2025 Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

If you pursue a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #4 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 24 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of physical therapy/therapist. Combined, these schools handed out 1,504 doctor's degrees in physical therapy/therapist to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Physical Therapy/Therapist School for Your Doctor's Degree

The physical therapy doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality physical therapy program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various 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 much a school focuses on physical therapy/therapist students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other physical therapy/therapist 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 physical therapy/therapist related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

The physical therapy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Physical Therapy/Therapist in the Plains States Region

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

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Doctorate in Physical Therapy

1

Creighton University
Omaha, NE

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

85 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Creighton University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. Located in the city of Omaha, Creighton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Creighton University

2

Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Rochester, MN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

27 Annual Graduates

Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. Located in the city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

3

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

57 Annual Graduates

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a great decision for students interested in a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

4

Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

84 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in physical therapy/therapist needs to check out Saint Louis University. Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from Saint Louis University

5

University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

42 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of Iowa

6

University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

56 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of Kansas

7

University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

49 Annual Graduates

UND is a large public university located in the city of Grand Forks.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of North Dakota

8

College of Saint Mary
Omaha, NE

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

16 Annual Graduates

Saint Mary is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Omaha.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from College of Saint Mary

9

The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

153 Annual Graduates

St. Scholastica is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Duluth.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from The College of Saint Scholastica

10

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

64 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Omaha, UNMC is a public university with a small student population.More information about a doctorate in physical therapy/therapist from University of Nebraska Medical Center

Best Physical Therapy/Therapist Colleges by State

Explore the best physical therapy/therapist colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	199	307
Iowa	177	190
Missouri	175	576
Kansas	134	144
Nebraska	99	140
North Dakota	88	129
South Dakota	57	30

View All Rankings >

Physical Therapy/Therapist Related Rankings by Major

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

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Occupational Therapy	478
Rehabilitation Science	14

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.