A bachelor's degree is required for applicants to the Pacific University PhD in Vision Science program. Applicants should have taken the following courses under the traditional classroom teaching format and earned a "C" or higher for each course. Grades of C- or lower are not acceptable. Where possible, all courses should be those intended for science majors. See the Unofficial Pre-requisite Worksheet.

• General Biology: a standard year (two-semester or three-quarter) series with labs.
• General Physics: a standard year (two-semester or three-quarter) series with labs; Calculus-based not required.
• Chemistry: a standard year (two-semester or three-quarter) series with labs.
• Mathematics: three semester or four quarter credits in analytic geometry or calculus
• Statistics: three semester or four quarter credits of statistics study from the Department of Mathematics, Psychology, Sociology, Statistics, or Biostatistics; course from the Business and Economics departments do not meet this requirement. 

The VSG committee may consider the following exceptions for prerequisite requirements:

• The prerequisite requirement is waived for applicants currently enrolled in an ACOE-Accredited optometry program or applicants with a bachelor's or advanced degree in optometry or a clinically-related discipline.
• Applicants who have taken the required series of the specific content area offered by their institution may appeal to the admission committee regarding the equivalency of course content or credit hours in their transcripts.
• While courses from a purely online program are not acceptable, the VSG Committee may consider accepting the credits under special conditions.