Medical Physics Certificate

Medical Physics Certificate Program

Announcement: The Medical Physics Certificate Program is not currently accepting new applications for post-doctoral students. For more information on medical physics graduate options at the University of Michigan, please contact the program director using the contact information below.

Medical physics is a discipline involving the application of physics to biology and medicine. The clinical practice of medical physics, for medical diagnosis and therapy, involves the application of both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation to patients. Current US standards of professional practice require medical physicists to complete structured clinical training and either have graduated from accredited graduate programs or obtain a certificate approved by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP).

Doctoral Degree Curriculum and Requirements

The Medical Physics Certificate Program is open to students with a PhD in physics, engineering or a science field related to medical physics. The certificate program is currently open for enrollment.

To qualify for CAMPEP certification, students must take a specific set of six courses with a total of 19 credits. Students who have completed some of these courses while undergraduates or as part of previous graduate study will be required to take any additional CAMPEP-required core courses as well as a sufficient number of approved technical elective courses, for a minimum of 12 credits being attributed solely to graduate certificate studies through Rackham. As CAMPEP requires a doctorate (for students that do not have a CAMPEP approved medical physics MS) to enter a residency program for clinical training, official enrollment into the Medical Physics certificate will only be granted after the doctoral degree is earned.

Requirements for the Medical Physics certificate include:

  1. Completion of 12-19 credits of approved medical physics courses, which include up to six core courses required to qualify for CAMPEP certification (as indicated in the following table). Students who have previously completed some core courses will take the balance needed for CAMPEP plus additional approved electives for a minimum of 12 credits to be counted toward the Medical Physics certificate.
  2. For students who are also taking a Rackham master’s degree, no more than six credits required for the degree may be double-counted for the certificate. Of the courses counted toward the certificate, students may double-count no more than six credits required for the degree.
  3. Receipt of a doctoral degree in an appropriate field.

The medical physics certificate curriculum will cover the following core topics:

  1. Radiological Physics and Dosimetry
  2. Radiation Protection and Radiation Safety
  3. Fundamentals of Imaging in Medicine
  4. Radiobiology
  5. Anatomy and Physiology
  6. Radiation Therapy Physics

Medical Physics Certificate Associated Course List, Term (Credits)

Courses eligible to satisfy the 12-19 credits requirement. Courses designated with an asterisk (*) are required to satisfy professional standards for CAMPEP.

NERS 555* (Introduction to Radiologic Physics and Dosimetry) Winter (term subject to change) (2)
NERS 582* (Medical Radiological Health Engineering), Fall (3)
NERS 584* (Radiation Biology), Fall (3)
NERS 581* (Radiation Therapy Physics), Winter (3)
ANAT 403* (Human Anatomy: Structure and Function), Fall/Winter (5)
NERS 579* (Physics of Diagnostic Radiology), Summer/Fall (3)
NERS 481 (Engineering Principles of Radiation Imaging), Winter (2)
NERS 518 (Advanced Radiation Measurements and Imaging), Fall (alternate years) (3)
NERS 554 (Radiation Shielding Design), Winter (4)
NERS 580 (Computational Projects in Radiation Imaging), Winter (1)
NERS 484 (Radiological Health Engineering Fundamentals), Fall (4)
NERS 583 (Radiological Dose Assessment and Response), Winter (3)
NERS 586 (Applied Radiological Measurements), Winter (4)
NERS 587 (Internal Dose Assessment), Fall (NERS 582 and NERS 587 alternate) (3)
NERS 588 (Radiation Safety and Medical Physics Practicum), Fall, winter, Spring/Summer (up to 6)
BME 510 (Medical Imaging Laboratory), varies (3)
BME 516 (Medical Imaging Systems), varies (3)
BME 519 (Bioengineering Physiology), varies (4)

Students who have not taken any prior medical physics courses will need to take the CAMPEP required courses (totaling 19 credits) in order to satisfy certificate requirements.

Admissions and Enrollment Planning

Candidates who have earned a PhD in an appropriate field such as Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS), Biomedical Engineering (BME), and other related science and engineering fields, may apply for the certificate program. Applications are submitted through the Rackham Graduate School application portal.

  • Application Deadlines:Fall Term (September) Admissions: January 15th
  • Winter Term (January) Admissions: October 1st

Prerequisites, which must be completed before admission, are the following:

  1. A doctoral degree in physics, engineering, or a related field.
  2. Completion of at least three upper-level physics courses (e.g., electricity and magnetism, classical mechanics, modern physics, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, thermodynamics, etc.), which may be through Physics, NERS, or another appropriate department

In addition to an application form, applicants will be required to submit at least 3 letters of reference, official undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and a personal statement relating their experience and interest in medical physics. The accomplishments, coursework, and research of those applicants will be judged against the latest requirements for CAMPEP residencies. The MPCC will assess each applicant for the appropriate credentials and prerequisites. If admission is granted, the candidate will be assigned a mentor based upon their interests.

Financial Information

Students with existing PhDs who are admitted to the program must be self-supported. Private educational loans are available to students in certificate programs, and students are encouraged to contact financial aid for more information on such programs.

Program Statistics

Program tracking information, as required by CAMPEP, can be found here.

Program Leadership

Director

Martha M Matuszak, Radiation Oncology Associate Professor, NERS Assistant Professor

Co-director

Kimberlee J. Kearfott, NERS professor, BME professor, Radiology Adjunct Professor

Members

Joann I. Prisciandaro, Radiation Oncology Associate Professor
Alex F. Bielajew, NERS Professor
Mitchell M. Goodsitt, Radiology Professor, BME Professor, NERS Adjunct Professor
Scott Hadley, Radiation Oncology Associate Professor
John Foster, NERS Professor (Advisory Member)
Benjamin Rosen, Radiation Oncology Assistant Professor (Advisory Member)
Daniel (Rocky) Owen, NERS Student (Advisory Member)
Daniel Polan, NERS Student (Advisory Member)