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Health/Medical Physics Major

Health/Medical Physics

29 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
159 Master's Degrees Annually
#890 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Health/Medical Physics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health/medical physics graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 163
Bachelor’s Degree 32
Doctor’s Degree 28
Graduate Certificate 20
Basic Certificate 1

What Health/Medical Physics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to health/medical physics and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health/Medical Physics Majors

Health/Medical Physics majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for Health/Medical Physics Majors

A major in health/medical physics prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

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  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Health/Medical Physics Majors

Health/Medical Physics majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Health/Medical Physics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with health/medical physics:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors 25.9% $97,370
Physicists 14.5% $120,950

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Health/Medical Physics?

32 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
59% Percent Women
47% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major is dominated by women with about 59% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health/medical physics majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 7
Black or African American 1
Hispanic or Latino 6
White 15
International Students 2
Other Races/Ethnicities 1

Geographic Diversity

Health/Medical Physics appeals to people across the globe. About 6.3% of those with this major are international students.

Some degrees associated with health/medical physics may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to health/medical physics have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 0.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 1.5%
Some College Courses 0.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 4.0%
Bachelor’s Degree 15.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 0.7%
Master’s Degree 29.3%
Doctoral Degree 24.0%
Post-Doctoral Training 24.0%

Online Health/Medical Physics Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 0 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 0 0
Bachelor’s Degree 8 1
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 32 0
Post-Master’s 7 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 11 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 3 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to health/medical physics.

Major Number of Grads
General Public Health 25,558
Public Health Education and Promotion 4,112
Other Public Health 3,157
Health Services Administration 3,047
Community Health and Preventive Medicine 2,042
International Public Health/International Health 1,696
Environmental Health 1,439
Behavioral Aspects of Health 633
Maternal and Child Health 275
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene 261
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality 87

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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