Graduate Program in Resilience and Adaptation
Sustainability Science
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Application Deadline: Early February 2009
For further information, please go to:
http://www.rap.uaf.edu
Or contact the Resilience and Adaptation Program at:
Email: fyrap [at] uaf.edu
Phone: 907-474-7987
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) offers graduate training in the
Resilience and Adaptation Program (RAP) to prepare scholars,
policy-makers, and managers to address issues of regional sustainability
in an integrated fashion.
A major challenge facing humanity is to sustain the desirable features
of Earth's ecosystems and society at a time of rapid changes in all of
the major forces that shape their structure and functioning. RAP
integrates ecology, economics, anthropology, and community and regional
development studies in a systems framework, with an emphasis on
high-latitude social-ecological systems. The program focuses on
local-to-global interactions and approaches for building resilience to
cope with change. The underlying assumption is that no solution will
work unless it is ecologically, economically, and culturally
sustainable. Issues that influence the future sustainability of Alaska
and the Circumpolar North are a high priority for the program.
RAP provides training to graduate students at the Masters and PhD levels
at the University of Alaska, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Students of the
program can pursue graduate degrees in Biology and Wildlife,
Anthropology, Natural Resource and Sustainability, Northern Studies,
Geology & Geophysics, Rural Development, and Interdisciplinary Studies.
NSF-funded fellowships are available to PhD candidates entering the
program. Additional funding is available to both PhD and MS students
through participating departments. Alaska Natives and other
under-represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
There are currently over 45 students in the program. RAP provides
coursework, a graduate seminar program, and faculty mentorship, as well
as a summer internship program in areas outside each student's major
discipline. Research programs at the University of Alaska and in state
and federal agencies offer interdisciplinary research opportunities. The
program emphasizes cross-cultural communication through heavy
involvement with the Alaskan Native American community and with
agencies, businesses, and conservation groups.
The target date for applications is early February 2009. Applications
received after that date will be considered. For more information,
please go to: http://www.rap.uaf.edu, or contact the RAP office at:
Email: fyrap [at] uaf.edu
Phone: 907-474-7987.