Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science

University of California, Berkeley

Overview

The Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science provides professional training in the art and science of vision care. The four-year professional program leads to the degree of Doctor of Optometry, which qualifies graduates to take the national and state board examinations required for licensure.

Doctors of Optometry are health-care professionals. Optometry is a primary health-care profession that encompasses the prevention and remediation of disorders of the vision system through examination, diagnosis, treatment, and/or management of visual efficiency, eye health, and related systemic manifestations. Optometry graduates are trained to diagnose eye diseases, including the ocular manifestations of systemic diseases.  The scope of contemporary optometric practice provides practitioners with independent responsibility for nonsurgical pharmaceutical treatment of eye disorders and diseases.

Doctors of Optometry are educated in the sciences of anatomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, neurology, bacteriology, microbiology, disease processes and detection, pharmacology, behavioral science, social science, public health, and many other related fields. The school provides four years of comprehensive training in vision care aimed at preparing primary eye care providers. The first and second years emphasize courses in the sciences that are foundational to optometry and pre-clinical training in the fundamentals of the optometric examination. Subjects taught include the anatomy and physiology of the eye and visual system; visual perception and sensitivity; optics; oculomotor functions and neurology; binocular vision and space perception; evidence-based optometry; systemic and ocular pharmacology; systemic disease and its ocular manifestations; infant vision; diagnosis and treatment of sensorimotor anomalies; contact lenses; and clinical examination of the visual system. Active responsibility for patient care begins in the spring of the second year. The third year is devoted to advanced training in management and rehabilitation of sensorimotor anomalies, diagnosis and treatment of anterior and posterior segment ocular disease, low vision, advanced procedures in disease diagnosis, and caring for patients in the school’s primary care clinics. The fourth year consists of advanced patient care experience acquired in internal rotations through the school’s specialty clinics in areas such as low vision, pathology, contact lenses, infant vision, community and geriatric health care, and external rotations through eye care centers located in leading hospitals, medical centers, and clinics across the country.

Optometry offers a wide variety of interesting, challenging, and rewarding careers in private practice, in hospitals and other health organizations, and in public service. The education and clinical experience gained at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science equip its graduates with the knowledge base and skills necessary to provide the highest level of contemporary vision care and to engage in lifelong learning to ensure they remain at the forefront of their profession.

Optometric Residency Program

A one-year Optometric Residency program is available to Doctors of Optometry seeking advanced optometric training. Areas of clinical study include binocular vision, cornea and contact lens, low vision, ocular disease, pediatrics, community health, and primary care. Successful completion of the program leads to the awarding of the Optometric Residency Certificate.

For further information about the Optometric Residency Program, please email optometry-residency@berkeley.edu.

Undergraduate Program

There is no undergraduate program offered by the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science.

Graduate Program

Optometry: OD

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Courses

Optometry

Vision Science

Contact Information

Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science

Minor Hall

Phone: 510-643-5968

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Admissions and Student Affairs Office

380 Minor Hall

Phone: 510-642-9537

Fax: 510-643-7111

optometry-admissions@berkeley.edu

Associate Dean of Admissions & Student Affairs

A. Mika Moy, OD (she/her)

mmoy@berkeley.edu

Assistant Dean of Admissions & Student Affairs

Mike Hoffshire, PhD (he/him)

mhoffshire@berkeley.edu

Assistant Director, Vision Science & Residency

Alex Marquez (she/her)

ammarquez@berkeley.edu

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