Radiology involves the use of medical imaging like x-rays.
Radiology is a diverse and growing field in the medical industry. Radiology involves the use of medical imaging technologies like x-rays to help physicians treat disease. Requirements for radiology programs vary by institution and program emphasis. Because there are different sub-disciplines within the radiology field, students can expect to take a number of core courses common to each field along with courses particular to their own specialty.
Admission Requirements
At the undergraduate level, students generally declare a major in the field once they have been admitted to the college or university. Most colleges have a standard set of minimum requirements in order to be admitted. These minimum requirements can vary, but in most cases, colleges admit students that have completed high school or have obtain a GED, have maintained a minimum grade point average of around 2.0 or better, and have scored well according to American College Testing (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Some colleges that offer degrees in radiology, like Fairleigh-Dickinson University, may also require recommendation letters from teachers.
Undergraduate Requirements
Undergraduate degrees in radiology usually require students to pursue a variety of courses in the basic sciences and math before moving on to pursue upper-level courses in radiology. For instance, radiology students at Southern Illinois University and Fairleigh-Dickinson both take anatomy and physiology courses in their first semester of coursework.
Beyond that, students begin to incorporate various radiology courses into their curriculum as they complete other basic education requirements. Required courses include areas of study such as introduction to radiographic procedures, radiographic physics and biology, fundamentals of sonography, principles of radiographic exposure, film critique, ethical and legal issues in diagnostic imaging, and ultrasound physics and instrumentation, among others. The number of credit hours required for each degree program differs among institutions, but most students can expect to complete approximately 130 credit hours for a bachelor's degree in the field.
Graduate Requirements
Graduate degrees in radiology tend to move beyond the traditional radiology curriculum. Students seeking admission to a master's degree in the field need to have completed a bachelor's degree in radiology. Midwestern State University in Texas is one of a few programs offering a master's degree in this field. Within its Master of Science program, it offers three specializations: radiology education, radiologic assistant and radiological administration. In each field, students must complete a number of core courses that are common to each. Some of these include areas such as research methods, recent trends in radiologic science, legal and ethical considerations and leadership in radiologic science. Students wanting to pursue a radiologic assistant program usually need to have completed certification with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists and must have at least two years of clinical experience.
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