Chances of Admission to CAMPEP Programs in Canada

[safasnm]

Hi everyone,

I’m in the final year of my PhD in physics, with a background in biomedical engineering (bachelor's and master’s). My PhD research has focused on MR imaging of the brain, where I’ve worked with various MR modalities and quantitative MRI. This includes image and signal processing using both biophysical models and deep learning. I also have hands-on experience with MR imaging of patients, as we acquired our own data during my PhD.
I’m very interested in medical physics and have already applied to CAMPEP-accredited programs in Canada, but I’m currently waiting for the results. My main concern is understanding how competitive these programs are in Canada.

• What are the chances of getting admitted to a CAMPEP program in Canada?
• Is the admission process particularly challenging?
• If I don’t get in this year, is it possible to reapply in the following years, and would this affect my chances?

Any advice, insights, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

Paging @Dale @gleem @Choppy

 

[Dale]

If I don’t get in this year, is it possible to reapply in the following years, and would this affect my chances?

I don’t know the answer to the previous questions, but yes you can reapply. The chances could go up or down on the reapplication. If your first application had some specific deficiency that you can address then the chances could go up. If there were no specific improvements then your chances would go down.

 

[safasnm]

Thank you so much for your quick response! My main concern is understanding how competitive CAMPEP programs are and whether I stand a good chance of getting admitted.

 

[CrysPhys]

This isn't meant to be snippy, but why didn't you check this out in the first place? What's your Plan B?

 

[safasnm]

This isn't meant to be snippy, but why didn't you check this out in the first place? What's your Plan B?

Do you mean the competitiveness of the program? Honestly, I haven’t found much information on that! As for my Plan B, if I don’t get admitted, I’ll apply for jobs in my field, though opportunities are limited (e.g., data science in medical imaging, etc). I also plan to reapply for CAMPEP next year.

 

[CrysPhys]

Do you mean the competitiveness of the program? Honestly, I haven’t found much information on that! As for my Plan B, if I don’t get admitted, I’ll apply for jobs in my field, though opportunities are limited (e.g., data science in medical imaging, etc). I also plan to reapply for CAMPEP next year.

Yes, that's what I meant. Such information as degree of competitiveness is most useful when you are exploring your future options, before you decide what to apply for and how many applications to submit. For this round at least, it's a done deal, and there's nothing you can do except wait for responses, and exercise Plan B if needed.

 

[Choppy]

• What are the chances of getting admitted to a CAMPEP program in Canada?
• Is the admission process particularly challenging?
• If I don’t get in this year, is it possible to reapply in the following years, and would this affect my chances?

Every CAMPEP-accredited program is required to post admission statistics on their website, so for any program that you're interested in, you should be able to see the number of applicants, number of offers made, number of people ultimately admitted, and the number of graduates. This will give you an idea of what the sheer numbers look like, although they don't go too deeply into the details.
As a general rule, medical physics programs are quite competitive. It's hard to really dive too deeply into the details because a lot will depend on the specific pool of applicants for a given year and the number of spots available. For most Canadian programs, there aren't that many spots open for any given year, and so it's really only only the most competitive applicants that get selected. When you're looking at post PhD certificate programs, the number of spots is even smaller, so we do see really great candidates turned away.
Of course reapplication is possible. And just because you don't make it in one year doesn't mean you won't make it in the next. If you end up the number two ranked candidate where there's only one position, unfortunate you won't get the offer (unless the number one turns it down), the admissions committee is likely to remember you.

 

[gleem]

If you might consider a program in the US then the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has a special program that helps applicants to a CAMPEP residency program find a suitable program called MedPhys Match. Information is available here https://natmatch.com/medphys/overview.html

 

[safasnm]

Thank you everyone! I will write here when I get the results.

 

[safasnm]

If you might consider a program in the US then the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has a special program that helps applicants to a CAMPEP residency program find a suitable program called MedPhys Match. Information is available here https://natmatch.com/medphys/overview.html

Thanks! is it for people wih PhD in physics? or after graduation from a CAMPEP certificate program?

 

[Choppy]

The current standards specify that in order to qualify for a CAMPEP-accredited residency, you need to have completed either an accredited graduate program (MSc or PhD [I would assume the DMP programs fall in here as well]), or a post-PhD certificate program.