The MHA program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). COPH was created in 2001 with a portion of the state’s tobacco settlement funds and is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. As part of the state’s only academic health sciences center, the College enjoys close relationships with the UAMS Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Professions, as well as the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Opportunities for collaboration also exist within UAMS’ centers of excellence: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging with its network of seven satellite Centers on Aging across the state, the Stephens Spine Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Myeloma Institute, and the Translational Research Institute. UAMS also has a statewide presence through its eight Regional Programs sites (formerly called Area Health Education Centers) and a regional campus located in northwest Arkansas, offering ready access to populations across Arkansas. Opportunities also exist with other health care enterprises and universiti...es across the state. Little Rock, the state’s capital, is centrally located in the state on the Arkansas River (http://www.littlerock.com/). It is a growing and thriving metropolitan area that is a hub for business, arts, government, and health care in the state. Little Rock boasts a thriving downtown, with a robust restaurant and music scene, complete with a low cost of living. Along the Arkansas River are over 50 miles of biking and walking trails. Little Rock was honored in 2013 as the #1 city in Kiplinger’s 10 Great Places to Live (small to midsize city category), was also ranked in Forbes in the 15 Best Cities for Young Adults and One of Five Secret Foodie Cities, and in May 2016 was ranked as #4 in the 20 best affordable places to live in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report