By: Adam Lorio
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) will begin classes this summer.
For the last 146 years, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock has served as the state’s only provider of M.D. physicians. In the past decade, two osteopathic medical schools have opened in Fort Smith and Jonesboro. While UAMS operates a regional campus in Fayetteville that trains approximately 15 students per class, the majority of its medical training occurs in Little Rock, three hours away.
As the Northwest Arkansas metro area continues to approach the population of central Arkansas, the region has experienced a noticeable shortage of physicians. Without a major medical center supplying a steady pipeline of doctors into local communities (an effect that UAMS and its affiliate institutions have consistently provided to central Arkansas), some Northwest Arkansas clinics struggle to meet patient demand. Appointment availability may be delayed by several months, and in extreme cases, over a year. This underscores the need for a medical school based in Northwest Arkansas, which the newly established AWSOM intends to address. After years of planning, construction, curriculum development, and preparation, AWSOM will welcome its first class of medical students in fall 2025 to its brand new education center on the Crystal Bridges campus in Bentonville.
Gavin Miller, a graduating senior at the University of Arkansas will matriculate into AWSOM’s inaugural class in the fall.
“Being in a medical school’s inaugural class is a bit nerve-wracking, but I’m excited about the prospect of establishing student organizations and forging the connection between AWSOM and the NWA community,” said Miller.
AWSOM was awarded preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), authorizing the school to grant medical degrees, and the next accreditation visit will take place during the second year of classes. Although AWSOM anticipates full accreditation from the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE), that site visit won’t be until 2029-2030. In the meantime, AWSOM will waive the tuition for its first five cohorts, a value which amounts to nearly $300,000 per student.
“I chose to attend AWSOM because I really enjoy living in Northwest Arkansas, connect with AWSOM’s holistic model of medical care, and obviously feel excited about the waived tuition,” said Miller.
With its inaugural class on the horizon, AWSOM marks a major step toward expanding access to healthcare in one of the state’s fastest-growing regions.