About Us
The Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences is one of the nine academic departments within the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne, and is one of only three Australian Universities to offer a Bachelor of Optometry degree. The Department currently comprises twenty-five academic staff and eight professional staff. Approximately 50 casual academic staff also participate in the teaching activities of the Department. The Department has an annual core-operating budget in the order of $2.5 million. The Department attracts approximately $1.2 to $1.5 million in external competitive research income each year.
The Department offers a five-year Bachelor of Optometry degree and teaches subjects in the optical and vision sciences, which can be in the Bachelor of Science degree. Approximately 180 students are enrolled in the optometry course. The Department offers further professional training through its Postgraduate Certificate in Ocular Therapeutics and Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Optometry, specifically aimed at advancing clinical knowledge for practising optometrists.
The Department has a vigorous research program in vision sciences with particular emphasis on the research areas of i) the biological foundations of ocular disease; ii) ocular growth and refractive development; and iii) visual neuroscience and visual neurophysiology. It offers courses of training by research leading to the degrees of PhD, Master of Optometry or Master of Science, and currently has about 25 students pursuing research higher degrees.