UAMS, University of Arkansas launch six-year bachelor’s to medical degree program

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (UA) recently announced plans for a new accelerated six-year bachelor of science to doctor of medicine (B.S.-M.D.) program.

The goal is to create a more direct pathway for exceptional students to progress from high school to a medical degree while reducing both training time and student debt.

When the program welcomes its inaugural cohort beginning in fall 2027, it will become only the third program in the United States to offer a six-year bachelor’s-to-M.D. pathway.

“The collaboration between UAMS and the University of Arkansas reflects what is possible when two great institutions align around a shared purpose,” said UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “We understand that the path to becoming a physician can be long and costly, and that creates real barriers for talented students and for the communities that need doctors most. This six-year program changes that equation, giving exceptional Arkansas students a faster, more affordable route to a medical degree and, ultimately, to the patients who need their care.”

The program was developed jointly by UAMS and the UA and is designed to provide a streamlined educational track for highly motivated students who are certain they want to pursue careers in medicine, according to a press release.

Dr. Steven Webber, dean of the UAMS College of Medicine, said he initiated the conversation with UA officials about developing this program. Born in London, he went from high school into a five-year combined preclinical and clinical education for a medical degree. Five- and six-year combined programs are typical in most of Europe.

“UAMS has long been committed to developing Arkansas’ future health care workforce, and this collaboration with the University of Arkansas is a natural extension of that mission,” Webber said. “Students who are certain medicine is their calling will now have a uniquely direct and rigorous path to that goal, right here in Arkansas.”

Preference will be given to Arkansas residents, followed by students from border states, then potentially outstanding applicants from across the United States.

The inaugural cohort will be limited to 20 students. For the first year, admission will be by invitation. Students who apply to the UA and demonstrate strong alignment with the program’s criteria will be identified and contacted directly.

“As a land-grant institution, the University of Arkansas is committed to improving the lives of Arkansans, and this partnership with UAMS helps us do just that,” said Charles Robinson, UA chancellor. “Together, we are creating a faster, more affordable path to a medical degree that will expand opportunity for exceptional students while strengthening health care statewide.”

Students who are accepted into the program will spend their first two years at the UA in Fayetteville, earning credit for a bachelor’s degree in medical science through the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Upon successful completion of a rigorous pre-medical undergraduate curriculum, students will transition into the standard four-year College of Medicine curriculum at UAMS, the same program attended by all UAMS medical students. The medical school curriculum will remain unchanged, ensuring students meet the same rigorous academic and clinical standards required for physician training.

“This partnership between the University of Arkansas and UAMS represents an important step toward building Arkansas’ future physician workforce,” said Jim Gigantino, Ph.D., senior vice provost for academic affairs at the UA. “By attracting outstanding students and providing an accelerated pathway into medicine, we can help retain talented Arkansans and encourage them to build their careers here.”

A distinguishing feature of the program is that UAMS involvement begins on day one. Modeled after the nationally recognized “docent” curriculum pioneered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, it will have UAMS faculty embedded in the program throughout years one and two. Small groups of students will receive early clinical skills training, mentorship, and direct patient exposure at UAMS clinics and other regional clinical partners, helping students build clinical knowledge and professional identity early in their training.

The U.S. is projected to face a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. By compressing the traditional eight-year college-plus-medical-school timeline by two full years, UAMS and the UA hope to provide a faster, more affordable route to produce physicians.