Introduction
At McGill University, the graduate programs leading toward M.Sc.
and Ph.D. degrees in medical physics are given under the auspices of the
Medical Physics Unit (MPU), a unit in the Faculty of Medicine with strong ties to the Physics Department in the Faculty of Science. The main
objective of the MPU is to join in one academic unit the medical physicists
who hold their primary appointments in various clinical departments at McGill
or in McGill teaching hospitals.
Office of the Medical Physics Unit
The main office of the MPU with its administrative coordinator and library with a
collection of medical physics books and reports are located in the McGill
University Health Centre (MUHC) and integrated into the Medical Physics
department of the MUHC. The MUHC Medical Physics department is a clinical- and
service-oriented department providing medical physics services mainly to the
Radiation Oncology department of the MUHC.
Academic staff of the Medical Physics Unit
Currently, the MPU consists of 18 faculty members and 3 associate
members. The Unit is split into two divisions: clinical and imaging. Both
divisions have access to lecture rooms and laboratories to provide academic
services to graduate students in medical physics. Listings of academic
staff, their current appointments,
degrees and certifications, research interests, and recent publications
are given below.
The M.Sc. program in medical physics is a two-year CAMPEP accredited program
in which students take 12 mandatory medical physics courses (28 credits)
during the first year of studies and work on their M.Sc. theses (32 credits) during
the second year of studies under the supervision of an MPU faculty member. The prerequisites
for admission to the M.Sc. program in medical physics are a B.Sc. degree
in physics (honors or major) with an undergraduate studies GPA of 3.00
or more. Outlines for the 12 courses are
given below.
The current M.Sc. thesis program is structured such that, in addition
to the basics of medical physics, the students get some practical knowledge
through the mandatory laboratory work in radiation oncology, radiology,
and nuclear medicine. The students are also given some research training
through their thesis work on a medical physics topic. Thus, the program gives
students the basic theoretical and practical knowledge of medical physics
required to enable them to either enter the job market in clinical physics at
an M.Sc. level or continue their studies toward a Ph.D. degree in medical
physics. The continuation toward a Ph.D. is recommended only to
students who excel during their M.Sc. studies in medical physics. The Rules and Procedures
governing the M.Sc. program in medical physics are given below.
The Ph.D. program in medical physics is a CAMPEP accredited program open to students with M.Sc.
degrees in medical physics from McGill or other CAMPEP-accredited institutions. The students
register in the McGill Physics Department but work on a medical physics
project toward a Ph.D. degree under the supervision of an MPU staff member
in one of the two hospital-based MPU divisions. To receive a Ph.D. degree
in medical physics the student must fulfill all course requirements of the
Physics department and pass the "preliminary examination in physics"
given by the Physics Department. The students must also successfully defend
their Ph.D. theses on a medical physics subject.
The residency program in radiation oncology physics is a two-year clinical program in which the residents gain practical
experience in radiaiton oncology physics and qualify for sitting the certification examination.
The residency program has been accredited by CAMPEP since 2000 and is open to candidates who possess a M.Sc. degree in medical physics or
a Ph.D. degree in physics (Ph.D. in medical physics is preferred).
Student enrollment
At the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year, 28 graduate students were enrolled at
various levels of medical physics studies at McGill University: 24 students at various stages
in the M.Sc. degree program and 4 students in the Ph.D. degree program. A list of currently registered students
can be found here.