The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences

The Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences
The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences’ MSRS Mission Statement
Program Description and Educational Objectives
Admission Standards and Requirements

Admission to Candidacy
Degree Requirements
Programs and Courses

Beth Vealé
Chair, The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences

Lynette Watts
Graduate Coordinator

Graduate Faculty:	Dillard, Killion, Vealé, Watts
Emeritus Faculty:	Bugg, Johnston

The Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences

The Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences (MSRS) is a professional program of study with majors in Radiologic Administration, Radiologic Education, or Radiologist Assistant (RA).

The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences’ MSRS Mission Statement

The Master of Science in Radiologic Science (MSRS) program strives to be the premier provider of graduate radiologic science on a state, national, and international level by offering opportunities for development in education, research, leadership, and clinical practice. The program prepares leaders in radiologic administration, radiologic education, and advanced radiologic clinical by:

Offering opportunities to work with graduate faculty in producing scholarly works, either through applied or original research projects;
Providing coursework where students can pursue scholarly writing, projects, presentations, and clinical experiences uniquely tailored to their interests (student-centered learning); and
Emboldening students to pursue other educational opportunities such as doctoral work, leadership development, and advanced clinical practice by.

Program Description and Educational Objectives

The program features a discipline-specific comprehensive approach to graduate education and is offered in a hybrid distance learning format that requires students to make visits to the campus each semester. The unique curriculum design permits working professionals to complete the degree with minimal on-campus requirements while preserving the benefits of face-to-face interactions with fellow graduate students. Students benefit from the diverse experiences of their colleagues. All medical imaging and therapy disciplines and modalities are represented in the student population including radiography, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging and sonography. Most of the course requirements are completed independently and coordinated electronically. A limited number of master’s-level courses are available online.

The Radiologic Administration major and the Radiologic Education major have a core requirement of 12 graduate hours in radiologic sciences plus 22 required hours for the thesis track or 25 required hours for the non-thesis track. The RA major has a core requirement of 12 graduate hours in radiologic sciences plus 43 required hours for the thesis track or 40 required hours for the non-thesis track.

The department offers an alternative route for currently certified RAs to achieve a Master’s Degree. Technologists who have completed a recognized RA program, have a Bachelor’s degree, and have passed the national certification examination for Registered Radiologist Assistants (R.R.A.) administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) will be granted a block credit of 22-hours. The alternative route offers both a thesis or non-thesis option.

Competitive scholarships may be available to qualified applicants, and for students in Academic Common Market states there is an established mechanism to waive out-of-state tuition fees.

Admission Standards and Requirements

1. Submission of an application for admission to the Midwestern State University Graduate Program

2. Submission of an application of admission to MSRS Admissions

NOTE: Applicants to the radiologist assistant major must complete additional admission requirements.

See Specific Additional Requirements for RA Majors.

Program Admission
1. Students must meet the general admission requirements to graduate study prescribed by the Midwestern State University Graduate Catalog.
2. An accredited bachelor’s degree from a university recognized by Midwestern State University. Applicants who graduated from a university outside the United States may have to provide a degree equivalency evaluation.
3. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater on all college-level work and be in good academic standing. Students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 may be required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and may be admitted under conditional status.
4. Submit a curriculum vitae (CV).
5. Submission of an essay.
6. Applicants are required to demonstrate proficiency in English when applying to
  Midwestern State University. Written and spoken proficiency in the English
  language may be demonstrated by one of the following options:
  1. Option 1 - English is your first language.
  2. Option 2 - Graduated from a regionally accredited four-year college/university in the United States with a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
  3. Option 3 - Acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS.
Previous Master’s Degree
Applicants who have earned a master’s or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education may be accepted on the basis of such degree. Determination of conditions, if any, will be made by the Graduate Coordinator.
Additional Admission Requirements for all MSRS Candidates

Hold credentials in one of the medical imaging modalities or radiation therapy.

Specific Additional Requirements for RA Majors
Enrollment in the RA courses is limited and competitive. Students must be approved by the faculty for entry into the RA professional courses. Applicants are rank-ordered according to a formula based on, but not limited to, several criteria such as grade point average, endorsement of a radiologist preceptor, clinical environment, essay, interview, and previous experiences in medical imaging environments.
1. Students must submit the following with the MSRS application:
  1. Students must provide documentation of Professional Certification. The RA curriculum is based on general diagnostic radiography clinical practice. Applicants must have a working knowledge of general diagnostic radiography procedures. Evidence = Copy of current ARRT card showing certification in radiography (RT(R)).
  2. Students must provide documentation of the Formal Written Agreement with the Radiologist Preceptor/Group. The Preceptor Agreement must be approved and accepted by the MSU faculty.
  3. Students must submit the email addresses of at least one radiologist and one current work supervisor for references.
2. Before entry into clinical rotations, students must submit the following:
  1. Students must provide documentation of two (2) years of clinical experience within the previous ten (10) years. Evidence = Letters from appropriate employers/human resource departments.
  2. Students must provide documentation of current American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) AND Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Provider status. Evidence = Copy of current AHA BLS and ACLS card.
  3. Students must be in compliance with Texas Mandated Immunizations.
  4. Students must provide documentation of the Formal Written Agreement with the Clinical Facility. The Clinical Facility Agreement must to be approved and accepted by the MSU faculty.
  5. Students must pass a 10-panel drug test and background screening.
  6. Students must complete any other requirements listed in the clinical affiliation agreement.

Admission to Candidacy

Graduate students in their last semester in the program will submit a completed candidacy form to their Graduate Advisory Committee. The Graduate Advisory Committee will review the application for candidacy and make a recommendation. The student will be notified of this action.

Degree Requirements

The program leading to the MSRS with majors in Radiologic Administration, Radiologic Education, and RA has a common core of 12 graduate hours. Each major requires variable numbers of graduate hours in the major and graduate level electives. All majors offer a thesis or non-thesis option.

Satisfactory Student Progress

Graduate students are expected to perform high-quality work in all MSRS courses (course grades of A or B). Only grades of A or B are acceptable for graduate courses transferred from another university.

Graduate students may earn a grade of C on as many as two graduate courses and remain in the MSRS program as long as their cumulative grade point average remains 3.0 or higher. If a graduate student earns a grade of C on more than two graduate courses, the student will be dismissed from the MSRS program. Any grade below a C will also result in dismissal from the MSRS program.

Thesis

Students pursuing the thesis option are expected to write a substantial proposal and have the proposal approved by the Thesis Advisor and the Graduate Advisory Committee prior to enrolling in the first thesis course (RADS 6983 ). The thesis is to be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Additional information regarding the thesis is found in the academic requirements section of this catalog.

Research Project

Students pursuing the non-thesis option are required to submit a substantial research project. The completed research project must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator at least three weeks before the end of the semester. A copy of the approval page will be sent to the Office of the Registrar to verify completion of this requirement. Papers must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Final Comprehensive Examination

At the completion of all required didactic course work, the student is required to take a written comprehensive examination. The student will schedule the examination with the Graduate Coordinator at the completion of the required course work. The results will be reported as a Pass or Not Pass. If the student receives a Not Pass on the examination, they may repeat the examination the following semester. A student is allowed to repeat the examination twice before additional course work is required.

Programs and Courses

Programs

Major

Radiologic Sciences, M.S.R.S.

Courses

Radiologic Sciences