Course details

Summary

The purpose of the Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmic Basic Sciences is to provide a postgraduate qualification for medical graduates with at least two years’ experience who are seeking a position on a Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists RANZCO (Fellowship) approved Training Programme or are currently engaged in such a programme. We anticipate the source of enrolment will be mainly second year house surgeons in New Zealand and/or Australia. The programme may also meet the needs of trainees already enrolled in similar training Programs in other parts of the world or general practitioners.

This programme, taught in conjunction with the University of Sydney, consists of four 30-point papers, which can be taken full time over a year.

Programme Requirements

Papers

• OPHT 801 Ophthalmic Anatomy
• OPHT 802 Ophthalmic Physiology
• OPHT 803 Ophthalmic Optics
• OPHT 804 Practical Ophthalmic Basic Sciences
• OPHT 805 Ocular Genetics

Note: Up to 30 points may be substituted, with the approval of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Entry criteria

• Admission to the programme shall be subject to the approval of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health Sciences) on the advice of the Academic Board of the Otago Medical School, which must be satisfied that the applicant has the ability and experience to proceed to the programme.
• Every applicant shall have been admitted to the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery of a university in New Zealand or hold an equivalent medical qualification approved by the Academic Board of the Otago Medical School.
• Every applicant shall be registered for medical practice in the country in which the programme is taught, or have an exemption from this requirement from the Dean of the Otago Medical School.

English Language Requirements: IELTS - Score of 6.5 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 95 with a minimum writing score of 22.; Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 587 (TWE 4.5); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); APIEL Advanced Placement International English Language Examination - Grade 4 or higher; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 64 with no communicative skills score below 57; University of Otago Foundation Studies Ltd: Completion of 'English for Postgraduate Academic Purposes' with a grade of C or higher.