Optometry

Fred Liebrand, Academic Advisor.

While two years of college work is the minimum requirement for admission to most optometry schools, the majority of students being admitted have finished at least four years of college or received a bachelor's degree. Students interested in optometry should choose a major even though they may later gain admission to professional school before finishing it. At some optometry schools a student admitted before graduation must then finish a bachelor's degree while pursuing professional studies. This is not advisable since the requirements of the school awarding the degree must then be met.

The preprofessional curriculum should include as a minimum the following courses:

Required Courses:

CHEM 141General Chemistry

3

CHEM 142General Chemistry

3

CHEM 143General Chemistry

3

CHEM 144General Chemistry Laboratory

1

CHEM 145General Chemistry Laboratory

1

CHEM 146General Chemistry Laboratory

1

ENGL 121College Writing I

3

ENGL 122College Writing II

3

ENGL 223Research Writing

3

MATH 121Precalculus I

4

MATH 122Precalculus II

4

MATH 181Calculus I

4

PHYS 211General Physics

3

PHYS 212General Physics

3

PHYS 213General Physics

3

PHYS 214General Physics Laboratory

1

PHYS 215General Physics Laboratory

1

PHYS 216General Physics Laboratory

1

PSYC 130General Psychology

4

MATH 121 and MATH 122: Precalculus should be taken the first year since it is a corequisite for General Chemistry and a prerequisite for General Physics. May be satisfied by a good secondary mathematics background.

Additional Requirements:

Since the requirements for other preoptometry courses differ among the optometry schools, students should obtain catalogs from each school of interest in order that all prerequisites may be fulfilled. Other required courses will include some or all of the following:

BIOL 121Anatomy and Physiology

4

BIOL 122Anatomy and Physiology

4

BIOL 123Anatomy and Physiology

4

BIOL 141General Biology

4

BIOL 142General Biology

4

BIOL 143General Biology

4

BIOL 222Microbiology

5

CHEM 321Organic Chemistry

4

CHEM 322Organic Chemistry

4

CHEM 324Organic Chemistry Laboratory

1

CHEM 325Organic Chemistry Laboratory

1

CHEM 431Foundations of Biochemistry

4

A course in statistics

An additional psychology course

Students should visit optometrystudents.com for a list of optometry schools and additional information.