There are less than 20 accredited optometry schools in the U. S., according to the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. Of these, three are in nearby states. These are Nova Southeastern University, in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Southern College of Optometry, in Memphis, TN, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL.

For NSU, the admission requirements are 8 hours each of physics, freshman chemistry, biology, and of a selection from microbiology, anatomy and physiology, or biochemistry, 3 hours of calculus, 4 hours of organic chemistry, 6 hours of English, and 15 hours of social/behavior sciences or humanities. Computer literacy and statistics are strongly recommended. Tuition for non-Florida residents is significantly higher.

For SCO, the admission requirements are the same as for NSU, except that a course in calculus is required; 8, not 4, hours of organic chemistry, or 4 hours of organic chemistry, and 4 of biochemistry, are required; general psychology is required (but less social science), statistics is required; microbiology is required. All science courses must include lab. A letter of recommendation from an optometrist who is not a relative is required, so prospective students would be well advised to do a practicum or part-time work with an optometrist.

Students who are bona fide legal residents of one of the following states may qualify for reduced tuition at SCO by being awarded a regional position: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
These states participate in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) program or other similar state programs. Residency information is included with the application.

This is a link to information on arranging for health professions education through the SREB.

For UAB, the admission requirements are 90 semester hours, with at least one-third of these at a four-year institution. These must include 2 semesters each of biology, freshman chemistry, physics, English, psychology and social and behavioral sciences. The latter may be sociology, economics, history, or additional psychology. Admission also requires 1 semester each of organic chemistry, calculus, statistics (statistics in a psychology department does not count as both psychology and statistics) and microbiology. The science courses must have labs. The school is on the quarter system, and out-of-state tuition is three times in-state tuition.

Admission to an optometry school requires taking the Optometry Admission Test.

The requirements for all three of these programs can be met by taking the SWU biology B. S. program, with the addition of statistics, and, perhaps, additional social/behavioral science for Nova Southeastern.

SWU attempts to keep this information up-to-date, but the official sources of admission information are the admitting institutions (See links above). SWU cannot guarantee any student admission to an optometry program.

To the Optometrists section of the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Links checked on Jan 14, 2005