Neural Activity In The Retina

Light that enters the eye activates rod and cone photoreceptors, which in turn activate retinal ganglion cells.

Berkeley Scientists Discover Retinal Cells that Help Stabilize Our World View

The discovery will enable researchers to better understand eye movement disorders that cause significant visual impairment.

Eye Tech

A growing number of Vision Science PhDs are finding scientific satisfaction in a demanding and rewarding new industry environment

An Audacious Goal

A collaboration to cure blindness with retinal cell transplants.

Dr. Michael Silver

Michael Silver, Professor of Optometry and Vision Science and Neuroscience, in his lab on the Berkeley campus. The brains behind Dr. Silver are those of his two sons, Talyn and Gryphon. The artwork was made by his wife Jenny as lab warming gift.

All the Eyes

The beauty—and the benefits—of comparative ophthalmology. Story by Zac Unger.

Adaptive Optics

Swati Bhargava from the Roorda lab. The question that motivates the research in the Roorda lab is, "how do humans convert the two-dimensional images that land on the retina into such a rich perceptual experience?"

Smartglasses for All

Berkeley Optometry and Vision Science professor Dr. Emily Cooper has received a five-year NSF Faculty Early Career Development Grant for her project, Smartglasses for All.

Perception and Visual Cognition

Dr. Agostino Gibaldi of the Banks Lab is interested in extending models of sensory processing and oculo-motor behavior from laboratory settings to complex stimuli that more closely resemble real world conditions.

Neural Activity In The Retina

Light that enters the eye activates rod and cone photoreceptors, which in turn activate retinal ganglion cells.

Berkeley Scientists Discover Retinal Cells that Help Stabilize Our World View

The discovery will enable researchers to better understand eye movement disorders that cause significant visual impairment.

Eye Tech

A growing number of Vision Science PhDs are finding scientific satisfaction in a demanding and rewarding new industry environment

An Audacious Goal

A collaboration to cure blindness with retinal cell transplants.

Dr. Michael Silver

All the Eyes

The beauty—and the benefits—of comparative ophthalmology. Story by Zac Unger.

Adaptive Optics

Smartglasses for All

Berkeley Optometry and Vision Science professor Dr. Emily Cooper has received a five-year NSF Faculty Early Career Development Grant for her project, Smartglasses for All.

Perception and Visual Cognition

Neural Activity In The Retina

Light that enters the eye activates rod and cone photoreceptors, which in turn activate retinal ganglion cells.

Applications

PhD Program
By January 13, 2024

News

Austin Roorda Awarded Rank PrizeNovember 14th, 2023

For the development of instruments that use adaptive optics to capture high-resolution images of the living human retina.

Entering 2024 Application Now OpenSeptember 13th, 2023

We are happy to announce that the application for our Vision Science PhD program is officially open as of September 13th, 2023!

Oxyopia Fall LecturesSeptember 12th, 2023

Oxyopia is a seminar series featuring lectures on basic, clinical, and applied research in vision. Click for Fall dates.

Celebrating 100 Years of Optometry and Vision ScienceFebruary 1st, 2023

We are celebrating our 100th year! Click for a message from Dean John Flanagan.

Dining in the DarkSeptember 21st, 2023

Story written by Vision Science Student Sonali Singh, BS.

New Student ProfilesSeptember 1st, 2023

Read about our 10 new vision science PhD students.

Fields of Research

Faculty

The Vision Science faculty constitute a prestigious group of educators and researchers. Click the arrow to learn more about them, including research interests, contact information and links to lab websites.

Students

About 40 graduate students are currently enrolled in the Vision Science program. Their backgrounds include degrees in psychology, biology, engineering, computer science, or optometry.

Admissions

Berkeley is the No. 1 public university in the world. Our students and faculty come from different places and backgrounds, but together we create a vibrant and dynamic community that seeks to create a better world. Join us!