Medical Physics
Overview and Program Goals
The University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Department of Physics and Applied Physics offers a Master of Science in Radiological Sciences and Protection, Medical Physics Option and a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, Medical Physics Option, both accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP) In collaboration with local and regional hospitals and cancer centers in the Boston area, the program is designed for individuals who wish to be educated in therapeutic and imaging medical physics.
Students gain education and training in radiation sciences, radiation protection, medical application of radiation, and dosimetry, which includes laboratory work and clinical internship. The MS program duration is designed to be two years plus one summer semester, although the typical academic plan may be different due to elective courses and the length of thesis research. The duration of the Ph.D. program depends on the student’s academic progress, and it is usually between four and six years. Both the MS thesis and Ph.D. dissertation must be based on hypothesis- or development-driven research, and the student is expected to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal.
Program Objectives
The MS degree qualifies students for all medical physics specialties and prepares them for residency programs, junior medical physics positions, and future ABR exams. The clinical component provides the students with training dominantly in radiation therapy, but diagnostic imaging traineeships are also available.
The Ph.D. degree program relies on the core curriculum covered by the MS degree program, and it provides the students with fundamental knowledge of physics with a specialization in medical physics. Students receive advanced research training in particular areas of medical physics, which will prepare them for entry-level research positions in academia or industry, or for a medical physics resident position under the supervision of a board-certified medical physicist.
Students in the Program qualify for and are expected to take the American Board of Radiology (ABR) Part-1 Exam by the second or third year of their study. Historically, most students have concentrated on therapy physics but because sometimes faculty and the cooperating hospitals also have imaging or nuclear medicine research projects, over the last decade a number of students have focused on other medical physics specialties as well.
Upon graduation, medical physics students are prepared to receive advanced clinical training by entering a medical physics residency program or through working under the direction of a board-certified medical physicist. The students will be prepared for a career as:
- A professional clinical medical physicist.
- A medical physicist in a research laboratory.
- A medical physicist in industry.
- For Ph.D. students, career as a medical physicist in an academic environment.
- For MS students, further research training in a medical physics program offering a doctoral degree.
Qualification for Admission
Applicants are expected to have a strong foundation in physics, documented by either a degree in physics or in a related engineering or physical science with the following undergraduate coursework at the minimum:
- Physics (required): Core calculus-based physics courses, typically equivalent to a minor in physics, including two semesters of general physics plus upper-level Classical Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Modern Physics (accepted) or Quantum Mechanics (preferred);
- Mathematics (required): Three semesters of calculus and one semester of differential equations;
- Computer Science (strongly preferred): Competency in a scientific/engineering programming language and knowledge of fundamental numerical methods;
- Chemistry (preferred): Two semesters of general chemistry;
- Biology (preferred): One semester of general biology;
Successful applicants typically have an undergraduate major in physics, engineering, or a similar technical field. Students with other undergraduate degrees may be accepted if the prerequisite coursework is satisfied. Applicants with minor deficiencies (e.g., one of the required courses is missing), may be admitted with the provision of satisfying the prerequisite during the first year of graduate study. In cases when multiple prerequisite courses are lacking, we recommend that the student satisfactorily complete these courses before embarking on studies in Medical Physics.
Both the master's and doctoral program in Medical Physics requires official GRE test scores. The master's requires two letters of recommendation, and the doctoral program requires three letters of recommendation.
The application deadline is normally the first day of February. Further information on the graduate admission process, including on-line application forms, may be accessed at the UMass Lowell Graduate Admission website.
Programs of Study
Master of Science Degree
The M.S. in Radiological Sciences and Protection, Medical Physics Option requires 34 hours of didactic courses (including 3 graduate credits in Anatomy), 2 hours of clinical training (counting as laboratory courses), and a thesis of publishable quality that includes a minimum of 6 hours of thesis research. Elective courses may be taken to meet particular educational needs, especially for the student’s research.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
The Ph.D. in Physics, Medical Physics Option builds on the MS degree curriculum and adds further requirements, including 12 credits of graduate courses in physics, biology, or chemistry, a minimum of 15 credits of doctoral dissertation research, successful completion of the comprehensive doctoral exam, and successful defense of the dissertation proposal and that of the dissertation. The research results are expected to be published in at least one peer-reviewed journal paper.
The Ph.D. program offers an en-route MS degree option: Students who entered the program with a BS or non-Medical Physics MS degree and pass the Comprehensive Doctoral Examination may be eligible for the MS degree in Medical Physics if they have satisfied the relevant MS degree requirements as detailed above.
Each year, the Department of Physics and Applied Physics publishes a detailed description of the programs of study, which includes the Medical Physics Programs, and it is available from the Physics Graduate Coordinator.