Graduate Education and Research
Graduate education can lead to satisfying careers in academia and research, as well as in industry, the military, government and private practice. The chart below shows a variety of paths to graduate training. Scroll down to see descriptions of research classifications, funding opportunities, and a list of research by topic that’s going on now at optometric institutions.
List of Graduate Programs
List of graduate programs at optometry schools and colleges
Graduate Programs & Enrollment Figures
More detailed descriptions of graduate programs and enrollment figures
Careers in Optometric Research
Watch a video to learn more about careers in optometric research
Research Topics
| Schools or College of Optometry with Graduate Research Training Programs (MS/ PhD) |
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| Program | Program Contact | Focus Topics | T35 (Yes/No) |
| Arizona College of Optometry/Chicago College of Optometry, | Alice Chapman, DVM, MPH, DACVPM (achapm1@midwestern.edu) | Public Health | No |
| Midwestern University | |||
| Indiana University, School of Optometry | Dr. Steve Burns (staburns@indiana.edu) | Molecular Biology, Systemic Diseases and the Eye, Contact Lenses, Cornea and Anterior Segment, Imaging and Instrumentation, Optics, Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience, Retina and Posterior Segment, Glaucoma, Optic Nerve, Pharmacology, Binocular Vision, Low Vision and Visual Development, Pediatrics, Acquired Brain Injury | Yes |
| Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, School of Optometry | Carly Levy, MPH (carly.levy@mcphs.edu) Nancy Coletta, OD, PhD (nancy.coletta@mcphs.edu) |
No | |
| Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University | Daniel Taylor, OD, EdD, MS (DanielTaylor@ferris.edu) | No | |
| New England College of Optometry | Jane Gwiazda, PhD (gwiazdaj@neco.edu) | Anatomy and Physiology, Contact Lenses, Cornea and Anterior Segment, Imaging and Instrumentation, Optics, Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience, Retina and Posterior Segment, Binocular Vision, Low Vision and Visual Development, Pediatrics, Public Health, Amblyopia, Acquired Brain Injury, Oculomotor Function | Yes |
| NOVA Southeastern University, College of Optometry | Bin Zhang, MD, PhD (bz52@nova.edu) | Amblyopia, Myopia Control, Ocular Motility, Electrophysiology, Color vision | No |
| The Ohio State University, College of Optometry | Heather Anderson, OD, PhD (Anderson.3881@osu.edu) | Histology, Anatomy and Physiology, Molecular Biology, Systemic Diseases and the Eye, Contact Lenses, Cornea and Anterior Segment, Dry Eye, Imaging and Instrumentation, Optics, Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience, Retina and Posterior Segment, Glaucoma, Optic Nerve, Pharmacology, Binocular Vision, Low Vision & Visual Development, Pediatrics, Sports Vision, Public Health, Optometric Education, Amblyopia, Acquired brain injury, Oculomotor function | Yes |
| Pacific University, College of Optometry | Yu-Chi Tai, PhD (ytai@pacificu.edu) Linna Armstrong (linnaso@pacificu.edu) Ryan P. Garcia (garcia@pacificu.edu) |
No | |
| Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University | Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD, FAAO (Dipl) (mscheiman@salus.edu) | Pediatrics, Binocular Vision, Amblyopia, Acquired Brain Injury, Oculomotor function, Low Vision | No |
| Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University | William H. Ridder, III, OD, PhD (wridder@ketchum.edu) | Cornea and Anterior Segment, Dry Eye, Visual Neuroscience, Retina and Posterior Segment, Pediatrics, Amblyopia, Acquired Brain Injury | No |
| State University of New York, College of Optometry | Dr. Stewart Bloomfield (sbloomfield@sunyopt.edu) | Molecular Biology, Genetics, Contact Lenses, Optics, Eye Growth and Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience, Glaucoma, Binocular Vision, Traumatic Brain Injury, Pediatrics, Clinical Trials | Yes |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Optometry | Lawrence Sincich, PhD (sincich@uab.edu) | No | |
| University of California-Berkeley, School of Optometry | Dr. RowlandTaylor (wrtaylor@berkeley.edu) Patrik Donahue (vision@berkeley.edu) | Anatomy and Physiology; Molecular Biology; Contact Lenses; Cornea and Anterior Segment; Dry Eye; Imaging and Instrumentation; Optics, Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience; Retina and Posterior Segment; Glaucoma, Optic Nerve; Pharmacology; Binocular Vision; Low Vision & Visual Development; Pediatrics; Sports Vision; Amblyopia; Acquired Brain Injury; Ocularmotor Function; Public Health; Systemic Diseases and the Eye; Optometric Education | Yes |
| University of Houston, College of Optometry | Dr. Laura Frishman (lfrishman@uh.edu) | Histology, Anatomy and Physiology, Molecular Biology, Systemic Diseases and the Eye, Contact Lenses, Cornea and Anterior Segment, Dry Eye, Imaging and Instrumentation, Optics, Refractive Error, Visual Neuroscience, Retina and Posterior Segment, Glaucoma, Optic Nerve, Pharmacology, Binocular Vision, Low Vision & Visual Development, Pediatrics, Public Health, Optometric Education, Amblyopia, Acquired brain injury, Oculomotor function | Yes |
| University of the Incarnate Word, Rosenberg School of Optometry | Jeffrey Rabin, OD, PhD (rabin@uiwtx.edu) |
No
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NIH/NEI (T35) National Research Service Award, Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants: The goal of this training program is to support short-term research training for students in health professional schools during the summer, or for predoctoral and/or postdoctoral training in focused, often emerging scientific areas: researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/training-grants/T35
Research Types
| Research Classifications | Descriptions |
| Basic | Scientific research to improve understanding or prediction of phenomena |
| T0 | Basic biomedical research, including preclinical and animal studies, not including interventions with human subjects |
| T1 | Translation to humans, including proof of concept studies, Phase 1 clinical trials, and focus on new methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in highly-controlled settings |
| T2 | Translation to patients, including Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, and controlled studies leading to clinical application and evidence-based guidelines |
| T3 | Translation to practice, including comparative effectiveness research, post-marketing studies, clinical outcomes research, as well as health services, and dissemination & implementation research |
| T4 | Translation to communities, including population level outcomes research, monitoring of morbidity, mortality, benefits, and risks, and impacts of policy and change |
| Clinical | Scientific research on clinical healthcare practices to establish or implement safety and efficacy of devices, medications, or interventions. |
| Education | Scholarly activates related to improving optometric pedagogy |
Reference: https://ncats.nih.gov
Funding Your Graduate Training
Optometry Students Grad Students Faculty
Other funding resources can be found at ARVO’s funding guide: https://www.arvo.org/journals-and-publications/arvo-funding-guide/
Training Pathways
The full spectrum of biomedical research ranges from basic laboratory discoveries to clinical applications and public health policy. Eye and vision research programs at schools and colleges of optometry span the entire range of translational research possibilities—from the fundamental basis and mechanisms of vision, to eye diseases, their diagnosis and treatment, and the impact of public health policies on our communities.
NIH Graphic: https://ncats.nih.gov/translation/spectrum#translational-science-spectrum
