To meet increasing demand by industry and government for trained health physicists, LSU's Department of Physics & Astronomy offers a Master of Science degree with a concentration in Health Physics. The M.S. degree program seeks to train students for a professional career in health physics, including successful completion of future board certification exams. Students completing the health physics concentration should be competitive for entry-level health physics positions. Some students choose to continue their education by pursuing a PhD degree.
Students spend their first year in the classroom learning the fundamentals of health physics: radiation detection and instrumentation, radiation protection, radiation biology, and additional topics. Second-year students in the health physics concentration take courses relevant to applied nuclear science and radiation protection to prepare them for careers either with industrial companies, hospitals, and national laboratories that use radiation sources or for Federal or State government agencies that regulate radiation use.
Students in the health physics concentration complete a thesis based on hypothesis-driven research during the second year of training. Thesis research culminates in a public presentation and thesis defense. The results of the thesis are expected to be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The Health Physics concentration of the M.S. Program is designed for individuals who wish to be educated in health physics. The Program’s objective is to prepare the student for an opportunity such as:
Health physicists typically complete the American Board of Health Physics Certified Health Physicist (CHP) exam.
The MS degree with concentration in health physics requires 33 credit hours of course work, in addition to a minimum of six hours of thesis research. This degree can be completed within 2 years. Consult the LSU General Catalog for specific degree requirements, course descriptions, and related information.
The typical health physics student completes the following courses during the graduate program (credits hours are listed for each course):
Additional special topics and elective courses available to health physics students include:
