History of the Program

Mark Yudelev, Ph.D.
WSU Superconducting Cyclotron

The Wayne State University MS Medical Physics program dates back over 50 years.  In the 1970's, under the direction of Dr. Ken Corrigan and later Dr. Jack Krohmer, the program was operated through the Department of Radiology. Upon the retirement of Dr. Krohmer in 1984, the program moved primarily to the Department of Radiation Oncology under the direction of Dr. Colin Orton.  Between 1980 and 1992, the program expanded substantially, including a variety of new courses and research and training opportunities. Following the retirement of Dr. Orton in 2003, Dr. Jay Burmeister assumed direction of the graduate programs and the program coursework expanded again both in the early 2000’s and following the publication of AAPM Report 365.  The program has demonstrated remarkably stability over the years.  Since the early 2000’s, program enrollment has remained relatively constant with approximately 30 students enrolled in all programs combined, and over the past 40 years, the program has had only two program directors.

The MS program was granted accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Graduate Programs in 1988 and has been fully reaccredited for the maximum term in each cycle since then.  The PhD program was approved by the University in 1986.  The program was first accredited by CAMPEP in 1988 and subsequently fully accredited for the maximum term in each cycle since then.  A Graduate Certificate program was approved by the University in December 2012 and received CAMPEP accreditation in March 2013.  The first students were accepted into the program in 2013.  A Professional Doctorate (DMP) Program was developed and approved by the University in 2015, and subsequently accredited by CAMPEP in 2018.  To date, nearly 400 students have graduated from these programs prior to establishing very successful careers in medical physics.  As we move forward, we continue to survey our graduates, their residency directors, and their employers and use this feedback to improve our program and to elevate our students' level of preparedness upon graduation.