Master's Programme in Medical Physics
The master’s programme in medical physics is a five-year-long vocational education that combines your interest in physics with applications in medicine. You will study how radiation is used within health care to diagnose and treat diseases. During the latter part of the programme, you will undergo practical training at the hospital.
A medical physicist is an expert in diagnostic methods and radiation therapy. Modern healthcare is experiencing rapid technological advances,
and there is a need for both a detailed knowledge of basic biological effects and in advanced physical models. As a medical physicist, you can
also work in radiation protection or in research and development. After
completing the 5-year Master’s programme, you can apply for a license to
work as a medical physicist in a clinical environment, together with medical doctors and other personal. The license is granted by the National Board of Health and Welfare, and it is important to note that obtaining the license requires you to have good working knowledge of Swedish. From year three most of the courses are given in English.
-
Programme overview
The master’s programme in Medical Physics is a vocational degree worth 300 credits, which corresponds to 5 years of full-time study. The first two years are common with the Bachelor’s program in Physics, where you will study basic courses in physics and mathematics. From the third year, you will undergo more specialised training, which largely takes place in a hospital environment and with the involvement of board-certified medical physicists. On completing the third year, you will gain a Bachelor’s degree in Physics. During the fourth and fifty years, a part of the programme involves an internship in a medical physics department. The programme is highly interdisciplinary, spanning many areas such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. This poses specific challenges, and requires high quality teaching and close collaboration with experts from different fields. The program leads to a degree in medical physics, which internationally corresponds to a master's degree. More detailed information about the courses is available in the corresponding webpage in Swedish: sjukhusfysikerprogrammet.
Year 1
Classical Physics, 30 hp, FK3014
Mathematics for Natural Science I, 15 credits, MM2002
Mathematics for Natural Science II, 15 credits, MM4001Year 2
Programming, Numerical Methods and Statistics for Physicists, 15 credits, FK4026
Mathematics II - Analysis, part A, 7.5 credits, MM5010
Mathematics II - Analysis, part B, 7.5 credits, MM5011
Mathematics II – Linear Algebra, 7.5 credits, MM5012
Electromagnetism and Waves, 7.5 credits, FK5019
Experimental Physics, 7.5 credits, FK5021
Quantum Mechanics, 7.5 credits, FK5020Year 3
Quantum Phenomena and Radiation Physics, 7.5 credits, FK5015
Radiation Sources with Medical Applications, 7.5 credits, FK5028
Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter, 9 credits, FK5029
Radiation Detectors and Measuring Methods, 7.5 credits, FK5030
Radiation Dosimetry, 7.5 credits, FK5031
Introduction to anatomy, Oncology and Physiology, 6 credits, FK3015
Medical Radiation Physics, Degree Project, 15 credits, FK6003Year 4
Image and System Analyses, 9 credits, FK7064
Basic Radiobiology, 9 credits, FK7065
Radiation Protection and Environmental Radiology, 7.5 credits, FK8030
Physics of Diagnostic Radiology, 10.5 credits, FK8031
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 10 credits, FK8032
Physics of Nuclear Medicine, 11 credits, FK8037
The Professional Role of a Medical Physicist, 3 credits, FK8038Year 5
Radiation Therapy Physics and Biology, 22,5 credits, FK8035
Clinical Radiation Therapy Physics, 7.5 credits, FK8036
Medical Radiation Physics MSc Degree Project, 30 credits, FK9006Independent project
During the Master’s Programme in Medical Physics, you will perform two different degree projects in medical radiation physics: one at the end of year three, with a 15 credit project, and the other one at the end of the programme with a degree project of 30 credits at advanced level. These projects are either carried out in a research division, at the hospital or in collaboration with industry.
-
How to apply
Application is done through antagning.se.
-
Meet us
Meet our students
Meet former Medical Physics student Apostolos Raptis
Apostolos Raptis began as a master student from Greece in the autumn 2015. He enrolled in the 3rd year of the Medical Physics program and graduated in June 2018. Apostolos now works at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.
Why did you choose Fysikum for you master?
As an international student coming from Greece, I have always had a very good opinion about the research that takes place in Sweden. Fysikum is the most popular university department for medica phyics in Sweden, so the choice was quite easy.
What was your project about?
The masters project that I was assigned to was an investigation of the second primary tumours that can be caused from radiotherapy of breast cancer patients. It was a risk comparison between photon and proton radiotherapy.
What was the best of your experience at Fysikum?
I would say that the clinical courses and the contact that we made with the actual work of a medical physicist has helped me decide which will be the direction that I want to follow regarding my future profession.
How was living in Stockholm for you?
Life in Stockholm can be very challeging for a newcomer. Accomodation is the biggest issue that all the foreigners are facing, so I would definitely list this on the top of the negative aspects of life in Stockholm. On the other hand, Stockholm is a city with rare beauty, amazing nature even in the middle of the city and really good means of transportation.
Would you suggest the Master's programme in Medical Radiation Physics at Fysikum to other students?
The Medical Physics programme is coordinated by scientists that have excelled in their fields, people that want to recruit and train the future generations of Medical Physicists that in turn will ensure high quality treatments and safety for the patients and the public. Therefore, I think it is an exciting experience to be part of a quite special group of physicists that want to contribute to the health system.
-
Career opportunities
Today, half of all the cancer patients in the world are treated with radiotherapy, and diagnostic methods based on both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation represent a major cornerstone of modern medicine. There is an increased need of medical physicists with knowledge within physics, medicine and technology. To work as a medical physicist at a Swedish hospital, a license from the National Board of Health and Welfare is required. You can apply for the license after completing the programme.
Working as a medical physicist is an exciting profession where you combine physics with biology and medicine. A medical physicist is the expert in radiation treatment and diagnostic methods with radiation. In addition to direct tasks within the daily work at the hospital with treatments and check-ups of patients, the medical physicist participates in research and development. An important task is to provide education about radiation and radiation safety to other professions, such as doctors and nurses. The more advanced technical equipment and the use of computers within healthcare, implies an increased need of medical physicists.
Except for working at the hospital, a medical physicists can also work at a medical technology company or with radiation safety issues at a nuclear plant, or with the Radiation Safety Authority. After examination, it is also possible to continue with a PhD education.
-
Contact
Programme coordinator:
Prof. Iuliana Toma-Dasu
iuliana.livia.dasu@fysik.su.seAcademic advisor at Fysikum:
studievagledare@fysik.su.se
