Funding

FUNDING Your UAF Graduate Journey

Graduate funding at UAF is entrepreneurial and decentralized, matching our momentum as a premier research institution. Rather than a single central pool, our students are successfully funded by plugging directly into active faculty research grants, specialized department allocations, and competitive grants, scholarships, and fellowships.

 
High-Value Recruitment Fellowship

EMERGE Marine Science Opportunity

Ready to make waves in Arctic and sub-Arctic marine systems? The EMERGE Program offers three full years of financial support to eligible PhD applicants. This is a premier, fully packaged pathway into the College of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences.

Four Pathways to Funding

Securing graduate funding requires proactive planning. Prospective students typically secure financial support through one or more of these distinct paths:

1. Research Assistantships

RAs are tied directly to active faculty research grants. Because these are not assigned centrally, you must proactively connect with prospective advisors to check for open, funded grant vacancies.

Contact Advisors Directly More info on Assistantships

2. Department TAships

Teaching Assistant positions are managed and distributed independently by individual academic departments based on undergraduate instructional workloads. Availability varies widely by field.

Check with Departments

3. UA Foundation Portal

This central internal system connects you to hundreds of private institutional scholarships and awards uniquely available to UA students. You can apply before being fully admitted.

4. External Fellowships

These are highly prestigious national and global funding streams (like the NSF GRFP) operating entirely outside of UAF. Securing one allows you to bring your own funding to any research team.

Explore National Pools

Departmental Scholarship Frameworks

Explore the localized scholarship pages of our academic colleges to look for incoming student awards:

College of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences

Lists specialized marine science and fisheries funding tracks accessible via direct application or the UA portal.

Biology & Wildlife Scholarships

Provides access to specific biological sciences funding opportunities you can apply to directly.

College of Business & Security Management

Highlights a hybrid of internal direct-apply scholarships and general awards managed via the UA Foundation portal.

College of Engineering & Mines

Compiles engineering-focused awards and discipline-specific donor scholarships hosted on the foundation network.

Arctic & Northern Studies Scholarships

Lists specialized program scholarships that students can apply for directly through the main UA Foundation portal.