Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) are collaborating on a new veterinary degree program planned to begin by 2015.

According to the Boulder Daily Camera, the two institutions would divide the degree program in half, with UAF offering the first two years of graduate-level study and CSU providing the final two years.

The arrangement benefits participating UAF students by giving them access to a renowned veterinary school without UAF having to foot the bill to offer a full veterinary degree program, the Daily Camera reported.

The program will accommodate about 10 students, and Alaskan applicants will be given first consideration for the program provided they meet admission standards. Students will pay tuition at Colorado State prices no matter which state they are studying in.

According to Paul Layer, dean of UAF's College of Natural Science and Mathematics, his university will be bolstering its staff to prepare for the new program. In addition to the current UAF faculty, part-time instructors, and CSU faculty who will teach students, the school will add an anatomy faculty position as well as a position that will spend time in both veterinary classes and the cooperative extension program, the Daily Camera reported.

Layer said the new partnership will change Alaska's standing as the only state that doesn't have a veterinary school or a partnership with a state that has one.