Defined broadly, "allied health" refers to a diverse collection of the health science fields including rehabilitation therapies, laboratory science, health information management, dietetics and many others. Allied heath professionals comprise more than 60 percent of the entire health care work force.

Eight academic departments comprise the University of Kansas School of Allied Health which is located with the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. More than 20 academic programs in the health sciences are available at the school and the type and nature of degrees offered is extremely diverse: