Установить переменную в области.
var app = angular.module('myApp', []);
app.controller('myCtrl', function($scope) {
$scope.names = ["Emil", "Tobias", "Linus"];
});
Использовать переменную в контроллере
var app = angular.module('myApp', []);
app.controller('myCtrl', function() {
var self = this;
self.names = ["Emil", "Tobias", "Linus"];
});
<script src="//unpkg.com/angular/angular.js"></script>
<div ng-app="myApp" ng-controller="myCtrl as myController">
<select>
<option ng-repeat="x in myController.names">{{x}}</option>
</select>
</div>