All optometric related faculty, including adjunct faculty, within three years of faculty appointment, optometric residents, and Advanced Practice Fellows at any school or college of optometry, irrespective of membership in BSK, are eligible to apply for a BSK Research Fellowship.
One fellowship of $4,000 will be awarded annually.
Applications should consist of six pages or less, preferably in PDF format (International applicants with access limitations to a computer may submit in hand or typewritten format) and contain the following:
a. Cover page with project title, institution and address, name, including degree(s), and title for faculty member with contact information.
b. Research plan:
• Statement of problem
• Experimental design
• Institution and other resources available
• Relevance of problem to clinical optometry, vision science, or eye related public health
• Plans for publication
• Time table
c. Budget explanation
• State amount of grant request
• Describe/Itemize costs
• Justification for equipment, supplies and other expenses
Note: Nominal research subject payments are allowable.
d. Helsinki declaration (required only if human subjects involved)
e. Letter of endorsement by Faculty Advisor, Dean or President/Director of the school/college that also indicates the proposal was reviewed and meets with the standards of the institution.
Applications and supporting materials should be emailed to AAOF@aaoptom.org and include the words BSK + last name of applicant in the subject line of the email.
Applications will receive a confirmation by e-mail from the AAOF within three business days of receipt. If you do not receive a confirmation, contact the AAOF office to ensure the application is on file.
Applications are reviewed by the AAOF Programs Approval Commitee (PAC).
Funds support research conducted for a period up to one year. The AAOF is a non-profit organization; as such our policy is not to cover any indirect costs associated with research grants for any of our programs. This policy applies uniformly to all award recipients.
Recipients must submit a final report of their research findings no later than August 1st of the year after funding was awarded or the applicant and/or institution become ineligible for funding the subsequent year. The preferred submission is an article in a form suitable for publication.
Recipients are encouraged to present at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry and to submit a manuscript to Optometry and Vision Science. Any manuscript or publication material produced must acknowledge the American Academy of Optometry Foundation and Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society.
Applicants must be a member of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO). To learn more, visit the AAO website: Student Membership for student membership information and Candidate for Fellowship for how to become a Fellow.
Recognition of Awardees
The award recipient(s) and an institution representative will be invited to attend the American Academy of Optometry Foundation Celebration Luncheon, where both the recipient and institution will receive the award and recognition.
All award recipients by application and acceptance of an award agree to allow the AAOF and the fellowship sponsor, Beta Sigma Kappa International Honor Society, to publish their name, image, institution information, and any statement or quote provided by the recipient. These may appear in a variety of media formats that will announce and promote the fellowship including, but not limited to, the AAOF and/or sponsor annual report, website, social media, Academy/Foundation newletters, and annual meeting promotional materials.
Program Notes
Prior to window open (at least two months prior to deadline), guidelines for any given award are subject to change by the AAOF and/or the award sponsor. The notice of the availability of a program will be sent by email to institution contacts. Applicants are reminded to please review all guideline information before submitting their application to ensure it meets all criteria.