Radiation Health Physics (RHP)

The RHP program prepares students for professional careers in the field of radiation protection. Employment opportunities in the field include: federal, state, and local environmental protection agencies; medical care facilities; nuclear reactor sites; national laboratories; and private consulting.

At the undergraduate level, we also offer a pre-med track that prepares students for entrance into medical school.

At the master’s degree level, our faculty offers the research-based degree of Master of Science or the professional degree of Master of Health Physics. Our doctoral program focuses on a strong independent research component and prepares students for careers in many facets of radiation protection academia and research. The doctoral program has a requirement of three-quarters residency at OSU, and all potential doctoral students must obtain a commitment for mentoring from an active faculty member prior to starting the doctoral program. We currently have active research programs in environmental health physics, radiation instrumentation development, risk analysis, radiation dosimetry, and emergency response planning.

We offer the option of a distance degree in RHP at the graduate level. Students can take the majority of their didactic classes online, with laboratory (and selected other classes) available as intensive one-week onsite courses during the summer in Corvallis. Distance students are encouraged to pursue the MHP option, although the MS can be obtained with permission of the major professor.

Students completing the RHP degree program are eligible to take the Certified Health Physics (CHP) examination administered by the American Board of Health Physics.

Degrees Offered:

Undergraduate (BS)

Graduate (MS, MHP, PhD)

Nuclear Engineering (NE)

Nuclear Engineering (NE) Nuclear engineers design, build and operate complex systems involving radiation and/or radioactive materials. Employment opportunities in the field include: nuclear utilities; reactor and nuclear fuel vendors; national laboratories; federal agencies (NASA, DOE, NRC, etc.) and private consulting.

At the master’s degree level, our faculty offers the research-based degree of Master of Science or the professional degree of Master of Engineering (MEng). Our doctoral program focuses on a strong independent research component and prepares students for careers in many facets of nuclear science research and development. We currently have active research programs in thermal fluidics, design of advanced reactors, nuclear reactor safety, nuclear reactor physics, computational methods for radiation transport, nuclear techniques for materials characterizations, radiation instrumentation development, nuclear fuel materials, radioisotope power sources, non-proliferation technologies and medical radioisotope production. Our NE BS degree is accredited by the Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). The majority of NE students take the Engineer in Training (EIT) examination during their senior year; this is the first step toward becoming a registered Professional Engineer (PE).

Degrees Offered:

Undergraduate (BS)

Graduate (MS, MEng, PhD)

Proposed Programs

The Department has recently formed a partnership with the Department of Radiation Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to develop a graduate program in Medical Physics. A joint proposal to establish this new program is currently under review.