Pre-Optometry at Southern
Oregon University
What is an optometrist?
"An optometrist or Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) is a health care
professional who is specifically educated, trained and state licensed
to examine the eyes for the presence or absence of vision problems,
eye diseases or other abnormalities. They gather information on
the vision system during the optometric examination and diagnose
any conditions discovered. They prescribe treatment such as prescription
lenses, contact lenses, other optical aids or vision therapy to
provide the patient with clear and efficient vision. In some states,
optometrists are licensed to use topical drugs for therapeutic
purposes. During an examination, optometrists also look for signs
of general health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure
or hardening of the arteries that often can be detected in the
eyes. They refer patients with eye or other disease signs to the
appropriate health care practitioner and often work with other
health professionals in co-managing a patient."1 Currently, approximately
70% of all eye care is delivered by Doctors of Optometry.
1"Admissions to schools and colleges of Optometry,"
American Optometric Association, Fall, 1987.
Education and certification requirements.
Doctors of Optometry have successfully completed a four-year professional
optometry program.
Admission requirements for schools of optometry.
There are 16 schools offering optometry programs in the continental
United States. All require a minimum of 135 quarter hours (90
semester hours) of university coursework prior to admission. Some
require a four-year degree. Pacific University (Forest Grove,
OR) requires a minimum of 135 quarter hours with the completion
of the Bachelor's Degree by the end of the second year of the
professional program. Optometry school admission committees do
not look for a particular undergraduate major, as long as applicants
have completed the course requirements and have demonstrated proficiency
in the sciences as evidenced by the science GPA and the scores
on the OAT. SOU offers a special three-year program which awards
the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology to a student upon completing
a variety of SOU requirements and the successful completion of
the first year of the professional optometry program at Pacific
University. See below, "THREE YEAR BIOLOGY TRANSFER OPTION
agreement with Pacific University," for more information.
In addition to the Bachelor’s Degree, prerequisite coursework
is required. For Pacific University, this includes
- One year of general chemistry, including lab work (Chem
200 series)
- Two terms of organic chemistry, including lab work
- One
term of biochemistry is strongly recommended
- UD microbiology (Bi 351 and 353), Human Anatomy and Physiology (Bi 330 I, II and III and 231L, 232L and 233L)
- One year of general physics
- One course each in statistics and analytic geometry or
calculus
- One course in general psychology
- One year of writing (speech and communications do not
meet this requirement)
Prerequisites for other schools may be found by clicking "School-specific
Prerequisites" in the sidebar to the left.
Suggested first-year program
Biology 211, 212, 213
Chemistry 201,204; 202,205; 203,206
University Seminar 101, 102, 103
Mathematics (including Math 243 and 251)
|
12 credits
15 credits
12 credits
8 credits |
THREE YEAR BIOLOGY TRANSFER OPTION agreement with Pacific University
Pacific University admits qualified students to their
professional optometry program after they complete a
minimum of 135 quarter credits, with the understanding
that the bachelor’s degree must be completed within
two years of admission to the professional program.
SOU offers a three-year course of study for highly motivated and well-prepared students to prepare
them for admission to the professional program
at Pacific University. This program allows the students to complete
the fourth year of the bachelor’s degree in biology
by successfully completing the first year of the professional
optometry program at Pacific University. The requirements
of this joint program are:
- Complete all requirements for the biomedical sciences option of the biology major, except
4 credits of upper division electives, the physiology core requirement, and the capstone.
Upper division electives must include Microbiology and
Human Anatomy and Physiology, all with labs.
- Complete all baccalaureate degree requirements (with
the exception of #5 in the "Baccalaureate Degree Requirements"
on page 18 of the 2006/2007 SOU Catalog).
- Complete additional requirements for acceptance into
the professional optometry program at Pacific University
(e.g., psychology, math, and writing).
- Demonstrate successful completion of the first year of the
professional optometry program at Pacific University
to the SOU registrar, usually by means of submitting an official transcript.
Upon completion of these requirements, the
student is awarded by SOU the Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with the Biomedical Sciences Option.
Suggested Three Year Program for students at SOU:
| First Year |
|
Mathematics (Mth 243 and 251)
General Chemistry with Lab (Ch 201 - 206)
Principles of Biology (Bi 211 - 213)
University Seminar (USEM 101 – 103) |
8 credits
15 credits
12 credits
12 credits |
| |
Total = 47 credits |
| Second Year |
|
Genetics (Bi 341)
Cell Biology (Bi 342)
Developmental Biology (Bi 343)
Organic Chemistry with Lab (Ch 331,332,337,338)
General Psychology (Psy 201, 202)
Technical Writing (Wr 327)
Humanities (Arts and Letters) University Studies
Social Sciences University Studies |
4 credits
4 credits
4 credits
11 credits
8 credits
4 credits
12 credits
4 credits |
| |
Total = 51 credits |
| Third Year |
|
Evolution (Bi 446)
Topics in Biology: Human Anatomy and Physiology
(Bi 330 I, II and III and Bi 231L, 232L, and 233L)
Microbiology (Bi 351 and 353)
Biology Upper Division elective (see #2 under Biomedical
Sciences Option, p. 29 of 06/07 College Catalog
General Physics with Lab (Ph 201 - 203; 224 - 226)
Upper Division University Studies
|
4 credits
12 credits
6 credits
3 - 4 credits
12 credits
12 credits |
| |
Total = 49 – 50 credits |
| Total Program = 147 to 148 credits |
|
Pacific University also offers a degree
completion program for those desiring to enter the professional
optometry program prior to completing their Bachelor's degree.
Refer to the "Visual Science Degree" on the Pacific University
web pages. It should be noted that most applicants accepted
for study in Pacific's optometry program have completed their
four year degree before entering the professional program.
Only a very small number are admitted still needing to complete
the Bachelor's Degree.
Links to more information relating to the optometry program
at Pacific University may be accessed by scrolling down the
sidebar to the left. When using the Pacific University links,
you may need to click your browser's BACK BUTTON to return to this site.
GO TO:
This page is maintained by Roger Christianson.
You may contact him by e-mail at rchristi@sou.edu.
Comments are solicited and appreciated.
URL this page: http://www.sou.edu/biology/advising/PreOPT.html
Page last modified 31 August 2007