Abstract
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) sponsors two summer undergraduate research programs to attract top performing undergraduate students into graduate studies in medical physics: the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program (SUFP) and the Minority Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). Undergraduate research experience (URE) is an effective tool to encourage students to pursue graduate degrees. The SUFP and MUSE are the only medical physics URE programs. From 2001 to 2012, 148 fellowships have been awarded and a total of $608,000 has been dispersed to fellows. This paper reports on the history, participation, and status of the programs. A review of surveys of past fellows is presented. Overall, the fellows and mentors are very satisfied with the program. The efficacy of the programs is assessed by four metrics: entry into a medical physics graduate program, board certification, publications, and AAPM involvement. Sixty‐five percent of past fellow respondents decided to pursue a graduate degree in medical physics as a result of their participation in the program. Seventy percent of respondents are currently involved in some educational or professional aspect of medical physics. Suggestions for future enhancements to better track and maintain contact with past fellows, expand funding sources, and potentially combine the programs are presented.PACS number: 01.10.Hx
Highlights
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) recognizes the importance of attracting a diverse group of academically talented and ambitious undergraduate physics students into the graduate studies and careers within medical physics
From 2001 to 2012, there have been 707 applicants and 148 fellowships awarded between the two programs (116 Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program (SUFP) and 32 Minority Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE))
The number of SUFP and MUSE fellowships awarded is dictated by the AAPM budget
Summary
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) recognizes the importance of attracting a diverse group of academically talented and ambitious undergraduate physics students into the graduate studies and careers within medical physics. To this end, the AAPM supports two undergraduate fellowship programs: the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program (SUFP) and the Minority Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). The AAPM supports two undergraduate fellowship programs: the Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program (SUFP) and the Minority Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) Both programs are managed by separate but overlapping subcommittees operating under the Education and Training of Medical Physicists Committee of the Education Council of the AAPM. The MUSE program, while similar to SUFP, targets applicants from underrepresented groups
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