Graduate Faculty
Course of Study Guidelines
Master of Science Degree
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Courses
Doctor of Optometry Curriculum Courses
Competency Courses
Cross-listed Courses
School of Optometry
Bloomington
Director
Professor Graeme Wilson
Graduate Faculty
Professors
Merrill Allen (Emeritus), Joseph Bonanno, Robert DeVoe (Emeritus), David Goss, S. Lee Guth (Emeritus), Gary Hafner, Gordon Heath (Emeritus), Gerald Lowther, Edwin Marshall, Paul Pietsch (Emeritus), P. Sarita Soni, Larry Thibos, Graeme Wilson
Associate Professors
Carolyn Begley, Arthur Bradley, Ronald Everson (Emeritus), Sally Hegeman*
Assistant Professors
Susana Chung,* Shaban Demirel,* Douglas Horner, Donald Miller,* Bill Rainey*
Academic Advisor
Professor Graeme Wilson, Optometry Building 511, (812) 855-7595
Degrees Offered
Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy
The Visual Sciences and Physiological Optics Program is designed primarily for students wishing to prepare themselves for teaching and research in the sciences that relate to vision.
Admission Requirements
Course requirements are flexible to accommodate students with interests in visual science but with varying backgrounds. A bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) is required. Course work with appropriate laboratories in the following areas is strongly recommended: optics, computing and engineering, physics, biology, mathematics through differential and integral calculus, statistics, and psychology of sensation and perception.
Degree Requirements
Ordinarily, students must demonstrate intermediate-level competence in three of the following areas: (1) visual anatomy, (2) visual optics, (3) visual physiology and biochemistry, (4) monocular visual function, and (5) ocular motility and binocular visual function. Competence in these areas is assumed for those who have recent optometric degrees from recognized programs. Others may demonstrate competence by (1) successful completion (minimum grade of B) of V700 and V701, or (2) successful completion of relevant courses (see “Competency Courses”), or (3) successful completion of written examinations.
Each semester, all graduate students are required to attend, and usually to participate in, the weekly School of Optometry Visual Sciences Seminar (V765). Participation implies that the seminar will be taken for credit and an expectation of an annual presentation. Students who have accumulated sufficient credit hours for graduation will not be required to register, but will be expected to continue to participate as part of the educational process.
Students commence their research training by joining an on-going research project directed by a faculty member chosen by the student during the first few weeks in residence. The research topic will be formulated in consultation with the faculty member and an advisory committee. The topic may or may not be in the same field in which the student expects to do dissertation research.
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Course of Study Guidelines
Completion of the competency course requirement provides students with a breadth of knowledge. In addition, both the master’s and doctoral programs require that students identify an area of focus in which they will complete their research. The area can be chosen from any basic or clinical area in which our research faculty have active research programs. These include visual optics, ocular physiology, contact lenses, myopia development, low vision, invertebrate receptor cell biology, psychophysical studies of normal and abnormal vision, low vision, ocular disease, and pediatric optometry.
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Master of Science Degree
Course Requirements
A total of 30 credit hours is required, of which 15 credit hours must be didactic hours in visual sciences and physiological optics (or approved substitutes), generally excluding seminars. Students holding the O.D. degree or enrolled concurrently in the O.D. and M.S. programs may accelerate progress by receiving graduate credit for relevant work completed in the optometry curriculum. In regard to credits for prior or concurrent O.D. work and/or credit for relevant competency courses (see “Competency Courses”), no more than 4 credit hours may apply to the requirement of 15 didactic credit hours.
Research Requirements
Candidates must submit a written research report by the end of the first year in residence. Students enroll in 3 hours of research credit per semester. A thesis research proposal must be submitted and approved by the end of the first year of study.
Thesis
Required.
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Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Course Requirements
A total of 90 credit hours is required. Of these, a minimum of 30 credit hours will come from didactic courses, including courses in the minor subject, but generally excluding seminars.
Because students are expected to read the important literature in their chosen field, study of a foreign language may be required by the student’s advisory committee.
Students who hold recent optometric degrees from recognized institutions or who are enrolled concurrently in the O.D. and Ph.D. programs may accelerate progress by receiving graduate credit for relevant work completed in the optometry curriculum. In regard to credit for prior or concurrent O.D. work and/or credit for certain competency courses (see “Competency Courses”), no more than 6 credit hours may apply to the requirement of 30 didactic credit hours.
Research Requirements
Written research reports must be submitted by the end of each year in residence until the student advances to candidacy. The student enrolls in 3 hours of research credit per semester.
Minor Subject
Students will select at least one minor in any relevant field of study, subject to formal approval by their advisory committee. Interdepartmental minors, as described in the University Graduate School Bulletin, are permissible.
Qualifying Examination
A student will be nominated to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree only after successful completion of written and oral qualifying examinations specified by the advisory committee. The requirements for 30 credit hours of didactic course work and two annual research reports must be fulfilled prior to the qualifying examination. Enrollment in the program will be terminated if the student twice fails the qualifying examination.
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Courses
V595 First-Year Research (1-5 cr.)* Required to complete with a grade of A-F within the first year.
V695 Second-Year Research (1-5 cr.)
V700 Introduction to Visual Sciences I (4 cr.) The first of a two-semester sequence of courses which provides a comprehensive introduction to the visual sciences for graduate students enrolled in programs for Visual Sciences, Neurosciences, Psychology, or Cognitive Sciences.
V701 Introduction to Visual Sciences II (4 cr.) The second of a two-semester sequence of courses which provides a comprehensive introduction to the visual sciences for graduate students enrolled in programs for Visual Sciences, Neurosciences, Psychology, or Cognitive Sciences.
V703 Refractive Anomalies I (3 cr.) Optics and epidemiology of refractive anomalies of the human eye.
V704 Refractive Anomalies II (3 cr.) Development, progression, and management of myopia.
V705 Ocular Surface I: Basic Biology and Physiology (4 cr.) Basic biology and physiology of the ocular surface, including the cornea, conjunctiva, and tear film.
V706 Ocular Surface II: Current Issues (4 cr.) Current issues affecting the ocular surface, including contact lenses, disease, and surgery.
V707 Clinical Vision Research Techniques Course (1-6 cr.) Techniques and procedures used to record and quantify ocular function and changes in clinical research including ocular photography, digital imaging, corneal ad retinal topography, confocal microscopy, endothelial microscopy, image processing, surface cell analysis.
V716 The Visual Pathways (4 cr.) P: permission of the instructor. For students in the visual sciences, comprehensive study of the human optic pathways.
V717 Noninvasive Assessment of Visual Function (3 cr.) Focuses on the clinical application of psychophysical techniques for the detection and diagnosis of visual anomalies and ocular disease.
V718 Visual Functions in Low Vision (3 cr.) Studying behavioral aspects of visual function measurements in the low vision population.
V723 The Eye as an Optical Instrument (4 cr.) P: V663 or equivalent.
V754 The Motility of the Eye (4 cr.) P: V665 or equivalent. Quantitative and qualitative study of eye movements and myologic reflexes, monocular and binocular, and related phenomena.
V764 Cellular and Molecular Aspects of Ocular Disease and Injury (4 cr.) Study of selected reports dealing with corneal-wound healing, the cataractous lens, and retinal degenerations.
V765 Visual Sciences Seminar (1 cr.) Reports on assigned topics of current interest.
V767 Electrophysiology of Vision (3 cr.) Review of techniques of recording neural events, development of a neural hypothesis, experimental testing of hypothesis, writing and presenting of data and conclusions.
V768 Special Topics in Physiological Optics (1-4 cr.) Possible topics include comparative studies of the vertebrate eye; heredity in vision, optical, and ophthalmic instruments; current research reports. May be taken more than once for credit with permission of instructor and with different topics.
V773 Classics in Physiological Optics (1 cr.) Study of selected scientific articles of early contributors to our understanding of ocular motility, monocular and binocular functions, the optics of the eye, and ocular physiology.
V783 Monocular Sensory Aspects of Vision (4 cr.) P: V664 or equivalent. Analysis of visual stimulus and its perception in color, form, brightness, motion, etc.
V784 Binocular Sensory Aspects of Vision (4 cr.) P: V666 or equivalent. A study of perceptual phenomena and responses facilitated by binocular vision.
V785 The Vertebrate Eye (3 cr.) Comparative anatomy of the vertebrate retina. Primate retina used as a model. Accommodative mechanisms discussed. Laboratory exercises required.
V791 Quantitative Methods for Vision Research (3 cr.) Introduction to communication theory approach to problems in vision. Topics include the sensory nerve code, representation of nerve messages by orthogonal functions, sampling theorem, linear filters, Fourier analysis in one and two dimensions, analysis of directional data, stochastic processes, and signal detection theory.
V795 Third-Year Research (3 cr.)
V799 Master’s Degree Research (cr. arr.)
V899 Ph.D. Thesis Research (cr. arr.)
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Doctor of Optometry Curriculum Courses
V512 Ocular Anatomy (2 cr.) P: V511 Human Gross Anatomy, or equivalent. A detailed study of the normal anatomy and embryology of the eye and its adnexa. The organization of various components of the eye is studied at the light and electron microscopic level and this organization is related to the molecular structure where it is known.
V514 Neuroanatomy (1.5 cr.) P: V511 Human Gross Anatomy, or equivalent. Functional anatomy of the human brain, with emphasis on the visual system.
V516 Ocular Physiology (2.5 cr.) C: V512 or equivalent. Vegetative physiology of the eye, with attention to the chemical constitution, intermediary metabolism, regulation of hydration and intraocular pressure, transparency of the ocular components, and retinal physiology.
V648 Neurophysiology of Vision (1 cr.) Introduction to the functional organization of the visual system and the physiological basis of vision. This course treats the visual system as a biological image processor to reveal how the structure and function of the retina and brain determine visual performance and constrain the quality of vision.
V663 Physiological Optics I: Visual Optics (3.5 cr.) P: V522 Geometric Optics II, or equivalent. The eye as an optical instrument.
V664 Physiological Optics II: Visual Function (2.5 cr.) The basic aspects of monocular vision, including light and dark adaptation, color vision, and both spatial and temporal resolution. The science of measuring visual performance and its application to clinical optometry.
V665 Physiological Optics III: Ocular Motility (3.5 cr.) Characteristics, control, and deficits of the five somatic eye-movement systems (convergence, saccadic version, pursuit version, fixation maintenance, vestibular reflex) and the autonomic systems subserving accommodation and pupillary diameter reflexes.
V666 Physiological Optics IV: Binocular Function (2.5 cr.) Binocular sensory mechanisms of vision. Summary of the geometry of three-dimensional space and stereo vision, underlying neuroanatomy and physiology of binocular vision, prerequisites for normal stereopsis, and commonly encountered anomalies of binocular vision.
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Competency Courses
Every student must demonstrate graduate level competency in three of the five areas listed below. The asterisk (*) denotes Doctor of Optometry curriculum courses.
Visual Anatomy
V512 Ocular Anatomy (2 cr.)*
V514 Neuroanatomy (1.5 cr.)*
V716 The Visual Pathways (4 cr.)
V785 The Vertebrate Eye (3 cr.)
Visual Optics
V663 Physiological Optics I: Visual Optics (3.5 cr.)*
V723 The Eye as an Optical Instrument (4 cr.)
Visual Physiology and Biochemistry
V516 Ocular Physiology (2.5 cr.)*
V648 Neurophysiology of Vision (1 cr.)*
V767 Electrophysiology of Vision (3 cr.)
Monocular Visual Function
V664 Physiological Optics II: Visual Function (2.5 cr.)*
V783 Monocular Sensory Aspects of Vision (4 cr.)
Ocular Motility
V665 Physiological Optics III: Ocular Motility (3.5 cr.)*
V666 Physiological Optics IV: Binocular Function (2.5 cr.)*
V754 The Motility of the Eye (4 cr.)
V784 Binocular Sensory Aspects of Vision (4 cr.)
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Cross-listed Courses
Biology
L586 Cell Biology (4.5 cr.)
Medical Sciences Program
A610 Comparative Neuroanatomy (2 cr.)
Psychology
P553 Advanced Statistics in Psychology I (3 cr.)
P554 Advanced Statistics in Psychology II (3 cr.)
P564 Psychophysics (3 cr.)
P566 Psychophysiology of Vision (3 cr.)
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