MD Program
Statement from the Senior Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education
The MD program at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is more than the innovative ARCHES curriculum. It embodies a culture and approach to medical education that mirrors the principles of whole health, placing the physical, behavioral, spiritual and socio-economic well-being of our students at the center of all we do.
At AWSOM, education is student-centered and community-focused. The MD program begins with the admissions process when prospective students are introduced to the school and all it has to offer. After admission, the student affairs, curriculum, and evaluation and assessment teams work collaboratively to ensure the learning environment, the curriculum, and how we assure students are learning is interwoven and complementary.
As a new medical school, the students, faculty and staff are on this journey together. Student feedback is valued and acted on to continuously improve our programs. At AWSOM, we are a family and community committed to making meaningful change in ourselves, our communities, and the health care of the future.
I value the opportunity to be a part of the team committed to these goals and the health of Northwest Arkansas.
AWSOM MD Program
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM)'s four-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) program is designed to enhance conventional medical education with a whole-person approach to care, preparing students to tackle the health care challenges of the 21st century.
AWSOM’s MD program offers students an exceptional medical education experience, including:
Early clinical experiences starting in year one
Training in contemporary technology
A flipped classroom and active learning environment
Enhancement of self-directed and life-long learning skills.
Integrated curriculum with the arts, humanities, and whole health principles
Full-time medical educators
One-on-one mentorship from faculty and physicians from the local community
Required scholarly research program to support mentored student research projects
Curriculum
AWSOM’s evidence-based ARCHES curriculum features six elements longitudinally integrated into courses, clerkships, and electives over four years:
Art of Healing
Research
Clinical
Health Systems Science
Embracing Whole Health
Science of Medicine
Student Resources
AWSOM offers a variety of resources to support medical students across all four years of their education, including career mentorship from local physicians, full-time medical educators and Learning Specialists to provide study and academic support, comprehensive wellness services, and access to the AWSOM Library, Anatomy Resource Center, and Simulation Lab.
Cost of Attendance
AWSOM will waive tuition for the first five cohorts of students.
Visit our Cost of Attendance page for a full breakdown of the estimated cost of attendance.
Transfer and Prior Learning Policy
Due to the curriculum's integrated nature, AWSOM does not accept transfer or advanced standing students. AWSOM has not entered into an articulation or transfer agreement with any other college or university.
AWSOM does not award transfer credit for coursework completed at another graduate medical or health professions school or credit for prior learning experience.
Apply to AWSOM
Join AWSOM’s next cohort and become a part of a community advancing the health of the Heartland region and beyond.
Accreditation
AWSOM has achieved preliminary accreditation with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). AWSOM is certified as an institution of higher education in the state of Arkansas through the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE), authorizing AWSOM to provide degree instruction leading to an MD.