Finance and Accounting Programs at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks appears in our ranking of the Top 50 Best Associates in Accounting Online.
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks offers a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting along with other programs for students with an interest in finance or accounting. This program includes courses that prepare students for the state’s certified public accounting exam, which allows them to work as a CPA once they pass. Majors need to earn C- grades or higher in all their classes. They take Managerial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I and II and Accounting Information Systems along with their business and general education requirements. The university offers electives such as Student Investment Fund, Advanced Taxes, Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting, and Advanced Accounting too.
Most of the finance and accounting majors at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks participate in one of the student organizations. The Great Alaskan Accounting People (GAAP) is a club that lets students take trips to accounting firms and agencies across the state. They can also listen to guest lecturers and work for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program that the university offers. This program asks students to work with professors and accounting professionals as they prepare taxes for those who meet certain income requirements.
Students who enroll in the university’s general BBA program can choose a minor in finance, which requires that they take a minimum of 15 related credits. Finance students must take Principles of Financial Accounting, Financial Management and Principles of Economics I: Microeconomics. They will then need to take at least two credits of advanced electives, which can include Portfolio Management, Student Investment Fund, Investment Analysis or Real Estate and Alternative Investments. In the Student Investment Fund course, students study the stock market and make fictional investments to see how well they performed.
Now available is a post-bachelors accounting program too. The university designed this program for students who want to take the CPA exam but have not yet the minimum number of credits needed to sit for that exam. The program includes 30 credits of courses and requires a minimum grade of C- in each one. Students will take Income Tax, Managerial Cost Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I and II, Accounting Information Systems and Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting. The university asks that they take for electives too, which can include courses on financial investments, taxation, government accounting or advanced accounting.
About the University of Alaska-Fairbanks
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks is a major institution of higher learning in Fairbanks, Alaska. This public university was established in 1917 and originally called the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines. Before the college opened, it was an agricultural experiment station that the federal government opened to determine what crops would grow in the region. The government donated more than 2,000 acres of land for the new school, which opened in the middle of September in 1922. During the 1950s, delegates met on the campus to discuss making Alaska a state. The delegates signed that act in a building on the campus now called Constitution Hall.
Called both Alaska and UAF, the university ranks on the best American colleges lists released by U.S. News and World Report, Washington Monthly and others. Times also ranks Alaska as one of the 400 best colleges in the world. More than 8,000 students from around the world attend UAF annually.
University of Alaska-Fairbanks Accreditation Details
UAF is the only university in Alaska with accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This accreditation covers the finance minor, accounting majors and all of the university’s BBA programs. The regional accreditation that Alaska holds comes from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). NWCCU allows incoming and returning students from any state to use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if they need financial aid. It is also the accreditation that lets students submit their transcripts to UAF and get credit for the classes they already took.
University of Alaska-Fairbanks Application Requirements
More than 70 percent of the students who meet the university’s application requirements are accepted every year. Incoming students need a high school diploma, grade point average of 3.0 or higher and transcripts that show they took the 16 credits of college prep courses required and maintained a GPA of 2.5 or higher in those courses. UAF also accepts incoming freshmen who have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and a minimum SAT score of 970 or an ACT score of 18. Students can also apply to UAF if they have a GED and are 18 years or older.
The university’s application process begins with the online application, which allows students to log in and out as they need. They will report their grades and test scores and include information about their high schools and hobbies or interests. Alaska then requires that students submit their official transcripts to the Office of Admissions and arrange for the testing board to send in official records of their test scores. Though the university charges an application fee, it now waives that fee for students applying to an accounting, business or management program. Students applying to the post-bachelor program need to submit a transcript that shows they took two accounting prerequisites and proof that they have a bachelor’s degree.
Tuition and Financial Aid
At UAF, undergrads pay $4,239 per semester if they are residents of Alaska. This price rises to $13,104 per semester for most nonresidents. Students who live in a western state can qualify for the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and pay $6,002 each semester. The amount that students pay will increase in their junior and senior years to between $4,989 and $13,824 per semester based on their residency status. The university also offers room and board packages for those living on-campus that come to $5,220 each semester.
Students who use the FAFSA estimate how much their families can help them pay each year. This form shows the university how much help they need and allows UAF to design a financial aid package for each student in need. There are many scholarships available for undergrads that include awards based on their need or their merit. They can use scholarships in combination with grants and loans from the federal government and some state grants too. Students enrolling in the finance and accounting degree programs at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks may qualify for work-study programs too.
