The University of Pittsburgh is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the university's central administration and 28,391 undergraduate and graduate students. The 132-acre Pittsburgh campus includes various historic buildings that are part of the Schenley Farms Historic District, most notably its 42-story Gothic revival centerpiece, the Cathedral of Learning. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities, a selective group of major research universities in North America, and is classified as an R1 University, meaning that it engages in a very high level of research activity.Pitt was the third-largest recipient of federally sponsored health research funding among U.S. universities in 2018 and it is a major recipient of research funding from the National Institutes of Health.According to the National Science Foundation, Pitt spent $1.0 billion on research and development in 2018, ranking it 14th in the nation.It is the second-largest non-government employer in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The university also operates four undergraduate branch campuses in Western Pennsylvania, located in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville.

匹兹堡位于美国东海岸的宾夕法尼亚州，是宾州第二大城市。市区面积约144平方公里，都会区约13,800多平方公里，市区人口约33万，都会区约240多万，是美国第21大都会区。匹兹堡坐落在在阿勒格尼河、莫农加希拉河与俄亥俄河的交汇处，使她成为美国最大的内河港口之一。传统上匹兹堡是美国著名的工业城市，是美国钢铁工业的中心，有“世界钢铁之都”之称。在2008年的美国经济衰退中，没有受到次级债危机的太大影响，经济稳健发展，不仅失业率没有上升，反倒增加了就业人口，是全美少有的几个在全球经济衰退时仍能保持财政盈余的城市。