A two-year program involving work toward a Master’s
degree in Vision Science combined with clinical experience.
Its purpose is to provide advanced optometric and research
training with particular emphasis on the chosen specialty
(cornea and contact lenses, binocular vision and pediatrics,
vision rehabilitation, or family practice).
The program consists of course work in Vision Science, statistics,
and general issues related to research plus elective courses
specific to the student’s areas of interest. A total
of 45 credit hours, including independent research credits,
must be completed for the Master’s degree. The remaining
time is devoted to clinical teaching, serving as a teaching
assistant in appropriate laboratories, patient care from
the routine to the most complex phases of optometric practice,
and completion of a research project and Master’s thesis.
There are specific training and experience aspects to the
various specialties as follows:
- Cornea and Contact Lenses: The first summer quarter of the program is typically
spent full-time in contact lens
clinic and possibly other clinical settings,
providing direct patient care to sharpen clinical skills before the
academic program formally begins in autumn quarter.
- Binocular Vision and Pediatrics: The first summer quarter of the program is typically
spent full-time in binocular
vision/pediatrics clinic and possibly
other clinical settings, providing direct patient care to sharpen
clinical skills before the academic program formally begins
in autumn quarter.
- Vision
Rehabilitation: In addition to examining patients within
the Vision Rehabilitation Service at the College
of Optometry, the resident
will work
at a multidisciplinary blind rehabilitation center (Vision Center
of Central Ohio), which provides vocational, homemaking,
and
mobility training. The
initial quarter in the program will be spent in full-time direct
patient care in a
variety of clinical settings (Vision Rehabilitation, Primary Vision
Care, and Disease Evaluation).
- Family Practice: The first
summer quarter of the program is typically spent full-time
in primary vision care clinic
and possibly other clinical
settings,
providing direct patient care to sharpen clinical skills before
the academic program formally begins in autumn quarter.
Graduate
Studies : Required course work
- Two 800-level courses, with at least
one being one of the 80x core courses
- Statistics 528 and
529
- Preventive Medicine 700 and Vision Science 780.07 Basic
Biostatistical Concepts for Clinicians
- Vision Science
7xx Ethics in Biomedical Research
- Vision Science 780.05
Experimental Design: Clinical Research
One of the following
courses:
- Vision Science 780.05 Survival Skills for Graduate
Students
- Vision Science 780.07 Grantsmanship
- Vision Science 795 (each
quarter)
Required course work specific to the specialty:
Cornea and
Contact Lenses:
- Vision Science 780.03 Corneal Physiology
and Assessment
- Vision Science 780.07 FDA Trial Methodologies
- Vision Science
780.09 Visual Optics: Advanced Contact Lenses
and Ophthalmic Device.
Binocular Vision and Pediatrics:
- Vision Science 780.15 Binocular
Visual Processes and Assessment
- Vision Science 780.21 Visual
Electrometrics: VEP, ERG, EO
Vision Rehabilitation:
- Vision Science 801 Optics and specification
of visual stumulus
- Vision Science 810 Image
Evaluation
- Vision Science 780.09 Visual Optics:
Low Vision Device
Family Practice:
- Preventive Medicine 711 Epidemiology
I
An informal “journal club” also
meets 4-5 times per quarter
and is open to all graduate students.
Elective course work specific to the specialty:
Cornea and
Contact Lenses:
- Microbiology 522
- Education 400
- Education 851
- Molecular Genetics 65
Binocular Vision and Pediatrics:
- Vision Science 732 The Vision
of Children
- Vision Science 81x 6 Visual Development
- Psychology 550 Psychology
of Childhood
- Psychology 571 Psychology of Developmental
Disability
- Psychology 600 Psychology of Learning
- Psychology 600 Psychology
of Listening and Reading
- Psychology 600 Psychology of Perception
- Psychology 611 Educational
Testing
- Ed S&R 651N Intro to the Exceptional
Child
- Ed S&R
670 Remeadial and Clinical Reading Instruction
- Speech and
Hearing Studies 230 Introduction to Speech
and Hearing
- Speech
and Hearing Studies 805 Pediatric
Audiology
- Speech
and Hearing Studies 735 Introduction
to Child Language
Vision
Rehabilitation:
- Dentistry 792.17
Gerontology for the Health Professions
- Allied Medicine
665 Understanding the
Aging Process
- Allied
Medicine 700.03
Ethical Issues
Common to
the Helping
Professions
- Allied
Medicine 720
Aging and
Design
- Allied
Medicine 791
Case Studies
in Clinical
Gerontology
- Medicine
700.04 Interprofessional
Seminar in
Clinical Practice
- Preventive
Medicine 850
Research Issues
in Aging
- Anthropology
640.02 Growth,
Development and
Aging
- Anthropology
820K Molecular
Aspects of
Aging
- Education
PAES 702
Health after
60
- Education
PAES 816
Health Behavior
Changes in
Adulthood and
Later Life
- Family
Relations 670
Family and
Informal Support
Systems of
the Aged
- Health
Services Management
and Policy
xx Long-term
Care Management
- Preventive
Medicine
711
Epidemiology
I
- Preventive
Medicine
712
Epidemiology
II
- Preventive
Medicine
850
Epidemiology
of
Chronic
Disease
- Psychology
665
Psychology
of
the
Later
Years
- Psychology
887A
Counseling
Older
Adults
Family
Practice:
- Preventive
Medicine
712
Epidemiology
II
- Preventive
Medicine
721
Economics
of
Health
Care
I
- Preventive
Medicine
721
Economics
of
Health
Care
II
- Computer
and
Information
Sciences
201
Elementary
Computer
Programming
- Education
400
Basic
Teaching
Skills
for
Health
Professionals
- Molecular
Genetics
650
Analysis
and
Interpretation
of
Biological
Data
- Biostatistics
615
Design
and
Analysis
of
Clinical
Trials
- Education
851
College
Teaching
* Note: The above list is not exhaustive, and
other elective courses that were judged appropriate after
consultation with
the graduate advisor could be substituted.
Clinical Curriculum
The graduate optometrist will instruct students and/or provide
direct patient care in his or her chosen area of specialization,
and (in order to maintain scope and skill levels) some additional
clinical services, e.g., Primary Vision Care, Binocular Vision
and Pediatrics, Low Vision, and Contact Lenses.
Individual sequences will be established by consultation
among the graduate optometrist, his or her advisor, his or
her clinical mentor, the Clinic Director, and the individual
Clinic Chief, and may be influenced by thesis project requirements.
Teaching Experience
- General and Specialty Clinic Services : The graduate optometrist
has the opportunity to work with fourth year optometry
students in providing care to patients
seen in The Ohio State University College
of Optometry.
- Optometry and Vision Science Course Laboratories :
The graduate optometrist will instruct optometry students
in selected
laboratories.
- Lecture Experience : The graduate optometrist
will have the opportunity to present lectures in selected
courses within
the optometry curriculum
and at continuing education
conferences
presented by the College of Optometry.
Research The thesis is to be an original piece of work, it is written
by the student, and it is to be of publishable scope and
quality. The thesis research is on a subject within visual
physiology, Vision Science, or on a topic related to clinical
vision care. The research project need not be immediately
or closely related to the specific residency program, and
may be supervised by any member of the graduate faculty in
Vision Science. It may be a stand-alone project, or it may
be a piece of a larger research project conducted by others.
It may be clinical research on large numbers of patients,
or it may be experimental, involving smaller numbers of patients
and/or normal subjects. It is expected to be carried out
by the student him/herself, with close supervision and consultation
by the supervising professor.
Thesis Project : As a requirement of the Master’s
degree, the graduate optometrist carries out an in-depth
study on
a topic of his
or her choosing in consultation with his or her advisor.
Previous Thesis Projects:
Cornea and Contact Lenses:
- The effect of polymegethism on the hydration control
of the corneal endothelium
- Rigid
contact lens parameters and corneal oxygenation
- Measurement of human corneal
oxygen uptake
- Epithelial toxicity thresholds to
isopropyl alcohol
- Factors influencing vision
in keratoconus
Binocular Vision and Pediatrics:
- Assessment of Saccadic Eye Movements and predictors
of reading performance in kindergarten and
first grade.
- An investigation between visualization, visual
memory and academic performance.
Family
Practice:
- An experimental comparison of yes-no and forced
choice threshold measurement techniques
- The use of
index of blur as a measure of visibility
- Traffic
signal detection by rod monochromats.
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