Radiation Physics and Dosimetry
Radiation Physics and Dosimetry covers interactions and energy deposition by ionizing radiation in matter, radiological physics concepts, and radiation dosimetry principles and methods.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.86 GPA, 94.4% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.87 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=19 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.35 GPA, 64.7% A/AB (n=17 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Use the physics of microscopic structures of nucleus, nuclear decay, electronic structure of atoms to calculate nuclear decay lifespan and solid state energy band structure
Calculate the radiation power spectrum for an accelerating charge particle under different physical conditions
Calculate cross-sections for the following interaction processes between photons and matter: Rayleigh scattering, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and pair production
Calculate the scattering cross-section of Coulomb scattering and energy transfer cross-section in collisions processes and radiative energy loss processes
Calculate radiation dose for both external photon beams, neutron beams, and charged particle beams
Identify open research topics in radiation imaging, radiation therapy, and radiation protection fields
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2· UW Guide 3· UW Guide 4
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course map(PHYSICS 323, 449 and MATH 320) or graduate/professional standing or declared in Medical Physics VISP
- take all
- graduate/professional standing
- declared in Medical Physics VISP
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
- All of
- graduate/professional standing
- declared in Medical Physics VISP
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.86 GPA, 94.4% A/AB (n=18 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.87 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=19 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.35 GPA, 64.7% A/AB (n=17 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Interactions and energy deposition by ionizing radiation in matter
- Concepts, quantities, and units in radiological physics
- Principles and methods of radiation dosimetry
- Microscopic structures of nucleus, nuclear decay, and electronic structure of atoms
- Photon-matter interaction processes including Rayleigh scattering, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and pair production
- Open research topics in radiation imaging, radiation therapy, and radiation protection
Skills
- Applying principles and methods of radiation dosimetry to calculate radiation dose for external photon, neutron, and charged particle beams.
- Analyzing interactions and energy deposition by ionizing radiation in matter, including calculating cross-sections for photon-matter interaction processes.
- Understanding concepts, quantities, and units in radiological physics.
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
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Selected offering source records
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Raw records
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Student reviews
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Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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