Explore a variety of scholarships offered to students of optometry
Each year, through the American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF), VSP awards up to $4,000 each to two fourth-year students at each institution of optometry in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Each winner receives scholarship money and a travel grant to attend the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) annual meeting. Recipients must be a student member of the AAO. Each institution’s Awards and Scholarship committee selects a pool of five business-minded students who meet the clinical and academic standards, and then choose two scholarship recipients. Students can contact their school’s financial aid office to learn more about VSP’s commitment to the AAO scholarship program.
Congratulations to the 2023 scholarship winners! To see a full list of the winners, read the press release.
The VSP Premier Edge Student Business Challenge is a scholarship opportunity for optometry students interested in a path to private practice ownership. In collaboration with the Association of Practice Management Educators (APME) and Student Optometric Leadership Network (SOLN), the VSP Premier Edge Student Business Challenge asks applicants to submit a business plan that describes their professional and personal plan to private practice ownership. One optometry student will be awarded one (1) $10,000 scholarship, plus a travel grant to the annual SOLN Conference. In addition, two (2) runners-up will be awarded $5,000 each, plus each will receive a travel grant to the annual SOLN Conference.
2024 Winners: Congratulations to both Malia McDowell and Nastasya Liem. McDowell is class of 2026 at the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Optometry and Liem is class of 2026 at UC Berkeley, Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science. Learn more about the winners here.
Congratulations to the 2024 Dr. Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award recipients who received $4,000 scholarships for demonstrating leadership and service in the optometry profession and making a commitment to a future career in private practice!
VSP Vision™ is proud to continue this award in collaboration with the National Optometric Association (NOA). Every year, five optometry students—one from each year of attendance (first year, second year, etc.) and an Executive Board member—are awarded the scholarship.
To apply for the scholarship, eligible candidates must create and submit a short video about themselves, their experience, and what drives them towards a path to private practice optometry. Additionally, each candidate must be an active member of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA), a business-minded student who is preparing for a career in private practice, and must have a commitment to an optometry career or leadership service.
This award is a competition designed to recognize creative, innovative, and feasible ideas in the areas of clinical eye care, research, and practice management, among others that will impact the optical industry. VSP partners with the Rick Bay Foundation and provides this scholarship to UC Berkeley School of Optometry and Ohio State University College of Optometry. Congratulations to the 2024 winners: Charlie Bahr, the Ohio State University College of Optometry, class of 2024, and Molly Vang, UC Berkeley School of Optometry, class of 2026.
This scholarship is intended for a student from the Appalachian region who is committed to practicing in the Appalachian region and provide care to an underserved patient population during their optometric career. This $5,000 Vision of Hope Scholarship is given to an incoming optometry student at the Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) at the University of Pikeville to assist their optometric education. Selection is completed by KYCO Faculty’s Scholarship and Awards Committee. VSP and KYCO are committed to improving patient access to care from great eye doctors. See what Michael Bacigalupi, OD, MS, FAAO (Dean of Kentucky College of Optometry) said about this award and its support of their mission. KYCO students can connect with the KYCO Faculty’s Scholarship and Awards Committee to learn more.
Congratulations to the 2023 scholarship winner: Elijah Riffe, University of Pikeville-Kentucky, Class of 2027.
VSP Vision™ and Black Eyecare Perspective are proud to unite in their efforts to support the 13% Promise, the mission to improve and increase representation of Blacks and African Americans in the optometric industry to align more closely with the United States Census population. The collaborative effort empowers us to create a $15,000 scholarship, investing in the education of future optometrists and supporting the shared commitment to create pathways that sustain a standard of equity in the profession of optometry. For the inaugural opportunity, two students from the Class of 2024 will be awarded the ‘Empowering Equity Scholarship ($15,000 each). In 2024, one student from the Class of 2025 will be awarded the scholarship.
Congratulations to the 2024 winner: Avia Dolberry, class of 2025, New England College of Optometry.
In partnership with Midwestern University, VSP Vision awards this $10,000 scholarship to an underrepresented minority pre-optometry student in the first year in which the student matriculates into the school. The award alternates each year between the two Midwestern University Colleges of Optometry: Arizona College of Optometry and Chicago College of Optometry.
Interested students can contact Midwestern University for more information.
Congratulations to the 2023 scholarship winner: William Wooley, Midwestern University College of Optometry, Class of 2027. Learn more about William here.
In partnership with Heart of America Eye Care Congress, this scholarship was created in 2019 in honor of optometrist Dr. Frank D. Fontana, also known as “Uncle Frank”. After a storied career, Dr. Fontana leaves an unmatched legacy behind as a colleague, mentor, and friend to so many. Awarded annually, the recipient will receive $4,250 in scholarship money and a $750 travel grant to attend Heart of America’s Eye Care Congress Conference. Open to third- and fourth-year optometry students actively engaged in patient care, applicants are judged in four areas in which Dr. Fontana excelled:
2024 Winner: Congratulations Hannah Bollig, University of Missouri St. Louis College of Optometry, Class of 2025. Learn more about Hannah here.
Applications are currently being accepted for the 2024 Dr. Frank D. Fontana Memorial Scholarship. The deadline to apply is December 31, 2023.
In honor of the late Dr. Craig Hisaka, VSP® Ventures, in partnership with UC Berkeley Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vison Science, offers this $2,500 award to a UCBSO student who has participated in the VSP Business Management Immersion Program, hosted by UCBSO.
Dr. Hisaka, the founding OD of Brookside Optometric Group, now a VSP Ventures practice, was a strong advocate of private practice and enjoyed mentoring optometry students to help them achieve their goals of becoming practice owners.
UCBSO students can contact their Student Affairs office for more details.
Congratulations to the 2024 winner: Alin Torosian, class of 2026, UC Berkeley Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science. Learn more about Arin here.