College of Optometry (CO) 2023–2024 103 Email All students are required to maintain and monitor their NSU email on a daily basis. Email notices to students from faculty and staff members must be sent via a university-assigned email address. It should be noted that forwarding of email containing patient health information is prohibited by federal law. Academic Affairs Baccalaureate Degree All students entering the program without a baccalaureate degree will earn a Bachelor of Science in Vision Science upon successful completion of the first two years of coursework. A student must obtain a bachelor’s degree before the Doctor of Optometry degree can be awarded. After successful completion of the first two years of the traditional professional degree program, students who entered the program without a bachelor’s degree will have a Bachelor of Science degree in Vision Science conferred. Each student must make a degree application through Self-Service Banner, no later than April 1 of their second year in the program. Students in the extended optometry degree program may apply for Bachelor of Science degrees after completion of their third year. The degree will be conferred at the end of May, after it is determined that the academic criteria have been met. There are no commencement exercises for this degree. Students who entered the optometry degree program with a bachelor’s degree have the option of obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree from NSU as well. They must also apply by April 1 of their second year (third year in the extended program). Honors Program NSU’s CO has initiated an honors program that encourages students to strike out beyond the boundaries of the conventional curriculum. These students are expected to complete additional achievements in the areas of clinical tasks, research participation, teaching activities, and public service tasks. Honors students may select one course/term to be completed as an honors seminar. In the seminar format, students will be exempted from conventional classroom attendance and examinations in exchange for participation in seminar discussions that cover the same material as the conventional course, but at a more sophisticated level. Curriculum The curriculum is divided into three categories: basic science, optometric sciences, and clinic. The basic science and optometric science courses encompass the didactic portion of the academic program. The clinic courses involve patient care activities and occur primarily in the second, third, and fourth academic years.
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