The structure and requirements for degrees in Biological Sciences and in Wildlife Biology and Conservation are similar, but projects in Wildlife Biology generally place more emphasis on applied topics of relevance for management and conservation of free-ranging vertebrates. This difference generally results in more field studies for students in Wildlife Biology, and with more Wildlife Biology students targeting employment at management agencies, particularly at the MS level. Wildlife Biology projects are often supported by funding through the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Wildlife Biology faculty, which includes Cooperative Unit faculty, must serve on graduate committees for Wildlife Biology students.

Graduate students in Biology and Wildlife have access to many modern facilities, including the DNA core lab, a state-of-the-art greenhouse, and the extensive resources of the UA Museum of the North.

UAF biological sciences graduate students have extraordinary opportunities to conduct independent biological research in controlled-experiment or field settings, taking advantage of Arctic, alpine and boreal environments near campus or at remote locations.

The department has close connections with the National Science Foundation taiga Long Term Ecological Research site, located about 20 miles from campus. Our students also have access to the tundra LTER site at Toolik Lake, where the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology runs a field station.