Veterans in Focus
A Community Dedicated to Serving Those Who Served
The University of Pittsburgh and its regional campuses have been designated a Military Friendly School® for more than a decade. Only the top 15 percent of colleges, universities, and trade schools in the country earn this designation for exemplary services that embrace their military students.
Fifteen percent of western Pennsylvanians are veterans, and Pitt is proud to have among our current student population more than 500 registered veterans who are earning degrees from our various schools and campuses.
This page includes an overview of the services offered to University's veteran students along with highlights of groundbreaking military research.
Office of Veterans Services
The Office of Veterans Services exists to ensure that veterans, active service members and their dependents are positioned to thrive in the college classroom and beyond. Each year, the Pitt serves more than 700 individuals—connecting Pitt’s military community members to personalized outreach, academic and social supports as well as veterans benefits and financial aid.
Meet the president of Pitt Vets
As president of Pitt Vets, Skyler Rehbach wants to increase a sense of belonging for veterans.
The Human Engineering Research Laboratories
HERL—a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Research Center of Excellence—operates in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh. It also serves as the national Center for Wheelchairs and Assistive Robotics Engineering. HERL’s current and founding director is Rory Cooper, a U.S. Army veteran who sustained a spinal cord injury while stationed overseas.
The Warrior Human Performance Research Center
Pitt’s Warrior Human Performance Research Center has a very specific focus: helping military members succeed. Its researchers work closely with service members in the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps to develop highly technical biological markers of injury risk as well as tools to keep troops healthy and safe during training and combat.
The Center for Military Medicine Research
Pitt’s Center for Military Medicine Research utilizes a cross-disciplinary approach to support the medical research interests of the U.S. departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs
In Focus: Vets Helping Vets at Pitt-Greensburg
On the Pitt-Greensburg campus, all students who are current and former members of the military can take advantage of priority enrollment, course-scheduling preferences and personalized support. Like the Bradford and Johnstown campuses, Greensburg is home to an ROTC program, which offers academic scholarships and stipends while training students to become officers in the U.S. Army. It also offers a wide variety of unique veteran-focused programs.
Pitt Veterans Affinity Group
The Veterans Affinity Group facilitates the inclusion of veterans, military members, and their families into the Pitt community through recruitment, retention, comradery, and ongoing success in collaboration with like-minded organizations. As a part of Pitt Communities, the Veterans Affinity Group is a part of the University of Pittsburgh's Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Caring for Military Minds
As director of Pitt’s Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program, Eric Meyer trains tomorrow’s mental health professionals. He also advances cutting-edge research devoted to helping veterans and emergency responders heal from trauma.
Pitt Vets
Pitt now has its own chapter of the Student Veterans of America. This organization promotes the success of student veterans, active duty, reserve personnel, and military dependents through mentorship, networking, and social events.