Faculty Handbook

SUNY College of Optometry

Faculty Handbook 2022-23

IX. DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) IN VISION SCIENCE

A. Curriculum Requirements Completion of at least 80 credits is required to qualify for the PhD degree. The following courses are required: • GM230- Introduction to Vision Science – Part I • GM231- Introduction to Vision Science – Part II • GM201- Introduction to Statistics and Statistical Computing • GM219- Scientific Integrity and Ethics in Research Students must pass five (5) seminars/tutorials at the GM200-level or above, in addition to the above courses. Exemptions from required courses: A student may, on the basis of previous work, request an exemption either from a required course in the core curriculum, or from a required prerequisite or co-requisite that is needed for a core curriculum course or an options list seminar. Requests should be made by petition in writing to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. With approval from the student’s Graduate Research Advisor and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, a student may substitute one (1) of the five (5) additional seminars/tutorials with an academic, non-research course, such as an Independent Study. A complete syllabus for an Independent Study must be approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research before the course begins. Students are required to register for GM245- Vision Science Journal Club for PhD Students, every semester, except during the final semester before submitting their dissertation. Advanced Topics courses in the MS program may be taken for credit in the PhD program, only with the approval of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research Students are required to register for at least 55 research credits over the entirety of their doctoral program. B. Doctoral Degree Program Requirements 1. Completion of the Doctoral Program curriculum requirements 2. A cumulative grade point average from course work, including research course work, of at least a 3.00. 3. Doctoral students are expected to attend the SIVR Colloquia and VisioNYC, presented each academic year, except during the final semester before submission of the dissertation. 4. Doctoral students are expected to give a minimum of one presentation at a national conference per year beginning in Year 3. 5. Laboratory Rotations: Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of two lab rotations during the first year of the program, normally one during the Fall semester and a second in the Spring semester. At the beginning of the Fall semester, students will reach out to Graduate Faculty members to learn more about each faculty member's lab and their current research. The Fall lab rotation must be chosen no later than the end of September. During the rotation’s students develop technical laboratory skills needed for research. Students also gain experience interacting with a variety of researchers in different laboratory settings, which is

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