Visual Impairment: Assessment and Support

For professionals in the education, care and rehabilitation of people with visual impairment and people with intellectual and visual impairment.

How can professionals provide good support to people with visual impairment if their expertise in low vision and its consequences for daily life is limited and not up to date? There is more to visual functioning than acuity and visual field, although many organizations use a definition of low vision that is mainly based on these two concepts. What is impairment in contrast sensitivity and light adaptation? What is cerebral visual impairment (CVI), neuropsychological assessment of higher visual functions and simultanagnosia? How does visual impairment develop in a progressive disease in the retina or in the brain? What are the effects on social contact in daily life if you cannot distinguish faces or facial expressions?

General Information

The mission of this Master’s degree programme is to train our students in qualitative and quantitative research, aimed at improving the participation of children and adults with visual impairment and the combination of intellectual disabilities and visual impairment. The Master’s programme takes an interdisciplinary approach to ocular impairment as well as cerebral visual impairment. In its interdisciplinary approach, this Master of Science degree programme is the first in the world to be based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health of the World Health Organization (WHO-ICF, 2001) and the support model of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). Applying and adapting the WHO-ICF in rehabilitation, care and education of people with visual impairment in such a way is known as the method Visual Profile. See also: www.visualprofile.info

The programme of this International Master of Science is recognized and certified by LEVRETA (Leonardo European Vision Rehabilitation and Education Training Association). After successful completion of the ICF course unit, students will also receive an ICF certificate from the WHO-FIC Collaborating Centre in the Netherlands.

Career prospects

After completing the programme, students will be awarded a Master’s degree in Educational Sciences and be well trained and qualified to work as researchers in the field of people with visual impairment or people with intellectual disabilities and visual impairment.

Admission Requirements

• A relevant Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
• TOEFL: 580/92 or IELTS: 6.5
• Sufficient knowledge of methodology

More information

• Curriculum Coordinator: Dr. P.L. Looijestijn PhD
• Academic advisor: Ms A.M. Arendshorst LLM
• Master Visual Impairment