Two destinations.
The Alaska transfer reality.
Alaska offers two qualifying four-year transfer destinations in the IPEDS dataset, with a combined annual intake of 213 students and no tracked community college feeders. For students weighing the CC-first path in Alaska, the data is thin — but it still points to real differences between the two available options.
Alaska has 2 qualifying public and private 4-year destinations and 0 tracked community colleges. 213 total transfers were admitted across both universities, with median 10-year earnings of $51,373 and a state median six-year graduation rate of 36.4%.
Alaska's transfer market is thin — two destinations, zero tracked CCs
Alaska qualifies just two four-year institutions in the IPEDS transfer dataset, and the combined transfer intake across both is 213 students. University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau leads by a slim margin at 111 admitted transfers, followed by Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage at 102. There are no community college spotlights in the data — the packet's methodology filters out open-admission institutions running bachelor's-pilot programs, which is how most of Alaska's two-year access points classify. On outcomes, the picture is mixed. Median 10-year earnings across destinations sit at $51,373, and median debt at graduation is $21,306. The bigger caution is the completion signal: the state's median six-year graduation rate is 36.4%, driven down significantly by UAS's 26% rate. Alaska Pacific University's 47% rate is stronger but still below national norms. For students weighing a transfer path in Alaska, the landscape offers limited choices and below-average finish rates — factors that should shape how seriously any student weighs starting versus transferring.
Alaska has exactly two qualifying four-year institutions in the IPEDS transfer dataset, with a combined annual transfer intake of 213 students. University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau admitted 111 transfers and Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage admitted 102 — a difference of nine students. There are no community college spotlights in the data, because most of Alaska's two-year institutions are classified as open-admission under the methodology and are filtered out. This is not a pipeline. It is a thin market where the choices are specific and the options for comparison are limited.
For students used to reading transfer guides written for California or Texas, Alaska is a different calculation. The state's median 10-year earnings across destinations is $51,373 — workable, but not remarkable. The more pressing data point is the six-year graduation rate: the state median is 36.4%, with University of Alaska Southeast posting 26% and Alaska Pacific University 47%. Fewer than half of students at the stronger-completing destination finish within six years. That is the actual transfer landscape in Alaska — not small, not unnavigable, but worth understanding clearly before committing to it.
Alaska's transfer landscape by the numbers
With only two qualifying four-year destinations and a combined transfer intake of 213 students, Alaska is one of the thinnest transfer markets in the country. These figures cover the institutions IPEDS classifies as four-year, degree-granting, and non-open-admission.
- ✓ Alaska Pacific University accepts 96% of applicants, admitting 102 transfers with no meaningful selectivity barrier.
- ✓ Alaska Pacific University leads on 10-year earnings at $54,271 — $5,796 above the state destination median.
- ✓ The two qualifying destinations span Juneau (UAS) and Anchorage (Alaska Pacific), giving students a geographic choice across the state's two largest urban centers.
- ! Zero community college spotlights appear in the dataset — no tracked feeder CC provides a clear CC-first pathway with verifiable outcomes.
- ! Total transfer intake across both destinations is only 213 students annually — one of the smallest transfer markets in any U.S. state.
- ! University of Alaska Southeast posts a 26% six-year graduation rate — well below the national public university average and the weakest completion signal in the dataset.
- ! State median six-year graduation rate across destinations is 36.4%, meaning fewer than four in ten enrolled students finish within six years.
Top transfer destinations
University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau leads transfer intake at 111 admitted students, edging out Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage at 102 — a gap of just nine students separating the two destinations.
| University | Transfers admitted | Accept rate | 6-yr grad rate | 10-yr earnings | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Alaska Southeast Juneau | 111 | 63% | 26% | $48,475 | $19,111 |
| Alaska Pacific University Anchorage | 102 | 96% | 47% | $54,271 | $23,500 |
| University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage | 3 | 67% | 31% | $51,871 | $20,210 |
University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau leads transfer intake at 111 admitted students — the top destination in the dataset by a narrow margin over Alaska Pacific University's 102. With two qualifying destinations separated by single digits in annual transfer volume, neither institution meaningfully dominates the market. Alaska's transfer pipeline is not concentrated; it is simply small.
On selectivity, the two institutions sit at opposite ends of the range. University of Alaska Southeast accepts 63% of applicants overall, making it the more selective option in a relative sense. Alaska Pacific University accepts 96% of applicants, essentially open-access for qualified transfer students. One important note: these acceptance rates come from IPEDS overall figures and reflect all applicants, not transfer applicants specifically. The actual transfer acceptance rate at either institution may differ from the overall figure.
The outcome picture favors Alaska Pacific University on two of three measures. It leads on 10-year median earnings at $54,271, compared to $48,475 at UAS — a $5,796 gap. Its six-year graduation rate is 47%, nearly double UAS's 26%. The tradeoff is debt: Alaska Pacific carries $23,500 in median debt at graduation versus $19,111 at UAS, a difference of $4,389. For students prioritizing earnings and completion, Alaska Pacific holds the stronger data profile. UAS offers lower debt and a Juneau location for students tied to Southeast Alaska, but its 26% completion rate is a real variable that deserves weight in the decision.
6-year completion rates at top destinations
The graduation rates shown here are six-year overall rates for all enrolled students from IPEDS — not transfer-student-specific completion figures. Transfer-specific completion data is not included in this dataset.
Alaska Pacific University leads the completion grid at a 47% six-year graduation rate — the better of the two available options, but still below what most students would consider a strong national benchmark. Roughly one in two students who enroll at Alaska Pacific finishes within six years. That is the ceiling available in Alaska's transfer market.
University of Alaska Southeast sits at 26%, a 21-percentage-point gap below Alaska Pacific. That spread across only two institutions is significant: there is a clear better-performing and worse-performing option in the data, and the gap is large enough that it should factor into destination choice rather than being treated as statistical noise.
The honest caveat applies here: these are six-year overall graduation rates for all enrolled students from IPEDS. They are not transfer-student-specific completion rates, which are not in this dataset. A campus with a higher overall rate tends to finish transfer students at higher rates too, but the figure in the grid is not a transfer-only number. Use these as directional data — Alaska Pacific's 47% is the better-supported choice if completion within a predictable timeframe matters.
What a bachelor's degree is worth here
The fastest-growing occupations in the state where a bachelor's degree is the typical entry credential — the jobs waiting on the other side of a completed transfer.
| Occupation | Projected growth | Avg openings / yr |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | +10.9% | 420 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | +10.5% | 100 |
| Managers, All Other | +7.1% | 160 |
| Chief Executives | +6.9% | 130 |
| General and Operations Managers | +6.8% | 390 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | +6.0% | 270 |
| Administrative Services Managers | +5.6% | 120 |
| Accountants and Auditors | +5.3% | 190 |
With only two qualifying four-year destinations and zero tracked community college feeders in the dataset, the transfer decision in Alaska is more about individual fit than system scale. There is no CC-first pipeline to optimize because no CC spotlights appear in the data. The practical question for most students is which of the two available four-year options — University of Alaska Southeast or Alaska Pacific University — is the better match, not whether a two-year start is strategically advantageous.
On the data available, Alaska Pacific University is the stronger destination for most transfer students. Its 47% six-year graduation rate is nearly double UAS's 26%, and its $54,271 in median 10-year earnings outpaces UAS by $5,796. The higher debt at graduation ($23,500 vs. $19,111) is a real cost, but the completion and earnings advantage is large enough to justify it for most students. The recommendation flips for students who are geographically tied to Southeast Alaska and Juneau: UAS's lower debt and 63% overall acceptance rate make it the accessible local option, but anyone choosing it should go in clear-eyed about the 26% six-year completion rate — three in four enrolled students do not finish within six years. If completing a degree on a predictable schedule is the priority, UAS's completion signal is not a minor footnote.
How we built Alaska's transfer picture
Destination universities are Alaska's 4-year institutions ranked by IPEDS transfer-in volume; we filter out community colleges that IPEDS files under the 4-year sector because they run bachelor's-pilot programs but remain open-admission. Community college spotlights are ranked by IPEDS undergraduate enrollment. 10-year median earnings and median debt at graduation come from College Scorecard; graduation rates come from IPEDS 6-year overall cohorts. Phase 1 deliberately leaves out transfer-specific completion rates (NSC), structured articulation-agreement data (ASSIST, ADT, TAG, FLVC, etc.), and state-funding context — all Phase 2.
Common questions
How many four-year universities in Alaska actually accept transfer students?
The IPEDS dataset qualifying for this analysis shows two four-year institutions in Alaska: University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, which admitted 111 transfers, and Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, which admitted 102. Together they account for 213 annual transfer admits. This low number reflects both Alaska's small population and the methodology — open-admission institutions that have added bachelor's-pilot programs are excluded from the qualifying destination count. Students who want to transfer within Alaska should understand they are choosing between two institutions, not a broad system.
Which Alaska four-year university has better transfer outcomes — UAS or Alaska Pacific?
The two destinations split on different metrics. Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage posts stronger outcomes overall: a 47% six-year graduation rate (nearly double UAS's 26%), higher 10-year median earnings at $54,271 versus $48,475, and a 96% acceptance rate that makes it genuinely accessible. The tradeoff is higher debt at graduation — $23,500 versus $19,111 at UAS. University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau offers lower median debt and is the larger transfer destination by admission volume (111 vs. 102), but its 26% six-year grad rate is a real concern for students who prioritize finishing on a predictable timeline. For most transfer students, Alaska Pacific's stronger completion and earnings profile outweighs the debt difference.
Why are there no community colleges listed in the Alaska transfer data?
The IPEDS methodology used for this dataset filters out open-admission institutions that operate bachelor's-pilot programs but remain broadly open-enrollment. Most of Alaska's two-year access institutions fall into that category, which is why no community college spotlights appear in the data. This does not mean there are no two-year pathways in Alaska — it means the dataset does not capture them as qualifying CC feeders with verifiable transfer-out outcomes. Students considering a two-year-first path in Alaska should investigate individual institution transfer agreements and outcomes directly, since aggregate state-level CC data is not available here.
Is the six-year graduation rate at Alaska's transfer destinations a red flag?
It warrants attention. University of Alaska Southeast posts a 26% six-year graduation rate — one of the lowest among transfer destinations in any state in this dataset. Alaska Pacific University is better at 47%, but still below what most students would consider a strong completion signal nationally. The state median across both destinations is 36.4%. These are overall graduation rates for all enrolled students, not transfer-specific rates, which are not in this dataset. The honest read is that students who transfer to UAS face a real statistical risk of not completing within six years. If finishing on time is a priority, Alaska Pacific's 47% rate — while imperfect — is the stronger available option in the state.
What can I realistically earn with a degree from an Alaska university?
Across both qualifying destinations, median 10-year earnings sit at $51,373. Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage posts $54,271 — the higher of the two — while University of Alaska Southeast lands at $48,475. Median debt at graduation runs $19,111 at UAS and $23,500 at Alaska Pacific, giving the state a median of $21,306. These are median figures for all graduates, not transfer-student-specific outcomes. Alaska's wage environment also reflects a higher cost of living in much of the state, which affects how far those earnings stretch. Students comparing out-of-state options should weigh Alaska-specific earnings alongside living costs when modeling long-term financial outcomes.
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