2025 Best Occupational Therapy Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

If you pursue a doctor's degree in occupational therapy, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #15 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Occupational Therapy Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 341 doctor's degrees in occupational therapy during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Occupational Therapy School for Your Doctor's Degree

Your choice of occupational therapy for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality occupational therapy program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to occupational therapy students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other occupational therapy students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized occupational therapy related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for occupational therapy students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Occupational Therapy Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Occupational Therapy in Pennsylvania

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in occupational therapy.

Top Pennsylvania Schools for a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy

1

Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

48 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in occupational therapy has to take a look at Thomas Jefferson University. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Thomas Jefferson University

2

Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

20 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in occupational therapy has to look into Duquesne University. Duquesne is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Duquesne University

3

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Pittsburgh, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

63 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in occupational therapy. Pitt is a very large public university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

4

Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

24 Annual Graduates

Saint Joseph's University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in occupational therapy. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, St. Joe's is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Saint Joseph’s University

5

Gannon University
Erie, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

43 Annual Graduates

Gannon is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Erie.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Gannon University

6

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

25 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

7

Widener University
Chester, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

23 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Widener University

8

Chatham University
Pittsburgh, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

61 Annual Graduates

Chatham is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Chatham University

9

Misericordia University
Dallas, PA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Dallas, Misericordia University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in occupational therapy from Misericordia University

Best Occupational Therapy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Occupational Therapy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	366	23
Maryland	190	5
New Jersey	165	0
District of Columbia	143	11

View All Rankings >

Occupational Therapy Related Rankings by Major

One of 16 majors within the Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions area of study, Occupational Therapy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Majors Related to Occupational Therapy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Physical Therapy/Therapist	1,054
Rehabilitation Science	18
Other Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	3
Music Therapy	2

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Barbara E. Carver. More about our data sources and methodologies.