Special Correspondent

Virginia is home to 46 residential colleges where students can live on or off-campus. A handful of schools that offer four-year and graduate degrees, however, do not have on-campus housing.

Two of these schools offer only doctorate-level degrees. The University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy, located in the town of Oakwood in southwestern Virginia, offers the only three-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program in Virginia.

Appalachian School of Law, located 12 miles from Oakwood in the town of Grundy, offers a law degree. The school's office of student affairs maintains a list of nearby housing.

Though they share similar names and locations, UACP dean Dr. Sue Cantrell said there is no affiliation between UACP and ASL, but student groups do plan joint activities.

Both schools also require students to perform community service.

"Pharmacists are some of the most accessible and educated health-care professionals in the community," Cantrell said. "We identify ways they can make a difference beyond dealing with individual patients."

Cantrell said part of UACP's mission is to bring more community health-care programs to central Appalachia. The age-adjusted mortality rate in southwestern Virginia is 42 percent higher than the age-adjusted rate statewide.

Regent University, located in Virginia Beach, offers 13 undergraduate and 8 graduate degree with an emphasis on Christian leadership but, again, has no on-campus housing. Regent owns two apartment complexes near campus.

For more information about the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy, visit uacp.org or call (866) 935-7350. For Appalachian School of Law, visit asl.edu; (800) 895-7411. For Regent, visit regent.edu or call (800) 373-5504.