New BAS in Radiation Therapy Coming Fall 2025

Bellevue College will begin offering a Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Radiation Therapy in 2025 with applications opening at the end of 2024.  

“I am excited that our students will have increased educational opportunities through our new BAS in Radiation Therapy and expanded access to the excellent careers in that field,” Bellevue College President Dr. David May said. “Our new degree supports both our commitment to innovation and excellence, and to preparing the skilled workforce for our Seattle area health care partners. I look forward to welcoming the first cohort in the Fall of 2025.”  

Radiation therapy is a specialized form of cancer treatment that utilizes ionizing radiation to kill or shrink cancerous tumors. It plays a vital role in the fight against cancer, and radiation therapists are in high demand. For almost 40 years, Bellevue College has offered an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Radiation Therapy. The college is the sole provider of radiation therapist training in Washington state and one of only two institutions in the Pacific Northwest offering this specialized training.  

“I would estimate that more than half of the radiation therapists working in the region graduated from Bellevue,” said Linda S. Schinman, an instructor at Bellevue College who teaches radiation therapy. Schinman spearheaded the effort to create the new BAS in Radiation Therapy in response to the growing need for trained therapists and the advances in the field. “We wanted to be proactive in meeting the demand for increasingly sophisticated training.”  

Schinman herself holds three degrees from Bellevue College: an associate degree in Radiation Therapy (2003), a BAS degree in Radiation and Imaging (2010), and a Certificate of Achievement in Medical Dosimetry (2010). As program chair of the Radiation Therapy program for the college, she receives weekly requests for radiation therapists from hospitals and clinics statewide.  

“There are two factors at play,” she said. “First, as the population grows and ages in the state, there is a greater need for cancer care. Secondly, there has been a wave of retirements in the field.”    

Currently, most Bellevue College graduates find positions within six months of completing their degree. Quite frequently radiation therapists are hired by the clinics where they train as soon as they graduate, added Schinman.  

Radiation therapists work alongside physicians, nurses, physicists, and other specialists as part of a health care team. They are responsible for administering radiation treatments to patients, ensuring accuracy and safety. Radiation therapists also play a crucial role in patient care, providing support and comfort throughout the treatment process.  

Bellevue College will begin accepting applications for the new BAS in Radiation Therapy starting in December 2024. The college’s current Allied Health Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree will serve as a feeder program for this degree. The final cohort of students accepted for the AAS degree in Radiation Therapy began their studies in 2024 and will graduate in 2026. The first graduates in the new BAS in Radiation Therapy will matriculate in 2027.  

The addition of this degree will mark the 15th bachelor’s degree offered at Bellevue College. Students can earn Bachelor of Applied Science degrees, a Bachelor of Applied Arts, a Bachelor of Science, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, among associate degrees and certificates.