The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a state-related public research university located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded on February 28, 1787 on the American frontier as the Pittsburgh Academy, Pitt is one of the oldest continually operating institutions of higher education in the United States and an elected member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). Carrying the highest Carnegie Classification (R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity), Pitt stands as a global research and biomedical titan. Deeply intertwined with the world-renowned University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Pitt consistently ranks among the top five national recipients of National Institutes of Health (NIH) federal research funding. It was here in the 1950s that Dr. Jonas Salk developed the world’s first successful polio vaccine, pioneering a legacy of lifesaving breakthroughs that continues in organ transplantation, immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine. Beyond its health science empire, Pitt encompasses the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, the Swanson School of Engineering, the School of Computing and Information (SCI), the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, the School of Law, and the School of Public Health. The university's iconic centerpiece is the 42-story Gothic Revival Cathedral of Learning ("Cathy")—the second-tallest educational building on earth—which houses the four-story vaulted Commons Room and 31 authentic Nationality Rooms gifted by regional ethnic heritages.

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