, and connect with fellow students at this fun, high-energy start to the semester.
RSVP Now!
What Our Students Say
"We’re so lucky to still have lots of wild public lands that sustain industry, economy, culture, community. I just really hope to take the research and what I’ve learned at UAF and amplify that in my master’s program to come back to Alaska and really make sure that our environment stays as amazing, grand, and pristine as it is.”
"Learning new skills is super important to staying sane in such a remote place, and Spanish has been great for that in Antarctica. Some of the challenges that come up are that work schedules in a field camp are hard to predict, and occasionally workdays end up stretched to 18+ hours if we have unexpected weather or resupply missions to support. Balancing that with school can be hard, but my teachers have been incredibly accommodating and it helps that the work is self-paced."
"The biggest lesson that I learned with UAF is that healing and education can go together. The classes that I took in social work expanded my knowledge on the people that have gone through harsh experiences in their life... It's going to allow me to help others that have also experienced hard times and show them change is possible."
"The Native Arts and Sculpture [programs] were central in my applying and enrolling in the Master's program. I am primarily a carver of bone and wood. UAF's art department has deep connections to both contemporary and modern techniques for carving that have shown me more about my media than I could have otherwise hoped to learn. The community here is the main draw and the lifeblood of the department!"
"The music department here at UAF is nothing less than magical. From faculty who work harder than anyone I've ever met, to opportunities to perform every single week, this department is like no other. I moved to UAF to experience this music department after researching it back home in Ohio, and all I can say is that it was definitely worth it!"
"I [majored] in three different departments: Political Science, Justice, and Performing Arts. They are all amazing in their own individual ways, but something they all have in common is how they are all tight-knit and are led by passionate faculty that want nothing more than to help their students succeed."
Get to Know CLA
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Advising & Support
Happening Now
Mock Supreme Court Oral Arguments: Mahmoud v. Taylor
September 15, 2025
Students argue both sides of a mock Supreme Court case on LGBTQIA+ books & religious freedom. Join us Sept. 16.
Beyond the Textbook: National Recognition for UAF Russian Faculty
September 15, 2025
Two UAF Russian titles earn AATSEEL nods as Wendy Martelle and Svetlana Nuss spotlight creative, real-world language teaching.
Gender, Power, and Possibility
September 15, 2025
UAF's WGSS program triples its minors under Carol J. Gray, bringing timely conversations and student-led action to campus.
Alumni Spotlight: Naomi Hutchquist
September 05, 2025
UAF alumna Naomi Hutchquist (BFA '19) turns art into science storytelling, bringing data to life through creativity and community.
Following the Thread: From Classroom Questions to Community Change
September 05, 2025
UAF emeritus Brian O'Donoghue turns a years-long, student-powered investigation into a new book and a community lesson in justice.
