University of Alabama At Birmingham

Radiation is an valuable tool in health care, but it can also be dangerous, and we need people like you to keep patients safe. We can teach you about the risks and benefits of radiation, and help prepare you for a career as a health physicist.

To get started, you'll take courses that cover topics such as radiation biophysics, hazard evaluation, environmental radioactivity, nuclear physics, radiobiology, and medical radiology. Then, we'll familiarize you with the fundamentals of quality patient care with an offering of professional development electives. Next, we’ll build on that foundation by offering a chance for you to get real-world experience in an actual practice. Finally, you and a faculty mentor can identify projects that suit your goals and interests, so you can get some research under your belt. In the end, you will have had training and experiences that will be beneficial to you as you pursue a career in a medical facility, defense plant, higher education institution, or elsewhere.

• This is one of 20 master's of health physics programs in the U.S., and the only one in Alabama.
• Certified health physicists earned an average income of $138,852 in 2018 (Health Physics Society).