2016-2017 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Radiologic and Imaging Sciences - Program Description
NOTE: The Magnetic Resonance Imaging Emphasis is being discontinued. The 2017-2018 graduating class of students will be the last class admitted to the MRI emphasis.
For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the College of Health Professions section in this catalog.
Website: www.gvsu.edu/ahs
Radiologic and imaging sciences are health professions using either ionizing, sound, or radiofrequency radiations to produce diagnostic images and guide invasive and non-invasive procedures of the body.
Grand Valley State University offers a B.S. program in Radiologic and Imaging Sciences (RIS) with a concentration in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This program is offered in a hybrid online format with extensive clinical education requirements with patients at clinical education sites. The GVSU MRI concentration requires all students to complete all university requirements, MRI prerequisite courses, B.S. science requirements, and 37 credits from the MiRIS MRI sequence.
GVSU provides classroom and clinical education experiences that meet the requirements established by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT 1255 Northland Drive. St. Paul, MN 55120) for certification and registration in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Students who complete a Radiologic and Imaging Sciences degree from GVSU are eligible to sit for the ARRT certification examination. Granting of the baccalaureate degree is not contingent on passing the ARRT examination.
Admission to Radiologic and Imaging Sciences
Admission to the Radiologic and Imaging Sciences Program
The Radiologic and Imaging Sciences program has a competitive selection process for GVSU students that requires completion of a secondary application. The application package and instructions are available on the RIS program website: http://gvsu.edu/rad. Applications for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) emphasis are due February 1 of the sophomore, or at times junior year. Students must be ready to graduate once they have completed the 37 MRI emphasis credits to be eligible to sit for the national certification exams. Applicants must provide evidence that all the required prerequisite courses will be completed before the professional course sequence begins. The MRI program begins in May of the year of application and continues to August of the following year.
Applicants are evaluated for admission to the program based on the following criteria.
- Academic grade point average from completed prerequisite courses or equivalents (40%).
- AHS 100 - Medical Terminology Credits: 3
- BMS 250 - Anatomy and Physiology I Credits: 4
- BMS 251 - Anatomy and Physiology II Credits: 4
- MTH 122 - College Algebra Credits: 3
- PHY 220 - General Physics I Credits: 5
- PSY 101 - Introductory Psychology Credits: 3
- STA 215 - Introductory Applied Statistics Credits: 3
- One research methods course (AHS 301 - Introduction to Health Care Research Credits: 3 (BMS 301 - Introduction to Research in the Biomedical Sciences Credits: 3 OR PSY 300 - Research Methods in Psychology Credits: 3 will fulfill the research requirement.)
- WRT 150 - Strategies in Writing Credits: 4
- Academic grade point average from previous 2 calendar years or most recent two calendar years if the student has not been enrolled at a college or university in the past 2 calendar years (15%)
- Evaluation from a professional writing sample and/or a personal interview (30%)
- Completion of 16 hours of documented work or volunteer time in a health field (5%)
- Two letters of recommendation on university forms (5%)
- Additional considerations: Additional educational, leadership, scholarly, work experience and/or volunteer activities are valued and may impact selection decisions (5%)
- Admission to the MRI Radiologic and Imaging Sciences degree program requires additional criteria of:
- 2.5 GPA from previous 2 calendar years
OR - 45 semester hour credits from an accredited institution of higher education with a GPA of 2.5
- 2.5 GPA from previous 2 calendar years
Students should be aware that prior to the beginning of their clinical courses, they must complete comprehensive health compliance obligations including but not limited to a criminal background check, finger printing, and drug screening. It is the responsibility of the student to comply. If there is illegal activity in the background check/finger printing or if there is evidence of one or more prohibited substances in the drug test, the clinical sites have the right to refuse a student's placement which may negatively impact a student's ability to progress in the RIS-MRI program. In addition, individuals who have been charged with or convicted of a crime may not be eligible for national certification by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). Students to whom this may apply are strongly advised to work with the ARRT for pre-application review of eligibility for certification from their website at https://www.arrt.org/ (Ethics, Pre-Application Process). The ARRT may be contacted by phone at 651-687-0048 for more information.
The following program is available: