Graduate Programs in Medical Physics

Medical Physics

The Medical Physics program within the Department of Physics and Astronomy was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP) in December 2003. Students who wish to obtain an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Medical Physics are required to register for the courses listed below. The degree parchment will state a degree in "Medical Physics” and imply the successful completion of a CAMPEP-accredited degree. Find research areas and faculty members on our Medical Physics page.

The goals of the medical physics programs are:

  1. to provide academic training for medical physicists, a profession that is expanding rapidly in Canada and internationally.
  2. to develop appropriate research skills and experience within the community of medical physicists and clinical practitioners in the Province of British Columbia to enable them to contribute to the development of advanced medical techniques. This rationale is supported by the access to fore-front technology in medical infrastructure in the Positron Emission Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Radiation Therapy research groups.
  3. to develop and maintain trans-disciplinary research projects between investigators in the Faculties of Science, Medicine, Applied Science (i.e. Engineering) and Arts (Psychology), which take advantage of leading-edge research capabilities at the local teaching hospitals.
  4. to expand and advance the rapidly growing area of Medical Physics.

Master of Science in Medical Physics

A CAMPEP-accredited Master of Science in Medical Physics is offered in our department. The prerequisite for the program is a B.Sc. in physics (single or combined), astronomy, or mathematics; or a B.A.Sc. in engineering physics or electrical engineering. An overall average of 'A-' or better in third and fourth year courses is expected for entry into the program. The M.Sc. in Medical Physics requires a minimum of 38 credits with the research thesis, Physics 549, counting 12 credits.  The required core courses and one elective below yield 26 credits.

The required core courses of the Medical Physics program include Quantum Mechanics I (PHYS 500), Radiotherapy Physics I (PHYS 534), Radiotherapy Physics II (PHYS 535), Advanced Radiation Biophysics (PHYS 536), Radiation Dosimetry (PHYS 539), Image Reconstruction (PHYS 540), and Anatomy, Physiology and Statistics for Medical Physicists (PHYS 545) and Clinical Experience in Medical Physics (PHYS 546). There is one elective which should be chosen from Nuclear Medicine (PHYS 541), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PHYS 542), and Biomedical Optics (PHYS 543). Students will also be required to accumulate a number of days of specified clinical experience and to participate in our medical physics seminar series.

Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics

The CAMPEP-accredited Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics can be obtained by passing the courses as required for the M.Sc. in Medical Physic and pursuing a research topic in the field of Medical Physics. These courses can either be passed prior to enrolling in the Ph.D. program as part of an M.Sc. in Medical Physics or during the Ph.D. program.

Course Title Credits Lecturer Time
PHYS 500 Quantum Mechanics 3 Zhitnitsky T1: MWF 1300-1400
PHYS 534 Radiotherapy Physics I 3 Beckham, Zavgorodni, Baillie, Araujo T1: TF 0900-1030
PHYS 535 Radiotherapy Physics II 3 Spadinger, Popescu T2: M 1300-1430 F 1030-1200
PHYS 536 Advanced Radiation Biophysics 3 Reinsberg, Minchinton, Moiseenko T1: TR 1400-1530
PHYS 539 Radiation Dosimetry 3 Duzenli, Gete, Popescu T2: M 1430-1600 F 0900-1030
PHYS 540 Radiological Imaging 3 Kozlowski et al. T2: MW 1000-1130
PHYS 545 Anatomy, Physiology and Statistics for Medical Physics 3 Ford, Singer (Online Course plus 8 lectures on stats) T2: F 1300-1530
PHYS 546 Clinical Experience in Medical Physics 2 Thakur, Mestrovic  
PHYS 541 (elective) Nuclear Medicine or 3 Rahmim, Uribe T2:  TR 0900-1030
PHYS 542 (elective) Magnetic Resonance Imaging or 3 TBD + MacKay T1: (MW 0830-1000)
PHYS 543 (elective) Biomedical Optics or 3 Zeng  
PHYS 549 Thesis Specialization: Medical Physics 12    
Total   38    

Medical Physics Enrollment and Graduation Figures

  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Applicants PhD 11 14 13 13 17 15 15 13 4 16 14 11
Applicants MSc 29 24 29 33 41 45 38 26 30 51 47 26
Accepted PhD 2 4 5 4 5 2 0 3 2 4 2 6
Accepted MSc 8 3 9 11 6 8 11 6 10 8 9 6
Enrolled PhD 0 3 3 3 5 3 0 3 2 4 2 5
Enrolled MSc 4 3 3 5 1 2 11 1 5 5 9 1
Graduated PhD 1 4 6 2 2 2 6 0 6 6 4 1
Graduated MSc 4 2 2 3 3 5 1 4 4 1 2 4
Industry 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 3 1 1
Residency 0 2 6 2 1 0 3 0 3 2 1 1
Clinical 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Academic/student 3 2 1 3 1 5 3 2 6 3 2 2

Return to the Academic Programs Page