Health Physics:
The profession dedicated to the protection of humans and their environment from the harmful effects of both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation while providing for its beneficial uses.

Health Physics is an interdisciplinary science that combines the elements of physics, biology, chemistry, and statistics,  in the evaluation and improvement of practices involving radiation producing machines and radioactive materials with the goal of optimizing system performance with respect to human health and safety, economy and stewardship of the environment

The educational objectives of the ISU Health Physics program are to produce Health Physicists with:

1.  broad, fundamental technical knowledge
2.  written and verbal communication skills
3.  professional judgment and capability to think critically
4.  practical experience in solving applied health-physics problems
5.  the ability to work independently
6.  a professional ethic
of magnitude sufficient for them to productively and successfully work in a variety of health physics settings.

The health physics curriculum at ISU draws from the basic sciences: biology, chemistry and physics. Two tracks are offered for the undergraduate B. S. degree: one emphasizing biology and the other emphasizing physics.   Both tracks share the same health physics courses and recommend a summer internship between the junior and senior years. Both require that a senior capstone project be completed prior to graduation.

Idaho State University offers in addition to the Bachelors of Science Degree (see above) an Associate of Science in Health Physics, a Masters of Science Degree in Health Physics and a Doctorate in Engineering and Applied Science with an emphasis in Health Physics.  The Ph.D. program in Engineering and Applied Science is jointly administered by the ISU Department of Physics and College of Engineering.

The graduate program has two additional educational objectives:
1.  an ability to conduct research
2.  professional tools and experience above that expected for the baccalaureate program.

Please see the Health Physics Transfer Credit page for information on how the ISU Health Physics program evaluates credit transfers from other schools and credit equivalence for work and military experience.