Bachelor's degree in Physics, Technology and Medicine (PTM)
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Bachelor's degree in Physics, Technology and Medicine (PTM)
The problems in modern medicine can only be solved through interdisciplinary cooperation between scientists and clinicians. The Bachelor's degree course in "Physics, Technology and Medicine" provides the right mix of theory and practice, physics and medicine, technology and life sciences to master the challenges in research, industry and clinical practice.
The course is aimed at technology and medicine enthusiasts for whom science is the main focus. It closes a gap between the basic, physical and technical subjects (physics, electrical engineering, acoustics, signal processing) and the life sciences (medicine, biology, psychology), thus offering optimal conditions for entry into an excellent research field and a wide range of career options in industry, clinics and universities.
As a location, the University of Oldenburg offers an excellent link to the "Hearing4all" cluster of excellence and thus demonstrates a high degree of interdisciplinarity between physics, medicine, acoustics and neuroscience. The course offers early research contacts and the opportunity to work at university and non-university institutes such as Fraunhofer, HörTech and Hörzentrum Oldenburg.
Occupations and fields of activity
The medical technology sector is one of the fastest growing industries in Germany. There is a particular demand for specialists with a background in physical engineering and a medical overview, so that they can solve medical problems on an equal footing with doctors.
Graduates of the PTM Bachelor's degree course can fill precisely this gap.
This gives them excellent career opportunities, e.g. in
- research and development
- medical device systems engineering
- medical-physical practice areas such as medical imaging, neurotechnology or hearing technology and audiology
They also have very good prerequisites for transferring to doctoral studies in Germany and abroad, very good employability due to the international recognition and the possible specialization in the elective and professionalization area.
Course content
The six-semester Bachelor's degree course in "Physics, Engineering and Medicine" comprises 180 credit points (CP), of which the subject-specific part (mathematics/computer science, physics/natural sciences, engineering and medicine) accounts for 120 credit points and the remaining credit points are made up of interdisciplinary professionalization modules (30 CP), the practical module (15 CP) and the Bachelor's degree module (15 CP).
In the Bachelor's degree module, 12 credit points are awarded for the Bachelor's thesis and 3 credit points for the accompanying course. The Bachelor's thesis can be written in German or English.
Study structure
The Bachelor's degree program "Physics, Technology and Medicine" consists of the following modules:
Basic modules | |
Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering I | 9 CP |
Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering II | 6 CP |
Mechanics | 6 CP |
Electrodynamics and Optics | 6 CP |
Anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology | 6 CP |
Basic practical course in physics (parts I and II) | 12 CP |
Advanced modules | |
Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering III | 6 CP |
Numerical Methods in Physics | 6 CP |
Statistics | 6 CP |
Computing | 6 CP |
Experimental Physics III: Atomic and Molecular Physics | 6 CP |
Theoretical Physics (Electrodynamics) | 6 CP |
Introduction to biomedical physics and neurophysics | 6 CP |
Signal and systems theory | 6 CP |
Physical Measurement Technology | 6 CP |
Biochemistry, pathobiochemistry and genetics | 6 CP |
Fundamentals of medical diagnostics and treatment | 6 CP |
Compulsory elective Natural and Engineering Sciences | 9 CP |
Professionalization modules | 30 CP |
Practical module | 15 CP |
Bachelor's thesis (12 CP) and final colloquium (3 CP) | 15 CP |
Total credits | 180 CP |
In the English-language modules, the associated tutorials are usually offered in German and English. Questions can be asked in all lectures and tutorials in both German and English.
Study objectives
The Bachelor's degree program in Physics, Engineering and Medicine provides the following content, skills and competencies:
- Basic training in mathematics, physics, engineering (systems theory, medical technology), numerical and analytical modeling, biochemistry/genetics, medicine (physiology, pathology, diagnostics and treatment principles).
- Graduates of the specialized bachelor's degree have a broad overview of the basic methods and subjects of the main subjects and can apply the most important methods independently.
- In-depth knowledge (including practicals) in measurement technology, signal processing, numerics, biomedical physics and neurophysics
- Based on their in-depth knowledge, graduates are able to apply the methods and working methods of these fields to general problems and tasks in these fields.
- Specialization in Medical Physics and Medical Technology (in the context of the Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all)
- On the basis of their in-depth knowledge, graduates are able to work in these fields in science, clinics and industry under supervision.
- Research skills in experimental, technical and theoretical methods for the characterization and modelling of medically relevant processes (as part of the Bachelor's thesis)
- Graduates are able to familiarize themselves with new research areas under supervision and apply specific research methods.
- Ability to
- develop suitable technical solutions with knowledge of the special aspects of the interaction between technical systems and the human body
- to critically reflect on their own role in the field of tension between physics, technology and medicine and their social significance
Examples of Bachelor's thesis topics
Students in the 6th semester of PTM have written their bachelor theses on the following topics:
Imaging:
- Estimation of Labeling Efficiency in Non-Invasive Physiological Imaging
- Description: The so-called arterial spin labeling is a methodical tool to measure the blood flow of the brain without the use of contrast agents and thus to perform functional magnetic resonance imaging. In this work, the efficiency of a novel labeling method was investigated with regard to the achievable signal-to-noise ratio in the recorded image data.
- Correlates of binaural loudness summation in auditory fMRI brain activation maps
- Temporal Pitch Processing in the Human Brain for Monaural Stimulus Presentation
- Evaluation of imaging techniques such as MRI, CT and PET-CT using the example of retrospective data of oligometastatic stage IV NSCLC patients from the Lung Cancer Center Oldenburg, Pius Hospital
Diagnostics and treatment:
- Auditory model-steered diagnostics: An experimental proof of concept
- Classification and current use of mobile applications in orthopaedics and trauma surgery
Technical hearing aids:
- Adaptation of auditory brightness perception in hearing devices
- Effect of dynamic compression on directional hearing with cochlear implants
- Auditory Adaptation of Brightness Perception using Morphed Impulse Responses from Hearables
Fundamentals of auditory perception:
- Acoustical correlates of the voice processing superiority effect
- Age dependence of directional hearing
- Speaking with avatars - influence of social interaction on movement behavior in interactive hearing experiments
- Lateralization at the upper frequency limit of interaural phase difference sensitivity
- The Effect of Compression Parameters on Monaural and Binaural Objective and Subjective Measurements
- Automation of the Göttingen sentence test for speech audiometry based on automatic speech recognition
- Influence of spectral features on the recognition of instrumental and vocal sounds
- Neural Correlates of Speech-Like Modulations for Combined AM and FM Stimuli
- Processing of time-locked pitch features in the brain during diotic stimulus presentation
- Distance perception in virtual rooms: influence of acoustic situation knowledge and masking of reverberation by pink noise
Other
- Influence of proportional knowledge of hidden states on Viterbi state sequence estimation in hidden Markov models
- Unsupervised Learning of Classes based on Cluster Neighborhood Graphs
- On possible binding of molecular oxygen within the human bc1 complex
- Investigation of spatial masking reduction in complex musical scenes
- Perception of alarm signals from smoke alarm systems in hearing impaired persons and children: Prototype of a relay station for acoustic alarms
- Human motion behavior during conversations in virtual and real audio-visual scenes and its influence on direction-of-arrival estimates from hearing aid signals
Possible Bachelor's thesis topics in the Department of Geriatrics and the Department of Health Services Research could be, for example
- Identification and evaluation of stair climbing using an acceleration sensor and a Kinect camera (Supervisor: Sandra Lau, Start: immediately)
Description: Everyday activities such as walking up and down stairs are a promising parameter for the functional abilities of senior citizens. Unfortunately, there is little knowledge about the coping strategies for this complex movement pattern.
Different access routes may be of interest for addressing different questions.
One possible question would be
- Identification and determination of gait parameters using a sensor belt that records various parameters such as acceleration and rotation in the three spatial directions and a camera system.
- Development of an algorithm for detecting gait deviations during sensor-based stair climbing (Supervisor: Sandra Lau, Start: immediately)
Description: Everyday activities such as stair climbing are a promising parameter for the functional abilities of seniors. Unfortunately, there is little knowledge about the coping strategies for this complex movement pattern.
Different access routes may be of interest for addressing different questions.
Possible questions are
- Software development of an existing or possibly new algorithm for activity recognition, embedding in an automatic evaluation platform
- Evaluation/training data from existing stair climbing (raw data from more than 100 senior citizens is already available for this evaluation)
By arrangement, the topics can also be worked on as a team. You can expect a young, motivated and interdisciplinary team of geriatricians, physiotherapists, computer scientists and physicists, as well as working on an innovative and exciting research project.
Start: Immediately or by arrangement. If you are interested, simply send an e-mail to
Sandra Lau, M.Sc. PH
Department of Geriatrics / Department of Assistance Systems and Medical Technology
Faculty VI - Department of Health Services Research
Curriculum and module handbook
All files are in German. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the contact persons.
- Leaflet on the Bachelor's degree program PTM
- Curriculum / study plan Bachelor PTM for first-year students from winter semester 2019/2020
- Curriculum / study plan Bachelor PTM for first-year students in winter semester 2018/2019
- Timetable for first-year students in winter semester 2018/2019
- Curriculum / study plan Bachelor PTM for first-year students in winter semester 2017/2018
- Bachelor PTM module handbook
- Rough overview of the Bachelor's modules (PTM)
- List of possible professionalization modules (PTM)
Accreditation
The degree program "Physics, Technology and Medicine" (Bachelor of Science) was originally accredited by ASIIN until September 2023. For the period October 2023 to September 2030, the course was evaluated as part of a system accreditation and was awarded the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg's Quality Seal for Studies and Teaching in June 2024.
Your studies in detail - by students for students
Finding a degree course is not easy for many people and that's perfectly fine. After all, you want to stay on this course for the next three years and not realize after one or two semesters that you don't like physics, medicine, etc. at all. We assume that you do like these subjects and that's why you're here. Because we didn't have an easy time choosing our degree course either, but definitely don't regret it now, we would like to share our impressions and experiences of the Physics, Technology and Medicine degree course with you. Since not everything we can and would like to say fits on an A4 flyer, we will do so here in detail. We hope that we can help you with your decision.
Your orientation week (O-week)
Nobody expects you to be an expert in your studies straight away. We were also overwhelmed at first, but the University of Oldenburg offers an orientation week for this very reason. During this week, you will get to know important university officials and the AstA as well as your student council, which helps plan and run the O-Week.
Afterwards, you will be personally introduced to your degree program in a welcome event and shown around the campus so that you don't get lost on the way to lectures so often. Your new fellow students from the higher semesters will be able to help you set up your timetable if necessary. If you still have questions and uncertainties about your studies, we can certainly help you with our experience.
"During the O-week, the 'Create a timetable' service helped me the most, as I initially had difficulties keeping track of and organizing everything. I also got to know some students from higher semesters who were happy to help me and give me tips."
Erik, 2nd semester PTM
In addition to the subject-related offers, it is advisable to take advantage of general advisory services. Among other things, the university offers help and advice on registering your place of residence (the Residents' Registration Office will have a stand on campus during O-Week - just bring your documents with you!) and applying for BAföG (you would have to have studied for this alone...). As you will need it almost every day for your studies, it is also a good idea to attend the introduction to Stud.IP. Stud.IP is a kind of university-internal Facebook in which you register for and plan your modules. It is also the way in which you communicate with your tutors and professors via emails and forums.
So that you don't start your studies with lecture halls full of unfamiliar faces, your student council also offers you leisure activities such as a barbecue evening so that you can make important contacts before you start your studies.
Your student council
From the name of the degree program "Physics, Technology and Medicine", you might think that PTM would belong to both faculties. However, PTM is only part of Faculty V - Mathematics and Natural Sciences, which means that you belong to the Physics Student Council, to which every student who studies something physics-related automatically belongs. Accordingly, the Physics Student Council is also responsible for your degree program in addition to the other degree programs of the natural science institutes. In addition to the regular public council meetings, the motivated members, who are also your fellow students, offer you leisure activities such as pub and/or games evenings, where you can put your skills to the test in board games and on the games console.
"In my opinion, the student council has a good mentality of 'together we can get ahead'. I particularly like the activities such as the pub evenings, laser tag and games evenings with werewolf etc.. But that's just the regular meetings and there's a lot more. You can contact them about anything without hesitation."
Malte, 2nd semester PTM
Of course, in addition to having fun studying, the student council is also interested in ensuring that your degree program runs smoothly in terms of planning and offerings. So if you and a fellow student notice any discrepancies in the structure, please contact your council members by email or in person on campus so that they can bring these problems to the next meeting and resolve them. Incidentally, the meetings are open to the public and take place weekly during normal lecture times, so you can contact the student council directly if necessary. Alternatively, you can always come to the student council room in W2 1-161 (you will be shown where this is during the O-week). There is pretty much always someone from the student council there. The room is also a great place to meet up with other people and just chill out.
Your campus
As part of Faculty V, your studies will not take place on the main campus of the university, but a few meters away on the Wechloy campus. This means that we are not off the beaten track, but take the same bus as all other students just three stops away (by the way, the bus stops right outside the front door ;) ). Of course, there are also plenty of parking spaces nearby.
On campus there is a canteen with a daily changing menu, a library with group rooms where you can practice lectures, and plenty of space to study and work, both indoors and outdoors. There are also several laboratories and research departments on the campus. During the course of your studies, you will not only be able to see some of them from the inside, but also work in them.
Your fellow students
You end up writing your exams alone, but who said you have to go all the way there alone? A university is a place of exchange and shared learning and offers you the opportunity to network and collaborate with your fellow students and encourages this in the form of group and partner work to prepare you for teamwork later in your career. It's also much easier to learn when you have someone to talk to about the material.
"It's very reassuring to know that you're not the only one who occasionally mixes up minus and plus or has to google formulas from secondary school again because you've forgotten how to calculate circles."
Julius, 2nd semester PTM
Perhaps an initial working group will later become a clique with which you can go clubbing and bar-hopping in Oldenburg after exams or play a round of Viking chess outside in the summer.
Your contact persons
If you have not yet met them during the O-week, you will get to know them in their respective lectures the following week at the latest:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Birger Kollmeier and PD Dr. Stefan Uppenkamp launched the PTM course in 2017 and have been responsible for coordinating it ever since. So if you have course-specific questions and your fellow students don't have a plan, don't be afraid to go to them after lectures and ask them about it. Otherwise, you can find their university e-mail addresses in Stud.IP and simply write to them. So far, it hasn't happened that they have ripped someone's head off because of a question.
Your lectures
After you have successfully set up your timetable during the orientation week, you will start your first lectures. Some lectures, such as mathematics and experimental physics, will take place in the large lecture halls together with other degree programs, while PTM-specific lectures such as anatomy will take place in smaller rooms. These are also a good opportunity to get to know each other better within your degree program.
"I find it much more helpful to attend lectures than to simply work through the script at home. As a rule, the professors have structured their lectures well and can also convey content beyond the script. If something is not quite clear, you can always ask. You're rarely the only one with a question."
Katarina, 4th semester PTM
Each lecture has its own page in Stud.IP where you can view and download dates, assignment sheets, uploaded lectures and scripts. You can also write to your professor or tutor if you have any questions that can't wait until the next lecture. If dates and events fall out of line, special information on modules is always collected and published as up-to-date as possible on "Current information on modules".
To ensure that the lectures continue to develop, the Prof-Prüfstand takes place at the end of each semester. You can give your student council anonymous feedback on what you liked or didn't like about the respective module. This allows the professor to see which areas he or she could work on or what he or she did particularly well.
Your measurement technology module
As many people are not so familiar with the Measurement Technology module, we have put together some sample projects from students who have already completed the module:
Your basic internship
During your first two semesters, the basic practical courses in Physics I and II (GPRI/II) will form an essential part of your studies. In groups of two or three, you and your partners will carry out a physics experiment every week under supervision. This will then be scientifically evaluated by you and written up in the form of a protocol.
"The basic practical course is one of my favorite modules, because I really like the practice alongside the theory. You learn the physics behind it through experiments and can understand it even better."
Thanh Ha, 2nd semester PTM
Of course, no master has fallen from the sky, so the first protocols are not for your final grade, but so that your tutors and supervisors can give you feedback on your protocols. In this way, you can gradually hone your style and learn scientific standards, which will become essential in your Bachelor's thesis at the latest.
As soon as you have successfully completed your basic internship, you will already have acquired a good portion of the tools you will need for your further studies.
Your tutorials
It's completely normal that you can't follow your professors' explanations immediately during the lecture and nobody expects you to do so. That's why the professors encourage you to sign up for the respective tutorials. In math and physics, you will receive a weekly task sheet with three to four questions. This is completely voluntary, but will show you whether you can not only listen to the lecture material, but also apply it. There is hardly a better way to prepare for an exam and it will usually also earn you bonus points, which can significantly improve your grade if you pass the exam. The tutorials are used to discuss the tasks and to help each other work through them. Your tutor will give you (and your partner) feedback on your solutions and help you to understand the material.
"I think the exercises are usually very well designed and selected. They sometimes go beyond the script, so you have to do your own research (Google and forums are your best friends). There are only advantages to trying your hand at the exercises and if you can solve them, nothing stands in the way of passing the exam. Not to mention the bonus points ;)"
Student, 2nd semester PTM
Your professionalization area
"There are definitely suitable PBs. However, the motto here is: Seek and ye shall find. It's worth looking around in other degree programs too."
Felicitas, 2nd semester PTM
In addition to your course-specific lectures, you also have the opportunity to further your education outside your subject area. So why not learn a foreign language from a wide range of courses in addition to physics and math or refresh your knowledge because you know that you would like to work abroad after graduation? Other areas of physics and medicine that you would not cover in the actual course of study are also available to you. For example, you can pursue your interest in the stars and the universe in the "Astrophysics" module or expand your knowledge to other areas of physics and biology. As you can see from your course structure, you need at least 30 credit points from professionalization modules. So it is clear that you have to take them, but what you ultimately want to learn is entirely up to you!
You can find a list of possible professionalization modules that can complement your lectures here.
Your contribution
It has already been mentioned above that you can not only study at the University of Oldenburg, but also work. So if you would like to get a taste of what you will be doing after your studies, or if your BAföG is more meagre than you thought and you don't just want to eat pasta with ketchup, you can keep your eyes and ears open for open student assistant positions. Research assistants or student assistants - HiWi or SHK for short - support their professors or other university staff with their work, depending on the field of activity. The spectrum of jobs is really broad and ranges from laboratory work such as preparing samples to public relations work such as managing the PTM website (these are the jobs that you can do from home in your jogging bottoms :D). Since this part-time job should not keep you from your studies, the working hours are usually only a few hours per week and consideration is given to your lecture times and exam dates so that nothing overlaps. In addition to a reasonable salary, a student assistant position has another decisive advantage: you already have a good reputation in the respective department! So if you rock your HiWi position, there's nothing to stop your contract being extended or you being offered other, more attractive positions. Normally, as soon as positions are advertised, they are quickly shared in WhatsApp groups or advertised by the professor in circular emails so that people know that there are vacancies. And otherwise it doesn't hurt to ask the professor about it.
That's all we can tell you about our PTM degree program in a nutshell. If you still have questions, you are welcome to contact the responsible lecturer PD Dr. Stefan Uppenkamp, whose contact details can be found at the top left of this page. You can find everything else under the "Apply and enrol" tab.
Why should you enrol/apply for PTM?
"You should definitely apply if you are enthusiastic about the classic STEM subjects and medicine and are not afraid of practical projects such as (laboratory) internships, programming, etc.!"
Student, 4th semester PTM
We hope to welcome you as a fellow student soon!
This is us - professors and students speak out personally
Under Your studies you have already received some impressions of the degree program. However, apart from two pictures of our professors, you have only seen a few names under quotes and therefore no picture of your future fellow students. That's why we're here to tell you about our experiences and other interesting facts about PTM. All videos are in German. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the contact persons.
We students introduce PTM
If you have any further questions, you can of course contact them in advance by email via the student council:
General admission requirements
At least one of the following requirements must be met for admission to this degree program:
- General higher education entrance qualification
- Subject-specific higher education entrance qualification
- Advanced technical college entrance qualification for the relevant subject area
- Z examination
- previous vocational training
Special admission requirements
Sufficient German and English language skills must be demonstrated for this degree program:
- Proof of English language proficiency at level B2 (or average grade in English of at least 8 points or English university entrance qualification)
- Proof of German language proficiency (if your mother tongue is not German): DSH2 (German language examination for university entrance) or TestDaF with level 4 in all sections.
For more information on the admission requirements and the application for admission, please refer to the admission regulations.
Application
With a German university entrance qualification: You apply online at the University of Oldenburg.
EU or international applicants: You apply via uni-assist e.V.
Detailed information and deadlines can be found at uol.de/studiengang/bewerben/physik-technik-medizin-fach-bachelor-609/freshman/de
Orders and links
- Link to the website Study/B.Sc. PTM
- Admission regulations for Bachelor PTM
- Examination regulations - general part (as of: 12.09.2018) [pdf]
- Examination regulations - subject-specific part (as of 08.09.2017) [pdf]
- PB extracurricular professionalization area incl. practical modules - general regulations 2017 (Annex 3) (as of: 08.09.2017) [pdf]