MSCHE Self Study April 2021

Graduate students can find expert mentorship in molecular and cellular biology; ocular structure and function; retinal and cortical neurophysiology; attention; eye movement; neural plasticity; neuroprotection; neuroregeneration; color, shape, motion, space and 3D perception; visual cognition; visual development; and disease processes, including a wide variety of clinically important topics. The Graduate Qualifications Committee, a three ‐ member committee elected by the Faculty of The Graduate Program, reviews the credentials of all faculty members who teach in the PhD program or supervise dissertation research. Students attend regular colloquia given by visiting scientists and are encouraged to take full advantage of our location in New York City, which has one of the largest vision research communities in the world, by attending courses and seminars and developing research collaborations at other city institutions. The College has consortium agreements with most institutions in the New York metropolitan area so that our students are able to take courses at other schools that may not be offered by our faculty. The PhD in Vision Science requires the completion of 80 semester hours of course credit. The core curriculum requirements include a year ‐ long proseminar ( Vision Science, Parts I and II ), which provides a comprehensive introduction to vision science followed by a minimum of five seminars/tutorials in different designated areas, Introduction to Statistical Methods and Ethics in Research . The program requirements were modified in 2018 to provide added flexibility in the five seminars/tutorials a student takes so that the curriculum is tailored to each student’s research focus. In addition, students attend a weekly journal club throughout their course of study in which they read and discuss original papers. Students are required to present a paper in the journal club at least once per semester. Students must complete a minimum of two laboratory rotations during the first year. During the laboratory rotations, students develop technical laboratory skills needed for research and gain experience interacting with a variety of researchers in different laboratory settings. At the end of their first year, students choose a faculty mentor in whose lab they will carry out their dissertation research project. To promote the development of analytical and presentation skills, each June all students are required to give an oral presentation on their research over the past year. Graduate faculty members, as well as other students, attend these presentations. Constructive feedback is provided to each presenter. By the end of their third year in the program, students complete a qualifying exam, which takes the form of a dissertation proposal written in the format of a NIH NRSA grant proposal that includes specific aims, significance, methods, and preliminary findings. Students are required to orally defend the proposal, which is assessed by the student’s dissertation research committee. Following successful completion of the qualifying exam dissertation defense, students spend most of their time on their dissertation research project. Students are required to meet formally with their thesis committee every six months to discuss progress in their research. The committee provides feedback to the student, approves any significant changes in the project and provides a formal written report to the associate dean of

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