Answer to Question #3147 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

I don't think anyone in academia, when providing a serious answer, would ever presume to know which institution in any field is the best. I think we can say that the United States has many very good institutions. The question as to which is the best has to be evaluated by each student based upon the student's own interests and goals.

If I were considering a school for graduate education, I would first consider the issue of Programmatic Accreditation. Virtually all universities are regionally accredited. Your focus should be on assuring that the program you plan to attend is accredited. Health Physics Programs are accredited under the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Medical Physics Programs are accredited under the American Association for Physicists in Medicine. I recommend that you visit the Web sites of the accreditation organizations and than work a list of possibilities that they provide down to a short list relative to your expectations.

The issue with a PhD degree is that no PhD programs are ever accredited. A PhD is primarily a research degree. It demonstrates that you are an expert in a particular subject area and that you have performed creative, cutting-edge research within that discipline. The same factors that go into the decision about graduate schools in general apply here. An additional question might be: does the organization support the area of research in which I am interested?

A list of academic institutions providing programs in Health Physics, and some programs in Medical Physics, is provided on the Health Physics Society Web site.

Good luck in your career. Should there be further questions please feel free to contact us again through this Ask the Experts feature.

Richard R. Brey, PhD, CHP