Through the partnership with Noodle Partners, an online program management company, SHRS will be provided with the expertise to build professional online coursework that gives increased access to the school’s top-rated clinically based academic programs.

“We believe our distance education programs will attract prospective students from across the country and beyond, particularly drawing the interest of students in rural settings who can now work towards a quality degree from a prestigious university,” said Dean Anthony Delitto. “Our hope is that these students, upon graduation, will elect to remain in their communities, providing needed skills to often underserved populations. This tenet reflects one of the strategic initiatives of SHRS and the University of Pittsburgh.”

The partnership also addresses the latest trends in higher education along with challenges associated with SHRS receiving more qualified applicants seeking enrollment than the school can physically accommodate. This will enable students to remain wherever they are and serve the health care needs of their populations more readily through the school’s newly established clinical partnerships during clinical training and upon graduation.

“Together we’re expanding access and impacting lives, especially with these clinical programs,” said Noodle Partners CEO John Katzman.

SHRS has the No. 1 program in physical therapy and the No. 4 occupational therapy program, according to the most recent rankings of the country's best graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report.

“We are charting new territory for clinically integrated health sciences programs here at Pitt and throughout the industry,” Delitto said.