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If you’re a current student in one of the graduate programs on the Elkins Park Campus of Drexel University – or if you’re a prospective student thinking about graduate or professional school – your future may include a bright and lucrative career in the health sciences.
Almost all of the graduate programs offered at the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus are connected to professions ranked among the nation’s best health care jobs, according to U.S. News and World Report Best Healthcare Jobs of 2026 rankings.
Several of the high-ranking professions are being taught at this location, including Physician Assistant at No. 2; Speech-Language Pathologist at No. 3; Occupational Therapist at No. 6; Orthotist and Prosthetist at No. 15; Optometrist at No. 20 and Audiologist at No. 37.
Robert Serianni, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, chair and program director of the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department in the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) on the Elkins Park campus, believes the flexibility of career paths – from jobs in a variety of medical settings and schools, like starting a private practice or a consulting company to policy work in nonprofits and governmental sectors – makes Speech-Language Pathology an attractive profession.
“We are able to work across the lifespan, from infants that are hours old to the geriatric population. We typically work with families and caregivers, as well as extending into the community to address the needs of our individual clients,” said Serianni. “Our profession takes a team-based approach, collaborating with a variety of professions to improve the quality of life of individuals with communication and swallowing disorders - that interprofessional dynamic makes our roles vital in the recovery of patients.”
He added that the potential to earn a high salary and the opportunity for a great work-life balance makes being an SLP an attractive career. U.S. News and World Report estimates the annual median salary for an SLP is $95,410 and the projected jobs for 2026 are 28,200 nationwide.
The outlook is just as strong for the other top-ranked professions as well, with competitive salaries and promising job growth projections. For Physician Assistants, the median salary is $133,260 and the projected jobs are 33,200; for Occupational Therapists, $98,340 and 22,100; for Orthotist and Prosthetist, $78,310 and 1,300; for Audiologists, $92,120 and 1,500; and for Optometrists, $134,830 and 3,800.
Josephine Ibironke, OD ‘03, Resident ‘04, MPH, FAAO, dean of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Drexel, said through early clinical exposure to diverse vision conditions, PCO optometrists graduate confident, adaptable and practice-ready.
“PCO also offers a robust portfolio of specialized residency programs that provide rigorous post-doctoral training in areas such as ocular disease, pediatrics, contact lenses, and primary care,” she said. “These programs further position our graduates for leadership roles in clinical practice, academia, industry, and health care systems. The result is a PCO-trained optometrist who is not only clinically excellent, but prepared to thrive in one of the most dynamic and rewarding health care professions.”
To reach its conclusions, U.S. News and World Report analyzed data about salary, unemployment rate and growth prospects to select the top jobs for the year.
Some career qualities, however, are universally desired. Workers tend to prefer higher salaries, ample job opportunities and avenues for promotion. These characteristics and more are used to calculate the rankings.
