Many of our graduates enter our own College of Optometry, which enjoys a very strong reputation nationally and is the only optometry program in the Pacific Northwest. Pacific University College Of Optometry Pacific University College of Optometry recently celebrated its 50th anniversary as part of the Pacific campus. It was originally founded in 1921 as the North Pacific College of Optometry, which joined Pacific University in 1947. We now pride ourselves on our clinically oriented program, focusing on the training of a comprehensive practitioner with expertise in general optometry, contact lenses, low vision, vision therapy and ocular disease. Pacific University is a fully accredited member of the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and the Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association.
Graduates are fully qualified to practice in any state in the nation.
The curriculum far exceeds the most stringent educational requirements of any state. Clinical work is introduced in the first year of the professional program and increases in complexity as the student progresses. Intensive clinical work in the last year requires the student intern to rotate through a series of clinical centers operated by the College, both on campus and in nearby Portland. Optometrists examine the eyes and related structures to determine the presence of vision problems, eye disease, and other ocular abnormalities. Optometrists are the major providers of vision care.