Ophthalmology Residency Program

The Harvard Ophthalmology Residency Program, led by Alice Lorch, MD, MPH, Program Director, and Cliff Kim, MD, Associate Program Director, is one of the premier ophthalmology training programs in the country, offering broad clinical and surgical experience, first-rate mentoring, and unparalleled research opportunities. Learn more about our program below or apply today.

Take a Virtual Tour

Alumna Dr. Inês Laíns (Class of 2022) provides an inside look at the Harvard Ophthalmology Residency Training Program, including the state-of-the-art clinical and educational facilities at Mass Eye and Ear.

Guaranteed Transitional Year Internship 

The Harvard Ophthalmology Residency Training Program is a four-year integrated residency program, requiring only one application, through the SFMatch. There is no internship application necessary through ERAS for our program. Applicants who match with us will be guaranteed and required to fill a position in the Newton-Wellesley Transitional Year Internship Program.

 

As part of that Transitional PGY-1 year, residents will rotate at Mass Eye and Ear for three months, spending time in resident teaching sessions, ophthalmic pathology, the Emergency Department, operating rooms, and more. The Newton-Wellesley Transitional Year Internship Program has a rich and longstanding history of training Harvard Ophthalmology residents and is known to be collegial and welcoming, while still maintaining academic rigor. It offers training both in medicine and surgery, as well as a dedicated introduction to ophthalmology.

Take a virtual tour of the Newton-Wellesley Transitional Year Internship Program in the below video.  

Gain Experience at Seven World-Class Teaching Hospitals

You will gain exposure to diverse patient populations and pathologies in a variety of hospital settings. Although most of your time will be spent at Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Ophthalmology’s multi-affiliate structure offers you the unique opportunity to rotate  through seven academic institutions in close geographic proximity:

  • Newton Wellesley Hospital (Integrated Internship Year)
  • Massachusetts Eye and Ear
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Boston Children’s Hospital
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System    

Senior residents have the opportunity to design their own elective to gain experiences in global ophthalmology, finish research projects, or dive deeper into clinical interests.

Expert Faculty are Pioneers in their Fields

At Harvard Ophthalmology, you’ll learn from the best in our field. Our faculty are exceptional mentors and include world-renowned experts in all subspecialty areas, ranging from retina and diabetic eye disease, to glaucoma and ocular genetics. They have pioneered many of the biggest breakthroughs in ophthalmology care. Learn more about our faculty and award-winning mentors.

 

Unparalleled Surgical Training

 

With our innovative surgical curriculum and simulation training, you will gain comprehensive and vast experience in cataract procedures, strabismus surgeries, corneal and refractive surgeries, glaucoma lasers and filtering procedures, vitreoretinal surgeries and retinal lasers, oculoplastics procedures, and open globe repairs. Given the depth and breadth of our surgical faculty who work with residents, our program consistently maintains strong surgical numbers in both comprehensive and subspecialty areas.

 

The Samuel and Nancy Jo Altschuler Ophthalmology Surgical Training Laboratory at Mass Eye and Ear features state-of-the-art surgical training equipment. With nine workstations, a surgical simulator, and training machines for vitrectomy and cataract surgeries, the facility is regularly used for residency-wide subspecialty wet-lab sessions, structured one-on-one supervised skill sessions with subspecialty faculty, and resident self-practice sessions. We are continually expanding surgical wet-lab training opportunities in new and exciting ways. 

Collaborative Learning Environment with Robust Research Opportunities

Resident presenting

Harvard Ophthalmology is also home to the largest eye research group in the world. Our Centers of Excellence and Institutes bring together Harvard faculty from multiple disciplines. As a Harvard trainee, you are strongly encouraged to collaborate with faculty to pursue novel scientific and clinical investigations. Many residents publish first-author publications in top-tier journals and are frequently invited to present at national scientific conferences, such as the annual meetings of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

Harvard Ophthalmology embraces inclusion, diversity and equity as core values and imperatives that drive meaningful change within and beyond our institution. We welcome people from all backgrounds, and we respect and celebrate different points of view. It is important to us that everyone feels safe, valued, and engaged within our community.

Harvard Ophthalmology works closely with the Harvard Medical School Office of Diversity and Inclusion and all the organizations where trainees learn to foster a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming environment for trainees, employees, and our patient community.

Learn more about our ongoing initiatives.

 

Where Will Residency Take You?

Residents at WIO 2023

About 85-90 percent of graduates go on to pursue subspecialty fellowship training at top programs. Others begin work as general ophthalmologists, academic ophthalmologists, or research investigators. Notably, many graduates receive Heed Fellowships, which support postgraduate training in ophthalmic patient care, education, and research. Meet our residents and recent graduates.