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Medical Physics, MS

One of the basic science departments of the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, the Department of Medical Physics offers comprehensive training in diagnostic and therapeutic medical physics and in health physics. Achievement of the MS degree in this department reflects strong scholarship in one of the top medical physics programs in North America. Graduates are prepared for teaching and/or research positions in universities, national laboratories, or in the medical and nuclear technology industries. Graduates are also prepared for admission into medical physics residency programs to become board eligible for clinical medical physics positions.

Medical physicists may participate professionally in the treatment of patients, in advanced medical imaging and diagnostic procedures, or in related areas of research and teaching. Health physicists may operate radiation protection programs at nuclear industrial facilities, hospitals, or laboratories, or may perform research on methods of measuring ionizing radiations (i.e., dosimetry).

A unique quality of the medical physics program is the broad range of expertise and research interests of the faculty.  Students receive training in diagnostic x-ray physics, x-ray computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy, nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, biomagnetism, medical ultrasound, elastography, radiation dosimetry, radiation treatment planning, and radiobiology.

The department also houses the Medical Radiation Research Center and the Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory, one of four in the U.S. accredited by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. In addition, the department provides clinical support services to the radiology and human oncology departments. It also operates a PET radiotracer production facility (with two cyclotrons available), a medical image analysis laboratory, and a small bore MRI scanner and photoacoustic ultrasound system in the Small Animal Imaging Facility. Each of these facilities provides unique training and support opportunities for graduate students. Access to state-of-the-art x-ray angiography, CT, MRI, and PET/CT and PET/MR systems is readily available.

Students apply to the Master of Science in Medical Physics through one of the named options:

• Medical Physics: Accelerated Program, MS
• Medical Physics: Clinical/Research, MS

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid.  Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

The department typically supports 85%–95% of all students enrolled in the medical physics graduate program through department or university fellowships, research or teaching assistantships, or NIH NRSA training grant appointments. All awards include a comprehensive health insurance program and remission of tuition. The student is responsible for segregated fees. While most of the students in the program are funded, less than one-fifth of the students in the Medical Physics Graduate Program are terminal MS degree students, and financial support for terminal MS degree students is not guaranteed.  

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Major requirements, named options.

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements , in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Curricular Requirements

Required Courses

Select a named option for courses required.

A named option is a formally documented sub-major within an academic major program. Named options appear on the transcript with degree conferral. Students pursuing the Master of Science in Medical Physics must select one of the following named options:

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Students should refer to one of the named options for policy information:

• Professional Development

Take advantage of the Graduate School's  professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

• Learning Outcomes
• Articulates, critiques, and/or elaborates theories, research methods, and approaches to inquiry in the field of medical physics in oral or written formats.
• Evaluates and/or synthesizes information pertaining to questions or challenges in the field of medical physics.
• Demonstrates ethical research and professional conduct.

Faculty:  Please see a comprehensive list of  our faculty  on the department website.

• Accreditation

Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP)

Accreditation status: Accredited through December 31, 2027. Next accreditation review: Spring 2026.

• Requirements

Contact Information

Medical Physics School of Medicine and Public Health Medical Physics, MS https://www.medphysics.wisc.edu

Graduate Program Coordinator [email protected] 608-265-6504 1005 Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR), 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705-2275

Michael Speidel, Director of Graduate Studies [email protected]

Grievance Advisor, Wesley Culberson, Associate Professor (CHS) [email protected]

Graduate Program Handbook View Here

Graduate School grad.wisc.edu

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The first PhD in Physics from UW–Madison was awarded in 1899. Since then, our department has continued a strong tradition of graduate study.

Graduate Programs in Physics

PhD in Physics

With no area of specialization required, students in the Physics PhD program can explore research areas before selecting a faculty advisor. In addition, students are guaranteed five years of support.

MS in Physics – Quantum Computing

The first program of its kind in the U.S., our accelerated MS in Physics – Quantum Computing can be completed in just 12 months, rapidly preparing graduates for employment in this high-growth field. Flexible academic plans are also available.

Application Deadlines

Fall 2025 UW–Madison Graduate School applications will be available in mid-September 2024. Physics Graduate application deadlines are:

PhD — December 15, 2024

MSPQC — March 15, 2025

Welcome to graduate studies in Physics at the UW–Madison!

Our doctoral program has been awarding PhDs in Physics since 1899, and is currently training ~170 students in all areas of physics. Our M.S. in Physics – Quantum Computing is the first program of its kind in the nation, enrolling the first cohort in Fall 2019.

Interested students may apply for both programs , but please note the PhD and MSPQC programs have different deadlines. You can apply for three graduate programs at UW–Madison with just one application fee.

Please contact us about our programs, department, graduate studies at UW–Madison , or graduate student life and life in Madison at the following email

physgrad@physics.wisc.edu

Connect With Us!

At a conference.

Visit our grad student recruiting page to learn where we’ll be to talk to prospective students!

Send an email to physgrad@physics.wisc.edu and we’ll get back to you soon!

Meet Our Students

With approximately 90 continuously enrolled students, our department has the largest cohort of doctoral students within medical physics in the country. Our students come from all over the world bringing their diverse experience and leadership talents. Students go on to lead start-up companies, perform cutting-edge research and drive the future of medical physics discovery.

In the section below, search and filters appear first, followed by a list of faculty and staff. When a search term is entered into the search input field or a filter is selected, the list of faculty/staff automatically updates to match the search term and/or selected filters.

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Research Area:

• Biomagnetism
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Molecular Imaging
• Nuclear Medicine
• Optical Imaging
• Positron Emission Tomography
• Radiation Therapy/Dosimetry
• Radionuclide Production
• Ultrasound Imaging

Faculty Staff List

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Adedamola Adeniyi

Position title: 2023 MS Student

Mervat Alharbi

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Andrew Wentland

Position title: 2022 PhD Student

Carly Allen

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Andrew Alexander

Position title: 2023 PhD Student

Kendall Barrett

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Jon Engle

Position title: 2019 PhD Student

Dalton Bermudez

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Walter Block

Liliana Berube

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Randall Kimple

Brecca Bettcher

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Bradley Christian

Collin Buelo

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Diego Hernando

Position title: 2018 PhD Student

John Paul Cabahug

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Reinier Hernandez

Alexandra Christensen

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Tim Hall

Position title: 2020 PhD Student

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Scott Reeder

Isaiah Cook

Credentials: 2024 MS Student

Christian De Caro

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Guang-Hong Chen

Molly DeLuca

Alexandra Difilippo

Position title: 2017 PhD Student

Max Dimberg

Caroline Doctor

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Kevin Johnson

Lauren Etter

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Ivan Rosado-Mendez

Renata Farrell

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Carri Glide-Hurst

Garrett Fullerton

Ryan Gardner

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Wes Culberson

Campbell Haasch

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Bryan Bednarz

Jonathan Hale

Jeremy Hallett

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Brian Pogue

Emeline Hanna

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Jim Pipe

Andrea Houck

Tim Houston

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Oliver Wieben

Jocelyn Jackson

Zilin Jiang

Taylor Johnson

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Paul Ellison

Sean Jollota

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Larry DeWerd

Marlin Keller

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Mike Speidel

Maxwell Kiernan

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Tomy Varghese

Position title: 2021 PhD Student

Peyton Lalain

Jacob Lambeck

Anthony Lazos

Hong Beom Lee

Lisette LeMerise

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Andy Alexander

Yi-Hsuan Lo

Miguel Flores Mancera

Laura Castaneda Martinez

Kelly McElvain

Max McLachlan

Skylar McLerran

Andrew McVea

Yadira Medina-Guevara

Bujar Mehmeti

Grace Minesigner

Rachel Minne

Robert Moskwa

Tarun Naren

Zahra Alyani Nezhad

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Tim Szczykutowicz

Stefanno Nunez

Aubrey Parks

Jonathan Percy

Karen Rex Pius Vincent

Likhitha Polepalli

Irene Quiterio Perez

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Doug Dean

Autumn Rasmussen

Megan Salek

Sebastian Salgado

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Robert Jeraj

Aria Salyapongse

Credentials: Dr. Timothy Szczykutowicz

Brayden Schott

Joseph Schulz

Nadeem Shaheen

Teva Shapiro

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Timothy Szczykutowicz

Dvij Sharma

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. John Garrett

Alma Spahic

John Stasko

Nicole Strecker

Nicholas Summerfield

Chenwei Tang

Credentials: Advisor: Kevin Johnson

Manasa Tantavarthy

Gabriela Tardelli

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Ron Wakai

Jordan Teague

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Tobey Betthauser

William Thomas

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Tyler Bradshaw

Aidan Tollefson

Kaden Vasquez

Lucky Volety

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Ali Pirasteh

Karsten Wake

Credentials: Advisor: Dr. Alan McMillan

Zach Welchel

Andrew White

Hayley Whitson

Linying Zhan