20 Best Physical Therapy schools in Tennessee

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Tennessee ranked based on their research performance in Physical Therapy. A graph of 592K citations received by 15.4K academic papers made by 20 universities in Tennessee was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Vanderbilt University

For Physical Therapy

#60 in the United States

#73 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 6%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $25,186

2. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

For Physical Therapy

#74 in the United States

#88 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Average SAT: 1285
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 96%

3. University of Tennessee Health Science Center

For Physical Therapy

#119 in the United States

#139 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Enrollment: 3,101
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1911

4. University of Memphis

For Physical Therapy

#147 in the United States

#170 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Average SAT: 1048
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 95%

5. Johnson University

For Physical Therapy

#168 in the United States

#192 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Average SAT: 1035
Average ACT: 21
Net Price: $22,615

6. East Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#188 in the United States

#215 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 86%
Average SAT: 1090
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 94%

7. Middle Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#249 in the United States

#283 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Average SAT: 1120
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 96%

8. University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

For Physical Therapy

#252 in the United States

#286 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 81%
Average SAT: 1112
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 96%

9. Meharry Medical College

For Physical Therapy

#444 in the United States

#489 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment: 1,226
Male:Female: 32:68
Founded: 1876

10. South College

For Physical Therapy

#459 in the United States

#506 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $17,588
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $14,208

11. Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#512 in the United States

#561 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Average SAT: 965
Average ACT: 19
Receiving Aid: 75%

12. Belmont University

For Physical Therapy

#514 in the United States

#563 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Average SAT: 1255
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $38,578

13. Lee University

For Physical Therapy

#518 in the United States

#567 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1135
Average ACT: 24
Net Price: $20,416

14. Lipscomb University

For Physical Therapy

#549 in the United States

#599 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1270
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $27,695

15. Austin Peay State University

For Physical Therapy

#595 in the United States

#645 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 985
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 99%

16. University of the South

For Physical Therapy

#604 in the United States

#654 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Average SAT: 1325
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $34,815

17. Tennessee Technological University

For Physical Therapy

#690 in the United States

#749 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 76%
Average SAT: 1179
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

18. Lincoln Memorial University

For Physical Therapy

#698 in the United States

#757 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Average SAT: 1105
Average ACT: 21
Net Price: $21,447

19. King University

For Physical Therapy

#741 in the United States

#802 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $22,748
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $26,366

20. Bryan College - Dayton

For Physical Therapy

#759 in the United States

#824 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $18,159
Receiving Aid: 99%
Average Aid: $13,271

Closest to Tennessee states to learn Physical Therapy

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Kentucky	10	50
Alabama	17	22
Georgia	23	31
Indiana	18	38
Mississippi	6	136
South Carolina	11	39
Illinois	31	10
North Carolina	22	9
Arkansas	8	113
Ohio	27	20
West Virginia	6	85
Missouri	20	21
Virginia	21	40
Louisiana	12	90
District of Columbia	6	77
Maryland	13	3
Iowa	9	25
Pennsylvania	53	4
Michigan	17	5
Florida	24	8
Wisconsin	16	14
Oklahoma	7	106
Kansas	8	71
New Jersey	14	47
New York	65	18
Minnesota	14	12
Connecticut	14	16
Nebraska	7	104
Rhode Island	4	42
Massachusetts	37	1
Texas	51	34
Vermont	3	68
South Dakota	6	238
New Hampshire	6	118
Colorado	16	49
North Dakota	3	202
Maine	5	276
New Mexico	3	94
Utah	7	24
Montana	3	177
Arizona	6	46
Idaho	3	194
Nevada	3	139
Puerto Rico	5	411
California	66	6
Oregon	13	30
Washington	15	2
Hawaii	4	149

Medicine subfields in Tennessee

Anatomy and Physiology23

Anesthesiology18

Bioethics/Medical Ethics7

Biomedical Engineering6

Clinical Psychology20

Critical Care Nursing16

Family medicine19

Forensic Science4

Gastroenterology and Hepatology11

Health Science22

Healthcare Management (MHA)18

Medical Physics4

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN)12

Occupational Therapy7

Oncology and Cancer research17

Ophthalmology10

Paramedicine and Emergency medicine17

Plastic Surgery9

Public Health24

Radiation Therapy8

Radiology and Nuclear medicine23

Respiratory Therapy6

Sonography and Ultrasound4

Sports / Exercise science8

Sports Medicine12