Please direct comments to Janis McKenna.
A growing concern is the length of time required for students to obtain a Ph.D. Shortening the average Ph.D. time to completion to four years is extremely desirable.
A new Medical Physics Graduate Programme will be introduced in the department of Physics & Astronomy, with a goal of preparing students with strong Physics, Biophysics and Engineering Physics undergraduate degrees for a career in medical physics. The Master of Science degree program will be offered as a research masters degree or as a course work masters degree with an 8 month CO-OP work term. Graduates of the M.Sc. Programme will be prepared for the academic component of the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) exam. The CCPM (www.medicalphysics.ca) is the professional certification body for medical physicists in Canada. Many graduates of the M.Sc. program will continue on to the Ph.D. Programme in Medical Physics. While M.Sc. graduates should be able to find good jobs, the Ph.D. degree is required for jobs that involve independent research.
Medical physics graduate student entry requirements and course requirements are the similar to those for other Physics & Astronomy graduate students.
Students in the CO-OP masters Medical Physics programme will take 24 credits of courses during two or three academic terms, primarily from the medical physics courses. In addition they will have a medical ethics course and a research practicum. At the end of their 8 month CO-OP term they will write a report worth 6 credits. The CO-OP M.Sc. program will be attractive to students who wish to obtain employment in medical physics but are not interested in pursuing a research career.
Ph.D. students will take an additional 12 credits of courses and, at the discretion of their supervisory committee, complete a Ph.D. thesis showing evidence of an ability to do original research.