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Online Master of Science Degree in Clinical Vision Research
INSTITUTION INFORMATION Institutional Accreditation: Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools Program Accreditation: Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools Institutional Membership(s): SOC
PROGRAM DETAILS Program Information: Master of Science - Master's
Enrollment: 15 seats total Application Deadline: Open How Students and
Instructors Communicate: Chat Room, E-mail, Online Assignment
Submission, Threaded Discussion Board, Voice Subject: Optometry METHOD
OF COURSE INSTRUCTION
- The program is delivered primarily through
internet
Supplemental delivery formats include internet
This course uses WebCT
DESCRIPTION
- Over the past decade, the optometric profession has witnessed
dynamic changes and growth in global health care delivery systems.
This phenomenon has been accompanied by enormous advances in
technology and the health sciences. It has impacted how we work, how
we communicate, and how we learn. Technology has touched every field
imaginable, including clinical optometry and vision science. While
advances in information technology have simplified the exchange of
information, it has also increased the sheer volume of data
available and has made managing information more complicated than
ever before.
In response to these widespread changes, NSU College of Optometry
has developed a two-year, 45-credit online Master of Science Program
in Clinical Vision Research (CVR). This program is designed to
assist optometrists, optometric educators, optometric students, as
well as other health-care professionals extend their carrier
opportunities by developing and enhancing their ability to perform
clinical vision research. This innovative program includes curricula
leading to a Graduate Certificate in CVR and a Master of Science in
CVR.
Accommodating the need and desire of most health care professionals
to remain in their present location and employment and, at the same
time, draw upon a nationally recognized faculty, the CVR program
offers a unique opportunity through NSU College of Optometry's
state-of-the-art, Web-based distance learning technology. The
program requirements may be completed at home or in the office at
times convenient to the student, without compromising the student's
career, family, and personal obligations.
The primary audiences for this program are optometrists, optometric
educators, optometric students, as well as other health-care
professionals who conduct or plan to conduct clinical vision
research in a patient care or academic setting. The program is
designed to provide the CVR student with an opportunity to acquire
or enhance his or her knowledge and skills to design, develop,
perform, analyze, and evaluate research projects and studies.
Following completion of the program, CVR graduates will find
themselves well prepared to face the challenges of contributing to
the research and knowledge-base of their profession.
SPECIAL ENROLLMENT ISSUES
- none
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
- All courses are offered via the Web. Students' computers must
meet or exceed the following minimal requirements listed below in
order to easily access and participate in the program.
Hardware:
Pentium II 266 MHz or AMD processor (Pentium III at 400 MHz or
higher recommended, AMD Athalon Processor or compatible also
recommended)
128MB RAM or higher
56k V.90 Modem
8x CD-ROM (higher speed recommended)
8MB Video Card or higher recommended
4 GB Hard Disk free space (8 GB or higher recommended)
128K cache
32 bit Sound Blaster card or compatible sound card
ISP (Internet Service Provider other than AOL) (a DSL line
recommended)
Printer (optional)
Speakers
Microphone with headset or boom microphone
Surge suppressor electrical outlet
Software:
Office 97 or 2000 including Word, PowerPoint, & Excel
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Netscape Navigator 4.7 (Netscape
6.X is
not supported in WebCT)
Windows 98 SE, Windows NT, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
Real Player (free download)
Adobe Reader (free download)
Antivirus (Norton or McAfee recommended)
Technical assistance is available through the University's Help
Desk, but students are expected to have basic computer skills upon
enrollment and to use their Internet Service Provider for basic
support. If you don't have computer experience, it is strongly
suggested that you develop the required skills listed below before
you begin taking courses in the program.
Skills:
Windows skills
Word processing skills including the ability to save work as text
files and to copy and paste text.
Electronic mail skills with the ability to attach files
Bulletin board skills
FTP or downloading skills
Web navigation skills
ACCESS TO LEARNING RESOURCES
- Students have access to the NSU Electronic Library. Databases
Electronic research databases are available to library users from
Internet-accessible computers. NSU students, faculty, and staff
members can access the databases with their NSU email username and
password. Contact a librarian: http://www.nova.edu/library
to learn how to search the databases and conduct research. For
further information and access.
ACCESS TO FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES
- The purpose of the Student Financial Aid Program at Nova
Southeastern University College of Optometry is to help as many
qualified students as possible to complete their professional and
graduate education. Loans, scholarships, and grants are available to
eligible candidates to ease the costs of the CVR program. The
application deadline to receive priority for scholarships is March
of each year. Late applications will be reviewed on a space
available basis.
SPECIAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
- All candidates for the Master of Science degree in Clinical
Vision Research will write a thesis that embodies the results of an
original research study.
SPECIAL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
- none
ACCESS TO ADVISING/MENTORING SERVICES
- Each student is assigned a mentor during the first year of study
and is assigned an advisor for the second year of study. The second
year of course work is designed to meet the individualized interests
and specializations of the student.
SPECIAL TRANSFER POLICIES
- none
SPECIAL ENROLLMENT ISSUES
- To be admitted to the Clinical Vision Research (CVR) graduate
program, applicants must have completed one of the following
requirements:
� Earned a post-baccalaureate professional degree, or
� Earned a baccalaureate degree with a minimum grade point average
of 3.0
Applicants with a baccalaureate degree whose grade point average is
below 3.0 must achieve a minimum score of 1000 on both the verbal
and quantitative parts of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Information regarding the GRE can be found at http://www.gre.org/.
An average score in the 50th percentile or higher on either the
Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) (http://www.optometry.org/) or
Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
(http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/) may be substituted.
PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who have earned a post-baccalaureate
professional degree (O.D., D.O., M.D.) are not required to take the
Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Applicants who do not meet these requirements may be considered for
admission on a probationary status.
Applicants from countries in which English is not the official
language are required to submit scores from the computer version of
the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum
score of 213.
Information for taking this test online may be found at
http://www.toefl.org/.
Undergraduate course work taken at a foreign institution must be
evaluated for U.S. institution equivalence.
Foreign course work must be evaluated by one of the services listed
below.
You should contact:
Education CredentialEvaluators
P.O. Box 514070Milwaukee,
WI 53202-3470(414) 289-3400http://www.ece.org
Josef Silny &Associates
P.O. Box 248233Coral Gables,
FL 33124(305) 273-1616
www.jsilny.com
World EducationServices,
Inc.P.O. Box 01-5060
Miami, FL 33101
(305) 358-6688http://www.wes.org
World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 745
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
(212) 966-6311
http://www.wes.org/
All applicants should request a course-by-course evaluation. It is
the applicant's responsibility to have course work evaluated, and an
official evaluation must be sent directly by the service to the
Office of Admissions at:
Nova Southeastern University
Attention: Optometry Admissions
Graduate Programs
3200 South University Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328
With careful planning, those students who complete the Graduate
Certificate in the CVR program, if accepted into the Master's
program, may transfer all credits to the Master of Science in the
Clinical Vision Research degree program and complete the entire
program in as little as two years. Please note that the Graduate
Certificate program must be completed within three years and the
Master of Science program must be completed within six years of
matriculation.
Individuals who have earned a baccalaureate degree may also take
online course work as non-degree seeking students without fulfilling
the above requirements. Up to nine quarter credit hours of course
work taken in non-degree status and completed with a grade of 80 or
better may be transferred to the Graduate Certificate or Master of
Science program, if admitted.
The MSCVR program of the College of Optometry selects students based
on the candidate's application content, academic performance, test
scores (if the applicant does not have a post-baccalaureate degree),
and letter of evaluation.
The program will accept 20 new students per class.
Start Date: April 1 2004
SPECIAL ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
- none
SPECIAL PROGRAM PREREQUISITES
- Technical Requirements:
All courses are offered via the Web. Students' computers must meet
or exceed the following minimal requirements listed below in order
to easily access and participate in the program.
Hardware:
Pentium II 266 MHz or AMD processor (Pentium III at 400 MHz or
higher recommended, AMD Athalon Processor or compatible also
recommended)
128MB RAM or higher
56k V.90 Modem
8x CD-ROM (higher speed recommended)
8MB Video Card or higher recommended
4 GB Hard Disk free space (8 GB or higher recommended)
128K cache
32 bit Sound Blaster card or compatible sound card
ISP (Internet Service Provider other than AOL) (a DSL line
recommended)
Printer (optional)
Speakers
Microphone with headset or boom microphone
Surge suppressor electrical outlet
Software:
Office 97 or 2000 including Word, PowerPoint, & Excel
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Netscape Navigator 4.7 (Netscape
6.X is
not supported in WebCT)
Windows 98 SE, Windows NT, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
Real Player (free download)
Adobe Reader (free download)
Antivirus (Norton or McAfee recommended)
Technical assistance is available through the University's Help
Desk, but students are expected to have basic computer skills upon
enrollment and to use their Internet Service Provider for basic
support.
If you don't have computer experience, it is strongly suggested that
you develop the required skills listed below before you begin taking
courses in the program.
Skills:
Windows skills
Word processing skills including the ability to save work as text
files and to copy and paste text.
Electronic mail skills with the ability to attach files
Bulletin board skills
FTP or downloading skills
Web navigation skills
Technical Assistance:
Student Technology Help Page
Help Desk Email Address: help@nova.edu
Help Desk Telephone Numbers:
954-262-4357 (local) or 800-541-6682 ext. 4357 (out-of-area)
Hours: Monday-Friday 7am-4am Saturday & Sunday 9am-11pm
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
- none
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