A study of graduate education in physiological optics in the United States: 1938-1989

For over 50 years, graduate programs in physiological optics (vision science) have been the primary source of supply to schools and colleges of optometry of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degree recipients who teach and conduct research. To determine the supply of M.S. and Ph.D. degree recipients from 1938 through 1989 and the career pursuits of these recipients, a computerized data base was developed. A total of 456 degrees were awarded (287 M.S. and 169 Ph.D.). Among the M.S. recipients, 56 also completed a Ph.D. Although there was a steady increase in the number of degree recipients, the number who pursued optometric education as a career steadily declined, especially among those who received only a M.S. degree. Further analysis suggests that a loss of optometry faculty with graduate degrees, in particular those with Ph.D.'s, due to attrition will likely occur during this decade and become substantial during the first decade of the next century. Clearly, efforts need to be increased by schools and colleges of optometry in the very near future to foster graduate level study of physiological optics, and to encourage the pursuit of optometric education as a career.