A Supportive Environment

We maintain a small and highly selective program to ensure each of our students has access to the highest quality of education. Students work closely with their supervisors and have access to the many resources in our department. Class sizes are small. Students and professors in Radiation Oncology Physics work closely on research, educational and clinical projects.

Clinical Experience

Our innovative program includes the opportunity for student exposure to clinical medical physics. Students have a short clinical rotation as part of their coursework. Our students also have the opportunity to work as paid Physics Technicians on many quality control and clinical dosimetry activities. Paid training is provided. Past and current student responsibilities include:

Multidisciplinary Education

Our students receive a true multidisciplinary education. Depending on their project, supervisory committees typically consist of two radiation oncology medical physicists, a physician-scientist (specializing in e.g. radiation oncology, pathology, etc) and a basic science physicist from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

In addition to formal credit courses, several other educational experiences are available to students. Physics colloquia are held weekly through the Department of Physics and Astronomy. A student lecture series is run jointly with the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Medical Physics specialization in the winter. Grand Rounds are held weekly in the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and these cover a broad range of cancer related issues. Division members, students and staff of the clinical Department of Medical Physics hold an Academic Session once per week during term time. Graduate students frequently present at these informal meetings. The Division of Radiation Therapy also holds rounds which encompass a variety of clinical topics in radiation therapy and allow the participants to appreciate the challenges of providing cancer treatment from the perspective of the physician. Students in this specialization are expected to attend as many of these academic sessions as their schedule allows and to keep a record of their attendance.

Financial Support

Graduate students accepted to our program are awarded financial support to cover tuition and fees as well as cost of living, contingent on continued acceptable performance. Graduate student funding is available through teaching assistantships offered in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and part-time physics technician positions at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

Supervisors' funding is also available and large number of scholarships, offered through granting agencies such as NSERC, ACB, CIHR, can be obtained by suitable candidates.

Research Project Selection

The selection of the research project is made during the first Fall Term and reflects the interests of both the student and the supervisor. Literature review and problem definition take place during the Winter Term. The summer of the first year and subsequent years are devoted primarily to the selected research topic. It is expected that Masters students will complete their course of studies and thesis work within two years. A doctoral degree should take no more than a further four years. Students registered in the Master's program, who maintain a high level of performance, may request a transfer to the Ph. D. program with the possibility of shortening the overall time to the award of a doctoral degree.

Graduate Coursework

In order to meet the core course requirement of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and provide an adequate grounding in the theory and practice of radiation oncology physics more than the minimum course requirement is expected of graduate students in this specialization. Students should be prepared to take a relatively heavy course load in addition to satisfactorily completing a research thesis. The typical progression through this specialization is a follows: (Click on a course number to find information)

Learn more about our program

Prospective Students click here for application information.
and here for admissions requirements.

Learn more about our research program by clicking here

If you are interested in a student's perspective, please contact Alejandra Rangel or Tyler Meyer, both Ph.D. students in the Graduate Program.

A link to a listing of CAMPEP Accredited Programs is available here

Graduate Students outside the Cancer Centre, 2008