Accreditation and State Authorization

Overall University Accreditation

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). As an institutional accreditor, MSCHE examines institutions as a whole rather than specific programs within institutions. 

University of the Sciences’ accreditation status is Accreditation Reaffirmed. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on June 27, 2013 was to reaffirm accreditation. The next evaluation visit is scheduled for 2021-2022. See the University’s MSCHE Statement of Accreditation Status page for full details. 

1007 North Orange Street
4th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
http://www.msche.org/

To contact MSCHE with questions or request information, refer to the Contact Us webpage for guidance on where to direct your correspondence.

To make a complaint to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, see the MSCHE Complaints webpage.  

Individual Program Accreditation and Certification

Doctor of Pharmacy

University of the Sciences, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy's Doctor of Pharmacy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). ACPE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 

190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 2850
Chicago, IL 60603
312-664-3575
Fax: 866-228-2631
website: www.acpe-accredit.org

Master of Occupational Therapy and Doctor of Occupational Therapy 

Both the Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program and the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (DrOT) program are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).  ACOTE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. More information can be obtained at: 

ACOTE 
c/o Accreditation Department 
American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) 
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200 
North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929 
301-652-AOTA 
www.acoteonline.org

Doctor of Physical Therapy

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org.  If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 215-596-8677 or email l.packel@usciences.edu.   CAPTE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  

Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies

BS in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

BS degrees offered through the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS), provided students complete the curriculum and requirements. 

Office of Professional Training
American Chemical Society
1155 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-872-4589
www.acs.org

BS in Biochemistry

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) has accredited the BS in Biochemistry program. ASBMB accreditation recognizes undergraduate biochemistry and molecular biology programs whose features and infrastructure fulfill the basic expectations of the society. Accreditation provides access to an independently developed and scored examination for assessing student performance, and gives students the opportunity to have their degree certified by the ASBMB. 

6120 Executive Blvd, Suite 400 
Rockville, MD 20852
240-283-6600
www.asbmb.org

Undergraduate and Graduate Business Programs

BS and MBA programs in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Business are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) .

11520 West 119th Street
Overland Park, KS  66213
913-339-9356
www.acbsp.org

Undergraduate Exercise Physiology Program

The BS in Exercise Physiology program has received endorsement as an educationally recognized program by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

1885 Bob Johnson Drive 
Colorado Springs, CO 80906 
719-632-6722 
www.nsca.com 

Medical Laboratory Science

The program in medical laboratory science is affiliated with hospital programs that are accredited by the National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). 
5600 North River Road 
Suite 720 
Rosemont, IL 60018-5119 
773-714-8880 
www.naacls.org 
 

State Authorization

University of the Sciences, established as an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is an authorized Pennsylvania degree-granting institution in good academic standing with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. (Documentation provided upon request:  contact provost@usciences.edu)

Division of Higher Education, Access, and Equity 
Pennsylvania Department of Education - Postsecondary and Adult Education 
333 Market Street, 12th Floor 
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333 
717-783-8228

To make a complaint to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), see the applicable section of the PDE’s Colleges and Universities webpage. 

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

Pennsylvania is a member state of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), and University of the Sciences (USciences) is approved as a SARA participating institution.

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary agreement among its member states that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. The advantage for students is that SARA makes it easier for them to participate in online educational courses and programs that are offered by authorized colleges and universities located in a state outside of where the student is located. As a SARA participating institution, USciences is authorized to provide distance education to students who reside in another SARA member state. Presently, 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are SARA members (only California is not a member). More information about SARA can be found at www.nc-sara.org.

Although the USciences health professions degree programs are not distance education programs (e.g., occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant), provisions of SARA facilitate the placement of enrolled students at experiential learning (e.g., clinical) sites located outside of Pennsylvania.