Why Earn a Doctor of Optometry?
Pacific University’s four-year doctor of optometry program prepares today’s students for licensure and practice as tomorrow's optometrists. Students benefit from the School of Optometry’s long history and over 75 years of experience of delivering vision and eye healthcare while advancing the optometry profession.
The optometry program’s curriculum consists of academic and laboratory experiences integrated with clinical work. The fourth year is entirely clinical, consisting of four full-time rotations, with over 120 sites in the network, including international opportunities. Pacific’s optometry students start gaining real-world experience during the first semester of the first year and, by the time they graduate, they will have rotated through multiple clinics, serving a wide range of patients.
In addition to clinical training, the doctor of optometry program provides students with research facilities and with an elective research thesis opportunity. The optometry program also encourages and provides funds for faculty and students to attend scientific meetings, while conferences on campus allow practitioners, students, faculty and other researchers the opportunity to exchange findings and information.
Graduates from Pacific’s optometry program are fully qualified to practice in any state in the U.S. and province in Canada, and to successfully pass the exams administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) and Optometry Examining Board of Canada (OEBC). Students typically score above the national average on the NBEO and OEBC exams, which reflects the excellent education optometry students receive at Pacific University, and the hard work, dedication and focus our students and faculty bring to the classroom every day.
What Can You Do with a Doctor of Optometry?
Optometrists change lives as healthcare professionals specializing in the examination, diagnosis, and care of the visual system. Pacific graduates from the optometry program are prepared to be independent primary healthcare professionals who examine, treat, and manage diseases, injuries, and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and associated structures, as well as identify related systemic conditions affecting the eye.
Optometrists have excellent career opportunities, with the ability to work in a variety of settings, including private practice, group practice, retail/optical, corporate/industrial, military, VA medical centers, public health/hospitals/interdisciplinary settings, academics, and research. Also, being an optometrist allows for a flexible schedule and regular hours (the average optometrist works 37.3 hours per week). Data from the American Optometric Association shows that average net incomes range from $140,013 for the primary practice of optometry to $172,356 for optometrists who own all or a portion of their practice. A recent U.S. News and World Report article described optometry as one of the Top 10 leading professions of this decade, with employment projected to grow by 33 percent through 2020. CNN Money has listed optometry as the ninth fastest growing profession in America.
Support for Optometry School
To support Pacific University College of Optometry student learning and engagement, donors, including alumni, friends, and industry members, have generously donated to provide support through scholarships, awards, and project funding.
Community Outreach & Clinical Experience
Optometry students are the heart of the Pacific University optometry community outreach, which provides care for underserved populations. Our students contribute around 3,000 hours per year at over 100 events a year. About half of these events involve driving the EyeVan to community centers, churches, homeless shelters and migrant camps in the Portland metro area where our optometry students provide eye care services. The other half of our events are dedicated to identifying local children who are at risk of having vision problems. Our first and second year optometry students visit local elementary schools throughout the year and provide screenings.
Pacific EyeClinics
Pacific EyeClinics serve as state-of-the-art facilities for students to fulfill the vision and eye care needs of the public through instruction, by embracing the full scope of contemporary optometric and visual science, clinical experience, and research. The eye clinics are staffed by optometric interns who are in their final years of training, under the supervision of licensed optometrists.
Post-Graduate Residencies
Extend your optometry degree with a residency program after graduation. residencies are designed to prepare the optometric physician for careers in optometric education, research, and clinical positions requiring specialty training or clinical management. The Pacific University College of Optometry and its affiliates offer several one-year residency programs.
Julie Carlson | Assistant Director of Graduate and Professional Admissions
503-352-7222 | optadmissions@pacificu.edu
The optometry doctorate and residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141; 314-991-4100; 314-991-4101 (fax). This program meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification in these U.S. states and territories. Student outcome data is available here, and additional student learning outcome and curriculum information is available in the academic catalog.
