Why This Matters

  • 3 ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS IN ALASKA

    There are three institutions throughout the state of Alaska that grant associate degrees, according to College Navigator.

  • $3,960 AVERAGE IN-DISTRICT TUITION & FEES

    The average cost of in-state tuition at community colleges in Alaska was $3,960, as of 2020.

  • 80.6% OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS GET FINANCIAL AID

    According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 452,493 students who attended two-year colleges in the 2019-20 school year received some sort of financial aid, such as loans, grants, or scholarships.

Our Research

This list features some of the best community colleges in Alaska. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included small, midsize, and large colleges as well as trade, technical, and vocational programs. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.

The colleges on our list are accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), a reputable organization that examines objectives, quality and overall effectiveness of education programs in the northwestern United States.

We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.

The Top 50 Community Colleges in Alaska

Best Community Colleges In Alaska Badge 2023
01
Intelligent Pick
Alaska Christian College
01
Best Construction Technology Program
Ilisagvik College
01
Best for Out-of-State Students
Prince William Sound College

What You Should Know About Graduating From Community College in Alaska

In the state of Alaska, the top paying jobs with an associate degree include dental hygienists, air traffic controllers, aerospace engineering technicians, and magnetic resonance imaging technologists.

You’ll also want to make sure that there are plenty of job openings in the field you’re going into. For associate degree holders in Alaska, the careers with the most job openings include dental hygienists, preschool teachers, calibration technologists, civil engineering technicians, and paralegals.

It’s important to be aware of which careers have the least amount of job openings as well. For jobs in Alaska that require an associate degree, the careers expected to have the greatest decline are broadcast technicians, paralegals, aerospace engineering technicians, dietetic technicians, and electrical and electronics drafters.

What’s Next?

As you research community colleges in Alaska, you’ll want to also learn about your possible financial aid options. We’ve gathered some resources to help you find loans, scholarships, and grants for your degree below.

  • Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education provides prospective students with the information they need to find out which scholarships and financial aid opportunities are available to them.
  • Federal Student Aid. The U.S. Department of Education is a major source of financial aid, providing more than $120 billion in funds every year. Check your eligibility at FAFSA4caster or go ahead and apply by filling out the online FAFSA form.
  • CareerOneStop. Backed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CareerOneStop is a thorough source of information for all things financial aid. It shows you the grant and scholarship opportunities that are available to you, and the information can be filtered by location, program, and degree type for more personalized results.