OD Honors Research

Berkeley Optometry offers students the opportunity to Graduate with Honors. Students may choose “Graduation with Honors in Research” or “Graduation with Honors in Clinical Science.” This distinction can be obtained by students who choose to submit a research dissertation or a scholarly case report, which will be evaluated by a Faculty Committee.

Graduating with Honors in Research

Students pursue a research project under the supervision of a faculty member. The final project report must be of a quality that would make it acceptable for publication as a scientific article in one of the leading peer-reviewed journals. This evaluation will be made by the Graduation with Honors Committee.

Graduating with Honors in Clinical Science

Students prepare a scholarly case report under the supervision of a faculty member. The case report should have potential to alter clinical practice and/or present a disease or condition from a novel perspective. This means that the submitted case report needs to be more scholarly than the predominantly descriptive case reports most commonly found in professional journals. The report must be thoughtful and analytical and have the qualities that would make it acceptable for publication as a scholarly case report in one of the leading peer-reviewed journals. The evaluation of the case report will be made by the Graduation with Honors Committee.

The Process

Students should first identify their project and find a faculty mentor. Sometimes, it may be appropriate to have more than one mentor (e.g., a project involving both clinical and laboratory research might benefit from having two mentors). Ideally, these projects will be conducted by individual students, but the Committee is prepared to consider proposals by two students working together on the same project. The project proposal is then submitted for evaluation by the Committee.

Submission of Proposals

A short description of the proposed research project or the proposed case report should be submitted to the Graduation with Honors Committee. The proposals should include sections on Purpose, Methods, and Analysis. The proposal should include a letter from the faculty mentor, giving an opinion on the value of the proposed project and confirming that the goals are achievable and likely to lead to a paper that would meet the required standards. The Committee will review the proposals for acceptability, and it may offer suggestions. Proposals may be submitted at any time by students in the first, second or third years of the Optometry program.

Submission of Reports

Completed reports must be approved by the faculty mentor before submission to the Committee. The Committee will judge whether revisions are required and whether or not the required standards have been met.

Questions?

Please direct questions to Professor Glen Ozawa, Chair of the Committee on Graduating with Honors at: