Pitt Logo
School of Health and
Rehabilitation Sciences

Get Started

Are you in college and interested in one or several of our health care undergraduate or accelerated programs?

With some college experience under your belt, we are here to help you get where you want to go in the health care field. SHRS programs are diverse but interrelated! We offer an array of popular programs to prepare students for a wide variety of health professions that are in high demand but might be unfamiliar to students early in their college careers. We encourage you to explore all your options and see which one best matches your interests.

Info for non-pitt students

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

Upper-Division School

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh is an upper-division school.

First, students must apply to Pitt. Once accepted, students follow a plan of study that prepares them to apply to one or more SHRS programs during their sophomore year of college, after completing roughly 45 credits. Students must complete and have a minimum of 60 college credits before entering our undergraduate or accelerated programs.

Students typically spend their first two years at Pitt in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences taking prerequisite or “intro to SHRS” courses and preparing to apply to one or more of our undergraduate or accelerated programs.

Upper-Level Transfer Application (ULTA) Program Requirements

ULTA Programs

Apply to the following SHRS undergraduate and accelerated programs through the ULTA application. Learn more about each program’s specific requirements.

Prerequisites

Our programs require specific prerequisite courses to be completed in your first and second years of college. General Education (Gen Ed) courses are required for all students who attend the University, see more details about these courses below.

  • Prerequisite courses are required to meet admissions requirements for degree programs; in some instances, these may also satisfy Gen Ed requirements
  • Core courses are required to meet requirements for graduation in a degree program; in some cases, these may also satisfy Gen Ed requirements
  • Courses taken for general education requirements can also be applied to major requirements, when applicable

Writing and Communication

One course (minimum 3 credits) from each category.

  • Seminar in Composition
    • Introductory course that offers the opportunity to improve as a writer by developing an understanding of how to use writing to interpret and share experiences, affect behaviors, and find a place in the world
  • Writing Intensive
    • ENGCMP 0400, 0530, 0535 recommended
    • Designed to teach writing within a discipline through writing assignments that are distributed across the entire term. Students will produce at least 20-24 pages of written work, a significant portion of which should be substantially revised in response to instructor feedback and class discussion.
  • Oral Communication
    • COMMRC 0520 preferred; 0310, 0500, 0510, 0530 acceptable
    • Communication is always addressed to an audience with the intention of conveying information to or having some effect upon. Courses in oral communication allow students to develop increased skill in various forms of public speaking by means of theory and practice
  • Writing (‘W’) courses are allowed to overlap with one other general education requirement

Algebra and Quantitative and Formal Reasoning

One course (minimum 3 credits) from each category.

  • Algebra MATH 0031 min.; higher math accepted.
    • This may vary by program.
    • Course covers basic algebra skills; linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions are included.
  • Statistics
    • In an increasingly data-driven society, students need to learn and understand how data is derived, the methods to analyze data, and how the data is interpreted and applied. This cuts across all disciplines and professions in the Health Sciences and will only become more important as technology advances and the amount of usable data continues to proliferate.

Diversity

Diversity* courses focus centrally and intensively on issues of diversity and do so in a manner that promotes understanding of difference. They provide students with analytical skills to better understand structural inequities and the knowledge to be able to participate more effectively in our increasingly diverse and multicultural society. Courses may address, though not be limited to, such issues as race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religious difference, ability difference and/or economic disparity.

  • Diversity courses are allowed to overlap with one other general education requirement

Humanities and Arts, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences

One course (minimum 3 credits) from each category.

  • Literature*, The Arts*, Creative Work*, Historical Analysis*, or Philosophical Thinking or Ethics*
    • Students can consider courses in bioethics and those with a disability or health and medicine focus.
  • Social Science
  • Natural Science
    • Please check with the program of interest if a lab is required.

Global Awareness and Cultural Understanding

  • Cross-Cultural Awareness*, Global Issues*, or Specific Geographic Region*
  • Study Abroad may be accepted.
  • Students can consider courses with a disability or health and medicine focus.

 

*Course numbers included above are courses offered on the Pittsburgh campus. For requirements noted with an asterisk(*), see the DSAS Catalog for a list of all approved courses on the Pittsburgh campus. Pitt Regional campus and external transfer students should reach out to admissions@shrs.pitt.edu for assistance.

Check out the admissions pages of your programs of interest to review their additional, specific prerequisite requirements and available worksheets and be sure to fit those classes into your schedule.

Essays and Personal Statements

As part of the ULTA application, these programs have other specific required documents or materials. Details for each program can be found on their admissions pages.

Upper Level Transfer Application

Application for Fall 2025

Deadline: March 1, 2025

Apply Now
  1. Fill out the free SHRS online “ULTA” application for your program of choice.
  2. The SHRS Admissions team will pull your Pitt transcripts and any external transcripts and add them to your application.

ULTA Programs | Admissions Timeline

January 1, 2025

Application reviews begin for the upcoming fall.

March 1, 2025

ULTA Deadline

April 15, 2025

Applicants notified of admissions status.

NOTE: The Emergency Medicine Degree Completion program, for currently certified paramedics, has rolling admission for both the spring and fall term entry. Students with a completed application will receive admissions notification on a rolling basis.

More about ULTA Admissions

  • Admission decisions are made in the spring term, during and after the fall term enrollment period. If you have not received an admission decision from SHRS before your enrollment appointment, we recommend you enroll in fall term courses at your current school. Admitted students are guaranteed a seat in all required classes and will work with their SHRS program advisor to adjust their schedule.
  • Prerequisites must be completed for a letter grade, minimum grade of C- (C for transfer) unless otherwise noted; with the exception of AP/IB credits and/or exemptions awarded by the University of Pittsburgh.
  • To satisfy prerequisite requirements, courses taken at regional Pitt campuses or external institutions must be equivalent to courses offered at the Pittsburgh campus.

Get Involved

You don’t have to be a current SHRS student to get involved in our activities and programs. These activities will best prepare you for the opportunities that await you in SHRS!

SHRS is always looking for students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to enrich and learn from one another. We encourage you to get involved in a field that interests you. Shadowing, volunteering or working while in school, in any of these fields or related areas is encouraged and may be necessary for your future application! Check out your program of interest to learn more about its application requirements.

Intro Courses

Don’t wait until your junior year to get started. Take an SHRS introductory course from one of the many listed below. These Pitt courses are available to first- and second-year students. View offerings and course details by searching for them in the University of Pittsburgh Course Catalog.

  • Basic Athletic Training Course and Lab – ATHLTR 1811 (Fall and Spring)
  • Case Studies in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – HRS 1001 (Fall and Spring)
  • Emergency Medicine Technician – EM 1102 (Fall and Spring). You must receive permission to enroll.
  • Essentials of Volunteer Training for Adaptive Sports & Recreation or EVoTAS (free online course)
  • Foundations of Health Informatics and Information Management – HI 1250 (Fall)
  • Fundamentals of Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Applications – RT 1101 (Fall)
  • Fundamentals of Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Design – RT 1102 (Fall)
  • Human Development – REHSCI 1245 (Fall and Spring)
  • Introduction to Nutrition – NUTR 1006 (Fall and Spring)
  • Introduction to Occupation Science – REHSCI 1275 (Spring)
  • Introduction to Orthotics and Prosthetics – HRS 1787 (Fall)
  • Introduction to Professional and Clinical Issues in Communication Science and Disorders – CSD 1102 (Spring)
  • Intro to Audiology – CSD 1232 (Fall)
  • Intro to Speech-Language Pathology – CSD 1230 (Spring)
  • Medical Terminology – REHSCI 1235 (Fall and Spring)
  • Nature of Language – CSD 1020 (Fall)
  • Precertification Orthotic Fitter – PO 1101 (Fall, Spring, Summer)
  • Rehabilitation Psychology and Disability – REHSCI 1280 (Fall and Spring)

SHRS Health Profession Experiences​

Current Pitt students can start gaining experience in a variety of health care professions around the Pittsburgh region before entering their program of study. Explore these opportunities through the contacts listed in this student resource. Pitt Passport is required to access site.
Visit SharePoint site