B. Sc. Medical Physics
The medical physics course at the HHU Düsseldorf aims to optimally prepare students for the increasingly important occupational field of physics in medicine with its excellent job market opportunities. Medical physicists mainly work in large clinics and in the medical technology industry. With us you will receive a comprehensive, full academic education in physics, which also teaches clinical-related medical physics and the fundamentals of medicine through minor and elective subjects. This creates a direct link to the professional field. Interdisciplinary seminars, internships and theses deepen the interface skills. This is made possible through close cooperation between the lecturers in the fields of physics and medicine. The courses are consecutive: the Master course builds on the Bachelor course.
Student counseling
If you have any unanswered questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ. Do not hesitate to contact a student advisor.
For prospective students
The bachelor's degree in Medical Physics has restricted admission and only begins in the winter semester. Please note the registration deadlines. The bachelor's degree in physics, on the other hand, has no admission requirements and can be taken in both the winter and summer semesters.
Admission to the master’s degree in physics or medical physics requires a bachelor’s degree in the corresponding or a closely related subject.
Since the winter semester 2018/19, we have also been offering the bachelors's degree in natural sciences, in which a specialization in physics is also possible.
The Bachelor's degree in Medical Physics is intended to provide students with the basic technical knowledge, skills and methods required for qualified and responsible action in the professional field of medical physics over a three-year period. It is important not only to combine a broad and well-founded knowledge of physics with basic knowledge of medicine, but also to be able to understand the ways of thinking and paradigms of medical professionals and to be able to reconcile them with those of physicists. In addition, graduates should be prepared to incorporate scientific and technical advances into their professional activities and thus adapt flexibly to changes in the demands of the professional world.
The three-year bachelor's degree offers you:
- a broad general education in physics and the imparting of well-founded fundamentals in medical physics (this breadth makes medical physicists so popular)
- Basic knowledge of medicine, which enables you to communicate with medical professionals in a subject-specific manner
- broad methodical training (experimentation, numerical methods, general problem-solving skills)
- the possibility of further interdisciplinary focus training (chemistry, computer science, mathematics, etc.)
Further skills and abilities:
- Presentation and discussion of current scientific topics and work.
- Modern and proven techniques for obtaining information, literature and data.
- Independent work on current topics, depending on the inclination, more experimental or theoretical.
The course enables students to take up a master’s degree in medical physics or physics, or to start a qualified career. A few interesting facts about how many students complete the Bachelor's degree and move on to the Master's degree can be found in this document.
A refresher course in mathematics is always offered before the start of the winter and summer semesters. In this course, the mathematical basics for the study of medical physics are repeated and deepened. In order to have a smooth start to your studies, participation is recommended.
The Bachelor's degree in Medical Physics is subject to a local numerus clausus. There are 45 places per academic year. The requirement for enrollment is the general university entrance qualification (Abitur).
The course can only be started in the winter semester. The allocation of study places takes place via the dialogue-oriented service procedure of the Foundation for University Admission.
Note the dates and deadlines. If you have any questions about formalities or questions of a general nature, please contact the Student Service Center.
The places on the Bachelor's degree in Medical Physics at HHU Düsseldorf are allocated using the local NC procedure. The following applies:
- 20% of the study places are awarded to the applications with the best Abitur grades ("According to grade").
- 20% of the study places are given to people with two waiting semesters ("after waiting time").
- 60% of the study places are awarded to the remaining people with the best Abitur grades ("According to university quota").
- The exceptions in accordance with the North Rhine-Westphalia University Act (underage students, top athletes, etc.) are taken into account.
For the winter semester 2019 the NC's were:
- According to grade - 1.5
- After waiting time - 2.4
- According to the university quota - 2.7
Students
The curriculum is a non-binding proposal for organizing your studies. The material and the learning objectives are divided into thematically closed units (modules), some of which build on one another. There are compulsory modules and areas within which modules can be chosen. The objectives, content and modalities of each module are specified in the module handbook.
One hour per week in the semester corresponds to a 45-minute event by lecturers per week during the lecture period (approx. 15 weeks per semester). One credit point corresponds to a student's total effort of 30 hours (averaged empirical values). An average of 30 credit points is planned per semester. As a rule, each module ends with an examination. The grade is weighted with the credit points of the module in the overall Bachelor grade. You can find more details in the examination regulations.
Here you will find an exemplary timetable for the 5th semester.
The aim of the basic internship I and II is to teach medical physics students the basic skills of scientific experimentation.
Basic internship I: The internship always takes place after the lecture period of a summer semester (september). The duration of the internship is 4 weeks. An additional course is offered in february/march if needed and if enough staff is available.
Basic internship II: The internship always takes place during the lecture-free period between the winter semester and summer semester (february/march). Successful completion of the basic internship 1 is a prerequisite for participating in this internship.
In the advanced internship, the students of medical physics should acquire more in-depth skills in scientific experimentation and also gain an insight into the work of the various working groups.
In the compulsory elective area of the Bachelor's degree in Medical Physics, you should acquire knowledge in subjects from the mathematical and natural sciences to a total of 15 credit points. According to the curriculum, the courses in these modules should be attended in the 3rd and 4th semester.
With the bachelor thesis, the students of medical physics complete their bachelor's degree. In the bachelor thesis, the students should prove their skills and acquired knowledge through their own scientific project. The evaluation of the thesis is based on the evaluation guidelines for theses in medical physics.
In preparation for the bachelor thesis, every medical physics student must first specialize in a physics working group at the HHU or in the clinic. This means that the students familiarize themselves with a current research topic of the working group, for example by reading a master's or doctoral thesis.
For more detailed information on the 3rd year of study, specialization and the Bachelor thesis, please refer to this PowerPoint Presentation.
The examination board is acc. § 4 of the Bachelor's examination regulations is responsible for the organization of the tasks resulting from the examination regulations.
It usually meets once a year. Its members are acc. Section 4 (2) was chosen.
The examination board includes:
Chairman: Prof. Dr. T. Heinzel
Deputy: Prof. Dr. K. Schierbaum
Professors: Prof. Dr. A. Pukhov, Prof. Dr. S. Schiller, Prof. Dr. G. Pretzler, Prof. Dr. U. Decking
Representatives of mid-level academic staff: Dr. M. Cerchez, Dr. H. Kampermann
Student representatives: Yvonne Haack