Radiation Science, MSRMP

The Radiation Sciences Division in the College of Medicine offers a MS degree in Radiological Medical Physics. The program is accredited by The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP). The program covers all aspects of Medical Physics including Radiation Therapy Physics, Diagnostic Medical Imaging, and Nuclear Medicine Physics. Practical training is offered for both Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Imaging. The Radiation Therapy practicum covers core components of clinical Therapy Medical Physics including Equipment Quality Assurance, Brachytherapy, Patient Specific Quality Assurance, and External Beam Treatment Planning. The Diagnostic Imaging practicum includes Quality Assurance for all major imaging modalities including X-Ray, CT, Mammography, MRI, and US. Student access to the Radiation Therapy clinic in the Radiation Medicine Department and Diagnostic Radiology within the UK College of Medicine is extensive and is an important learning experience. Addition information is available on our website at https://medicine.uky.edu/departments/radiationmedicine/medical-physics-graduate-program .

Admission Requirements

A BS in Physics is desirable, but at a minimum, candidates must show the equivalence of a minor in physics in all undergraduate work as defined by the American Board of Radiology and CAMPEP. To meet the Minor in Physics requirement, candidates must have completed the following: 1) Calculus through Ordinary Differential Equations; 2) The Calculus based introductory General Physics sequence with labs (2 semesters); and 3) Three upper division Physics electives (junior level or above). Other program requirements are courses in Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Computer Science, and Scientific Statistics. The latter requirements, if missing, may be incorporated into the graduate program at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. An undergraduate GPA of 3.25 is highly desirable and the General GRE exam is required. While there are no absolute minimum GRE scores required, scores on the Verbal section at or above the 50th percentile and on the Quantitative section at or above the 60th percentile is desirable.

An interview is required of all applicants being considered for admission. Fluent spoken English skills are required and are assessed during the interview. In addition, observation or job shadowing experience with a certified clinical Medical Physicist is very important when considering applicants for admission. Three Letters of Recommendation and a personal statement are also required. It is recommended that applications be submitted by January 31 to assure full consideration, however applications received after January 31st may be reviewed depending on the progress of student recruitment. The absolute deadline for domestic applications is April 30th. In addition, the Graduate School imposes a deadline of April 15th for international applicants.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Radiological Medical Physics is an interdisciplinary, Plan B (non-thesis) program. However, a two-credit hour clinical quality improvement research project is required. A minimum of 30 credit hours are required for graduation. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA for retention in the program and for graduation requirements. A coursework outline is as follows; credit hours shown in parentheses:

Required Courses (27 credit hours)

RAS 472G /RM 472G INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER (3)

RAS 545 /RM 545 /PHY 545 RADIATION HAZARDS AND PROTECTION (3)

RAS 546 / RM 546 /PHY 546 GENERAL MEDICAL RADIOLOGICAL PHYSICS (3)

RAS 601 /RM 601 ADVANCED RADIATION DOSIMETRY (2)

RAS 647 /RM 647 PHYSICS OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING I (3)

RAS 648 /RM 648 PHYSICS OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING II (3)

RAS 649 /RM 649 PHYSICS OF RADIATION THERAPY (3)

RAS 651 ADVANCED LABORATORY IN DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING PHYSICS (2)

RAS 695 /RM 695 RESEARCH IN HEALTH-RELATED RADIATION SCIENCES (2)

RAS 710 RADIATION SCIENCE SEMINAR (SUBTITLE REQUIRED) (1)

RM 740 /BIO 740 MAMMALIAN RADIATION BIOLOGY (2)