In partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine, UAA is the Alaska
regional site for WWAMI School of Medicine, a collaborative, high-quality medical
school with a focus on community health care that has trained more than 500 physicians
and surgeons since 1971. Spend your first 18 months of the program at UAA, taking
foundational courses and learning basic clinical skills in local clinics and hospitals.
After this you’ll begin your clinical years, which you can choose to spend in clinics
and hospitals across Alaska or throughout the five-state WWAMI region. All students
are required to spend a minimum of eight to 12 weeks in Seattle at University of Washington
hospitals.
Engage in active learning in small groups with expert faculty. Alaska WWAMI provides
a greater focus on independent, life-long learning skills you’ll need to collaborate,
grow and succeed in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.
Train in Alaska with over 200 Alaska physicians and surgeons preparing you to work
in Alaskan communities. UniqueSpecial Programsthroughout the State from Utqiagvik to Unalaska to prepare you to work with rural
and underserved communities
Learn from local expert faculty and physicians across multiple specialties with a
small number of students to faculty ratio.
WWAMI is housed in the Health Sciences building with state of the art anatomyand simulationlabs as well as a classroom with advanced teaching technologies. In close proximity
to other health programs allowing Interprofessional educational opportunities.
The newest iteration of the Della Keats Health Sciences Program focuses on serving Alaska Native/American Indian high school students interested in healthcare careers.
Lynn Troyer, an academic advisor for the School of Nursing at the University of Alaska Anchorage, traveled to Bethel as part of the Alaska-Rural Community Overdose Response Project (AK-RCORP).
Recently, on November 7, the UAA College of Health’s Interprofessional Education (IPE) Committee launched its 2025–2026 event series with a session focused on “A Lived Experience with Disabilities.”
Oct. 3, 2025, was a big day for the Alaska Area Health Education Center (AHEC), which is proudly housed within the UAA College of Health! AHEC marked its 20th anniversary with a special legislative citation from the Alaska State Legislature—a well-deserved recognition for two decades of crucial work.
Darrel Foister Jr., School of Nursing alum and military veteran, now serves Alaska communities as a family nurse practitioner.
Message from the ASSISTANT DEAN
Thank you for your interest in the WWAMI School of Medical Education. This decentralized
medical education program through the University of Washington School of Medicine
(UWSOM) combines the strengths and talents of Universities across a 5 state region
(Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) to train physicians and surgeons
in their own states initially and then across the 5 state region. If you areAlaskanand interested in serving your local Alaskan community we would be delighted to hear
from you.
-Nicholas Phelps, Ph.D., Assistant Dean and Term Associate Professor, UAA WWAMI School
of Medical Education and Foundations Assistant Dean, UW School of Medicine