Prerequisite Courses
Prerequisite Courses
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Standard Prerequisite Courses
**Disclaimer: Prerequisite courses can vary per optometry school; courses listed are just average requirements for pre-optometry students. See below for the ASCO (Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry) published prerequisite details or learn more about individual schools here.**
General Biology (or Zoology) w/ Lab - One Year/8.0 credit hours.
General Chemistry w/ Lab - One Year/8.0 credit hours.
General Physics w/ Lab - One Year/8.0 credit hours.
Organic Chemistry w/ Lab - One Course/4.0 credit hours.
Microbiology w/ Lab - One Course/4.0 credit hours.
Biochemistry (lab optional) - One Course/3.0 or 4.0 credit hours.
Anatomy & Physiology - One or Two Courses/3.0+ credit hours
Statistics - One Course/3.0 credit hours.
Calculus - One Course/3.0 credit hours.
Psychology - One Course/3.0 credit hours.
Social Science - One Year/6.0 credit hours.
English/Literature - One Year/6.0 credit hours.
Prerequisite Details (Published 2024)
ASCO (Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry) has created an extremely helpful document (published April 2024) listing each current U.S. optometry schools' specific undergraduate course requirements. Click here or on the sheet to see more details.
Additional Prerequisite Course Tips
Optometry schools accept students from many academic backgrounds since *technically* they only require completion of prerequisite courses before enrollment (however, earning a bachelors degree is STRONGLY recommended).
Consider choosing a UNIQUE undergraduate major (i.e., something other than biology or chemistry) since doing so can standout and offer a different perspective when applying to optometry school.
Academic performance in upper-level biological science courses is strongly weighted by optometry admissions officers because such coursework often RESEMBLES concepts that will be heavily covered in optometry school.
It is allowed (and common) to apply to optometry school while still in the process of finishing a few/couple prerequisite courses (these courses must be passed and approved PRIOR to enrollment though).
Optometry schools prefer prerequisite courses to be taken at a primary undergraduate institution but, with APPROVAL, they will accept credit for some supplemental AP, dual enrollment, or community college prequisite coursework.
If a prerequisite course is taken twice, when applying to optometry school OptomCAS (Optometry Centralized Service) will factor the COMBINED average of both course letter grades when calculating a cumulative GPA.
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