List of optometry schools


The following list of optometry schools covers many countries, although the list is not exhaustive. Internationally, optometry as a profession includes different levels of education. The institutions listed below provide academic and professional education and clinical training that ranges from Doctor of Optometry degree level to other professional degrees in optometry and also non-degree level education leading to a diploma or other qualifications in optometry.
In many countries the role of optometry is statutorily defined, practice is regulated and there is uniformity in professional education and clinical training and the scope of practice is consistent with the definition of optometry as a profession. In such countries the nomenclature of terminal qualification may be reviewed as and when necessary. In Australia, for example, Doctor of Optometry is now established at University of Melbourne and OD is described as "an internationally recognised qualification and the gold standard for optometry education."

Australia

Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Department of Optics and Optometry

Hong Kong

Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences - Optometry within Medical Diagnostic Analysis Bsc –

India

At present there are more than fifty schools of optometry in India. In 1958, two schools of optometry were established, one at Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and the other at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, under the second five-year plan by Director General of Health Services of Government of India. These schools offered diplomas in optometry courses of two years duration validated by state medical faculties. Subsequently, four more schools were opened across India at Sitapur Eye Hospital, Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Bengalooru in Karnataka and Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
The Elite School of Optometry was established in 1985 at Chennai and was the first to offer a four-year degree course. This was followed by All India institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Thiruvananthapuram, the first government colleges to offer a bachelor's degree in optometry; were considered as the best in excellence from Govt. of India.
The following list includes educational institutions offering four year degree courses, two or three year diploma courses and also non-degree courses. Post-graduate education in optometry is also offered in India leading to M.Optom, M.Phil., M.Sc. and Ph.D. by several universities.
Currently there are seven state universities offering three-year university degrees in optics and optometry, formally a kind of a physics degree.
Optometry education in Italy starts in 1969-70. Some post-secondary non-universitary courses are currently active. Their program can be accessed only by licensed opticians. Some of the more appreciated schools are:
There are seven schools offering the O.D. degree.
In 2009 University of Manchester and Singapore Polytechnic set up a degree course in optometry within the premises of Singapore Polytechnic. The degree is not recognised by the General Optical Council in the United Kingdom. This course has since been stopped due to staffing issues.
4 Year bachelor's degrees including clinical optometry

Sri Lanka

The course is also undergone by other SAARC countries: Nepal, Maldives and Pakistan.
Vision Care Academy established in 2008 as an optometry education institute in Sri Lanka and currently conduct two years full-time diploma in optometry program.
Part-time optometry courses are conducted by private institutes such as Eye Care Institutes to provide diploma program and Sri Lanka Optometry Association for higher national diploma program.
The government of Sri Lanka does not recognize optometry as a profession and has no regulations to date.

Sudan

There are currently seven universities offering a bachelor's degree in optometry and four educational institutions offering an associate degree in optometry:
There are 12 educational institutions in the United Kingdom offering degrees in optometry. Nine are located in England with one optometry school in each of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Additionally, in England, the Institute of Optometry offers a post-graduate professional doctorate in partnership with London South Bank University.

England

23 American educational institutions offer the Doctor of Optometry degree. There are currently two schools in the pre-accreditation phase. University of Pikeville and Midwestern University in Chicago are Stage 3 applicants for accreditation and have received preliminary approval. Additionally, Tusculum University is a Stage 2 applicant.