Land, Sea and Space Grant

"The Land Grant University System is being built on behalf of the people, who have invested in these public institutions their hopes, their support, and their confidence." —Abraham Lincoln

UAF is one of only a handful of institutions in the country that can claim the triple crown status of Land, Sea and Space Grant Institution.

Land Grant

Founded in 1917 as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, UAF is Alaska's only Land Grant college. Throughout the history of North America's expansion and colonization, grants of land from governments to the people have been a driving force behind the settlement and establishment of communities. The Morrill Land Grant Act, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, created Land Grant colleges to serve as ''the people's universities, bringing the research and knowledge of the campus to the people where they live and work.''

At the end of the 19th century, the Interior's Tanana Valley was one of the most productive agricultural regions in Alaska. In 1906, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established a 1,400-acre Agricultural Experiment Station in Fairbanks on a site that was later to become part of the UAF campus.

Sea Grant

The National Sea Grant College Program Act of 1966 provided the foundation for universities to establish programs in research, education and outreach to develop wise use and conservation of America's marine and coastal resources. The University of Alaska was granted Sea Grant college status in 1980. The Alaska Sea Grant College Program, hosted by UAF, is part of a national network of Sea Grant colleges located on both coasts in each Great Lakes state and Puerto Rico.

Space Grant

The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (also known as Space Grant) was established by Congress in 1988 and implemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1989. The Alaska Space Grant Program (ASGP) was established at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1991. ASGP is part of a national network of Space Grant Consortia located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The 52 consortia fund fellowships and scholarships for students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology, or STEM, as well as curriculum enhancement and faculty development.