Graduate work in the UW Medical Physics Department prepares students for professional positions in teaching, research and clinical physics service in medical centers, national laboratories, universities, and governmental regulatory agencies. The department teaches an extensive breadth of medical physics knowledge. Programs of study lead to the Master of Science (M.S.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Medical Physics. Both M.S. and Ph.D. students benefit from the expanding array of opportunities available in clinical physics training.
The M.S. degree in Medical Physics with the General Medical Physics or Health Physics emphasis is a valuable and worthwhile terminal degree that provides access to many employment opportunities in the field. For those individuals wishing to pursue certification by the American Board of Radiology, competition for medical physics residency program positions based on currently available data, is significantly more difficult with a terminal M.S. degree relative to a Ph.D. degree. Either a written Thesis or successful completion of the Qualifier exam is required for students exiting the program with a terminal M.S. degree.
The Ph.D. degree is primarily a research degree that extends the depth of knowledge in a specialty area. A Core Curriculum satisfying the CAMPEP Graduate Education Standards, is the preferred course plan for most students. Students who complete the Core Curriculum as part of their academic plan will receive an attestation of CAMPEP requirements completion. There is also an option to “opt out” of the Core Curriculum if a student wishes to pursue an area of sub-specialization outside the CAMPEP track. Students choosing this option will not receive the attestation of completion of CAMPEP requirements. The “Courses, Sequences, and Learning Outcomes” link describes our coursework. All doctoral students are expected to take the Qualifier exam at the end of their second year of graduate studies.