All applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation into the Doctor of Optometry program. The Graduate and Professional Studies catalog contains detailed information concerning the college's graduate and professional degree programs. The program of graduate study in physiological optics is designed for students who wish to pursue an academic career in teaching and vision research. The Profession Doctors of Optometry are independent primary health care providers who specialize in the examination, diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures as well as the diagnosis of related systemic conditions. Graduates may enter private practice or serve in multidisciplinary primary care clinics.
Graduates also find careers in public health, teaching and research, and health administration.
Special services for children, the elderly, and the partially-sighted can each be exclusively practiced. Helping to care for vision, our most treasured sense, makes optometry a rewarding profession for students interested in a health career. Our research mission is to add to the body of knowledge identified as vision science and to its effective application, and to extend the scope of practice and improve the quality of optometric care. The College of Optometry's major responsibility is to educate and to train students who, upon graduation, are able to provide all of the diagnostic and treatment services that characterize the general practice of optometry. Educational objectives have been established for each course in the professional curriculum which support this broad purpose.