What Are the Best Graduate Level Physical Therapy Schools?

When you were in high school, the biggest goal on your mind was probably to complete your classes and achieve independence from your parents and teachers. However, following graduation, you probably realized that unless you continued your education at the collegiate level, your chances of landing a profitable job and establishing a rewarding career were probably slim to none. Depending on your interests and your talents, it’s important to pick a major in college that will not only offer you job security but will also allow you to achieve respect and success in your chosen field. Those that enjoy working with people, and exploring the undeniable connection between medical science and advanced technology typically consider careers in physical therapy as an outlet for their passions.

If you’re thinking about pursuing a career as a physical therapist, you should know that this is one of the few careers that require an advanced post-graduate degree in order to achieve legal credentials and the ability to practice in professional settings. In most cases, you can find an entry level job with only an undergraduate degree and work your way up from there, but physical therapy is different. This means that in order to be successful in this field you’ll have to enroll in a master’s or doctoral degree program for physical therapy. When trying to decide which graduate program is right for you, it can be helpful to look over some objective third-party rankings to find out which schools are known for outstanding achievement in physical therapy.

There are many different educational institutions and professional organizations that offer reports on the best schools and programs for studying physical therapy. The most notable is the national report offered on an annual basis by the U.S. News and World Report. The first thing to realize when you’re evaluating ranking reports of this nature is that physical therapy is a highly specialized advanced degree, and not all schools in the country will even offer it as a program. This means your choices will be more limited than when you were choosing an undergraduate program.

Although the schools receiving the best marks on the U.S. News and World Report’s list of graduate schools for physical therapy fluctuate every year, there are some schools that are consistently in the top twenty-five on the list. The University of Southern California, the University of Pittsburgh, Washington University at St. Louis, and the University of Delaware are some of the schools that are usually ranked highest in this area. Keep in mind that online programs are not usually noted in this list, although distance learning and online courses are available for these degrees. Make sure you evaluate the criteria upon which the schools were judged to make sure you’re getting the whole story.