20 Best Physical Therapy schools in Tennessee

Updated: March 02, 2025

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 560K citations received by 15K 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: $26,689

2. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

For Physical Therapy

#72 in the United States

#86 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Average SAT: 1265
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 90%

3. University of Tennessee Health Science Center

For Physical Therapy

#120 in the United States

#140 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Enrollment: 3,121
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1911

4. University of Memphis

For Physical Therapy

#144 in the United States

#167 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1055
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 97%

5. Johnson University

For Physical Therapy

#168 in the United States

#192 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Average SAT: 990
Average ACT: 22
Net Price: $20,713

6. East Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#191 in the United States

#218 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Average SAT: 1060
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 92%

7. Middle Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#248 in the United States

#281 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1115
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 96%

8. University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

For Physical Therapy

#253 in the United States

#287 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Average SAT: 1095
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 95%

9. Meharry Medical College

For Physical Therapy

#443 in the United States

#487 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment: 1,083
Male:Female: 31:69
Founded: 1876

10. South College

For Physical Therapy

#470 in the United States

#517 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $16,584
Receiving Aid: 90%
Average Aid: $13,698

11. Tennessee State University

For Physical Therapy

#507 in the United States

#554 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 962
Average ACT: 19
Receiving Aid: 94%

12. Belmont University

For Physical Therapy

#509 in the United States

#556 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1255
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $37,558

13. Lee University

For Physical Therapy

#519 in the United States

#566 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Average SAT: 1130
Average ACT: 23
Net Price: $20,222

14. Lipscomb University

For Physical Therapy

#551 in the United States

#601 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Average SAT: 1248
Average ACT: 26
Net Price: $27,386

15. University of the South

For Physical Therapy

#594 in the United States

#644 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1317
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $33,616

16. Austin Peay State University

For Physical Therapy

#597 in the United States

#647 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1054
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 98%

17. Tennessee Technological University

For Physical Therapy

#686 in the United States

#745 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Average SAT: 1135
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

18. Lincoln Memorial University

For Physical Therapy

#704 in the United States

#763 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Average SAT: 1113
Average ACT: 22
Net Price: $19,401

19. King University

For Physical Therapy

#732 in the United States

#792 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Net Price: $23,282
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $24,339

20. Bryan College - Dayton

For Physical Therapy

#762 in the United States

#827 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Net Price: $17,105
Receiving Aid: 97%
Average Aid: $12,650

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	22	32
Indiana	17	38
Mississippi	6	138
South Carolina	11	39
Illinois	30	11
North Carolina	22	9
Arkansas	8	113
Ohio	27	20
West Virginia	6	85
Missouri	20	21
Virginia	20	40
Louisiana	12	90
District of Columbia	6	75
Maryland	13	3
Iowa	9	24
Pennsylvania	52	4
Michigan	17	5
Florida	24	8
Wisconsin	16	14
Oklahoma	7	106
Kansas	8	70
New Jersey	14	47
New York	64	18
Minnesota	13	12
Connecticut	14	16
Nebraska	7	105
Rhode Island	4	43
Massachusetts	37	1
Texas	51	34
Vermont	3	67
South Dakota	6	241
New Hampshire	6	118
Colorado	16	51
North Dakota	3	203
Maine	5	276
New Mexico	3	93
Utah	7	25
Montana	3	177
Arizona	6	46
Idaho	3	194
Nevada	3	141
Puerto Rico	5	413
California	66	6
Oregon	13	30
Washington	15	2
Hawaii	4	151

Medicine subfields in Tennessee

Anatomy and Physiology23

Anesthesiology18

Bioethics/Medical Ethics7

Biomedical Engineering6

Clinical Psychology20

Critical Care Nursing15

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