The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) continues its legacy of academic excellence with four graduate programs ranked in the top 10 in the 2026 edition of Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News & World Report.
The Doctor of Occupational Therapy program climbed back to No. 1 for the second time after sharing the third spot in 2025.
This year’s results include:
Five SHRS programs are reported by U.S. News. Physician Assistant Studies, the fifth program, remains at No. 26 since it was not reevaluated this year.
These recent results mark over a decade of SHRS’ Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology programs ranking among the top 10 in the nation. No other schools in the state of Pennsylvania outrank those in SHRS, and only one other school from Pennsylvania appears in the top 10 in these disciplines.
David C. Beck, interim dean of SHRS said, “I’d like to thank everyone in these programs and departments for their exceptional work continuing our legacy of excellence—from our highly talented students and innovative faculty leading these professions to everyone behind the scenes who keeps these programs moving forward. These rankings speak to their hard work, talent and passion. They represent the shared commitment to advancing the health, well-being and independence of those we serve.”
Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Juleen Rodakowski, Department of Occupational Therapy chair, said, “We at Pitt OT are delighted and humbled to that our entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy program shares the No. 1 spot with other well-respected programs across the country. The strength of Pitt OT is reflected in the strength of its people—our students, staff, faculty, scientists, alumni, fieldwork educators, capstone site mentors, partners, collaborators and friends. It takes our entire Pitt OT community to support our mission of providing excellence in education, research and service. Their strengths are Pitt OT’s greatest asset.”
Doctor of Audiology and Master of Speech-Language Pathology
The Doctor of Audiology and Master of Speech-Language Pathology (MA/MS) programs both landed at No. 6 in their disciplines. Catherine Palmer, Department of Communication Science and Disorders chair, said, “Our mission is to educate the very best speech-language pathologists and audiologists and we’re pleased to see these rankings reflect that effort. This has been a year of expansion in terms of faculty, students and wonderful resources including state-of-the-art teaching and research space in our new building. We look forward to another productive, innovative year as we thoughtfully expand our programs to meet the needs of individuals with communication challenges across the lifespan.”
Doctor of Physical Therapy
The Pitt Doctor of Physical Therapy program also jumped in the rankings coming into the No. 8 spot. It is the only program in the top 10 actively enrolling students in a hybrid DPT option. Sara Piva, Department of Physical Therapy chair, said, “With nearly 100 years of physical therapy education, Pitt Physical Therapy remains among the nation’s elite programs—driving innovation through NIH‑funded research, community impact and interprofessional education that prepares graduates to lead in team‑based health care.”
About the Rankings
The U.S. News and World Report rankings are based on peer assessments of professional graduate schools who share accrediting bodies. The results are based on survey respondents rating “peer programs on a 1-5 scale of academic quality, and rankings were determined by the average of ratings each program received.”
The latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of Best Health Schools were published on April 7, 2026.
About SHRS
Established in 1969 as the School of Health Related Professions, SHRS currently has more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students in its 30 on-campus, online and hybrid programs. In FY2025, SHRS had research expenditures of more than $23.8 million and in 2025 it ranked No. 6 for NIH research funding among schools of allied health professions by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
SHRS Ranks No. 6 for NIH Research Funding in 2025
The Blue Ridge rankings milestone highlights the continued momentum of SHRS research and the growing recognition of faculty nationwide.
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