Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

M.Sc. Medical Physics

The program in Medical Physics in English is a joint program of the Sofia University and the University of Plovdiv. It is developed under the MODERNA project, supported under the Operational Science and Education Program of the European Union.

The faculty involved in the program includes university professors with expertise in the respective field and medical physics professionals working in hospitals.


The program in Medical Physics aims to develop competences to:

• Apply basic physical principles and method in medical diagnosis and treatment, based on his knowledge on anatomy, physiology and the biophysics of human body.
• Apply his expertise on radiation detection and measurement, the basic dosimetry principles for measurement of the quantities of practical interested in the field of medical physics. Participate in the process of the radiation treatment planning and quality control procedures in radiotherapy;
• Apply his knowledge on the basic imaging technologies in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and participate in the quality control procedures of the equipment;
• Applies the basic radiation protection principles to ensure radiation safety of the patient and the personnel, as well as for the protection of the environment;
• Applies the scientific method and innovational approaches in solving practical problems.

The program ends with a thesis defense at the end of the last (third) semester. The work on the thesis is done under the guidance of a faculty member and involves research on current problems in the field.

The Master of Science in Medical Physics can work as a medical physicist in hospitals, as a specialist in State Ministries and State enterprises, medical diagnostic centers, cancer centers, environmental laboratories, companies for medical devices and equipment, research institutes and universities.

The master of science in Medical Physics may persue a career in a number of sub-fields (specialities) such as: Radiation Oncology Physics, Medical Imaging Physics, Nuclear Medicine Physics, Medical Health Physics (Radiation Protection in Medicine), Non-ionizing Medical Radiation Physics, and Physiological Measurement. They may also pursue a career in neighbouring fields such as Biophysics, Biological Physics, and Health Physics.


The educational profile of the Master of science in Medical physics program allows him to pursue a career in:

• Radiotherapy physics;
• Imaging diagnostics (X-ray, radionuclide , ultrasound, magnetic resonance, CT, including quality control of medical equipment);
• Nuclear Medicine (PET, SPECT, PET/CT, SPECT/CT, multimodality systems);
• Radiation protection, мeasurement of ionizing radiation, radioactivity measurements in nuclear industry;
• Expert assessment of imaging equipment and other medical equipment. Measurement of physical anthropogenic factors;
• Environmental control and assessment of the environmental impact of various physical factors.

Since 2022, the Master of Science in medical physics can occupy the profession Physicist – Medical Physics according to the Bulgarian National classification of occupations and positions.


Admission requirements

Applicants to the MSc program are expected to have a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Engineering, Mathematics or other natural sciences from an accredited university.

The minimum undergraduate coursework must include at least 400 hours in basic undergraduate mathematics courses and at least 700 hours in basic undergraduate physics courses.

The basic undergraduate mathematics courses include: Linear Algebra and Analytic Geometry, Calculus, Multivariate Calculus, Vector and tensor calculus, Ordinary differential equations, Partial differential equations, Probability and Statistical Methods or their equivalent.

The basic physics courses include: Mechanics, Molecular Physics, Optics, Electricity and magnetism, Atomic physics, Nuclear Physics, Mechanics laboratory, Molecular physics laboratory, Optics laboratory, Electricity and magnetism laboratory, Atomic physics laboratory, Nuclear physics laboratory, Thermodynamics, Quantum mechanics or their equivalent.

Some facility in computer programming and electronic instrumentation is recommended. Chemistry and an introductory course in biology are advantageous.

Applicants with deficiencies in their undergraduate curriculum may be accepted or conditionally accepted into the program at the discretion of the Head of the Program. Students accepted on a conditional basis may be required to take additional classes to address coursework deficiencies.

An English language level B2 is required for admission in the program.


About Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" is the first Bulgarian high academic school establishment founded in 1888. The university has 16 faculties and three departments, where over 21,000 students receive their education. It has been consistently ranked as the top university in Bulgaria according to national and international rankings.

Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" has become one of the most highly reputable centers of science on the Balkans. It is the biggest and most prestigious scientific hub in the country.

During the 1889/1890 academic year the physics-mathematical department of Sofia University was established. The Faculty of Physics has become a separate faculty in 1963. Nowadays, the Faculty of Physics in one of the main scientific hubs in Bulgaria, generating about 40% of the scientific publications of the Sofia University and about 10% of the scientific publications of the country. Students in the Faculty of Physics are actively involved in the research work and encouraged to pursue it in their professional work.

The graduates of the Faculty of physics continue to excel in their work at numerous institutions all over the world, like CERN, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, the European Space Agency, NASA, the Max Planck Institute and many others.

The Faculty of Physics has successfully taught a Medical Physics programs in Bulgarian at undergraduate and graduate level for more than 15 years. The majority of their graduates work in the field of Medical physics at hospitals, research institutes, environmental laboratories or private companies.