Medical Physics

Types of Degrees Medical Physics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health/medical physics graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	159
Doctor’s Degree	49
Bachelor’s Degree	29
Graduate Certificate	16
Basic Certificate	5

What Medical Physics Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, health/medical physics majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health/Medical Physics Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in health/medical physics should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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:

• 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

As you progress with your health/medical physics degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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 Medical Physics Major?

People with a health/medical physics degree often go into the following careers:

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 Medical Physics?

This major attracts more men than women. About 69% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	5
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	5
White	10
International Students	5
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Health/Medical Physics, too. About 17.2% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Medical Physics Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $122,320 to $125,280 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to health/medical physics. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Physics

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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for health/medical physics careers below.

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 Medical Physics Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 39 schools offered some type of health/medical physics program. 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	5	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	30	0
Post-Master’s	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Medical Physics Worth It?

The median salary for a health/medical physics grad is $122,320 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 207% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,648,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Medical Physics

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

Major	Number of Grads
General Public Health	22,778
Public Health Education and Promotion	4,563
Other Public Health	3,432
Health Services Administration	3,119
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,272
International Public Health/International Health	1,599
Environmental Health	1,344
Behavioral Aspects of Health	814
Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene	211
Maternal and Child Health	163
Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality	43

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.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Article 25 Flickr under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.