Optician to Optometrist

[jc17777]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently a Licensed Optician in the province of Ontario. I am thinking of going back to school to become and Optometrist but was just wondering if anyone knows of a good way to do this. I do not currently have an undergrad(Only schooling is the 2 year Opticanry program after highschool) and I would like to avoid going to get an undergrad before applying to schools. I have heard that in the UK you do not require an undergrad to go to optometry school but can run into some issues when coming back to Canada. Are there any schools in the US that would take the Opticanry program as a undergrad? Any information would be appreciated.

[wmcdonald]

There are schools that would take the degree/coursework, but it would not count for as much as you might think. All schools do not require a BS degree, but they will require at least 90 semester hours of credit, which must include the basic science courses. You can find the admissions requirements on the ASCO website (https://optometriceducation.org/ ) You will find thnat unlike Opticianry, Optometry finds formal education very important.

The are some general guidelines and also a list of each of the schools. Good luck in your decision.

[jc17777]

Thank you so much. I will look into that

[optical maven]

in US and Canada you require an undergrad degree with specific prerequisite courses ( eg physics, math, chemistry, etc). It is then 4 years in professional training.

[tmorse]

I do not currently have an undergrad(Only schooling is the 2 year Opticanry program after highschool) and I would like to avoid going to get an undergrad before applying to schools.

You must realize that you do not have an undergraduate degree, but only a post-secondary College diploma which no recognized optometry school will accept as equivalent.

[rbaker]

As an optician you have shown that you have a pulse and can sign your own name. As an Optometrist you will also have to prove that you have a brain.

[wmcdonald]

Many Optometry schools have accepted the AAS Degrees in Opticianry, but there are also requirements beyond just that, and it will take a good 60 semester hours of academic work beyond that to qualify. The programs here in the US do offer Associate in Applied Science (and a few others....AOS, for example) degrees, and are not just diplomas.

[tmorse]

This is an example of Canadian ‘Credential Creep’ at its best.
In 1967 my Toronto high school buddy decided to go to school to become an Optometrist. It was then a 3-year program at Toronto’s College of Optometry. I understand that the University of Waterloo eventually took over and made their Optometry degree a 5-year program, where the 1^st year was a standard Bachelor of Science general year, followed by 4-years of Optometry studies.
Then the University of Waterloo made a ‘2-years of science’ requirement, followed by their 5-year Optometry program. And I understand that they now require a fully-completed 3-year Bachelor of Science degree to enter their Optometry program.
I understand that they also have a rigorous Optometry aptitude test requirement (much like the LSAT) that the Waterloo selection committee uses to weed out their many Optometry applicants.
Your 2-year diploma opticanry program will have to be upgraded with a lot of University level science credits to be considered for admission.
Good luck to you!!

[Lab Insight]

Wait long enough and opticians and optometrists may amalgamate. When you strip away all the politics and bureaucracy, other than pathology, the roles are very much the same.

[wmcdonald]

Many schools require an undergraduate degree, but there remain some who require 90 Semester hours of credit only according to ASCO.

[jc17777]

You must realize that you do not have an undergraduate degree, but only a post-secondary College diploma which no recognized optometry school will accept as equivalent.

If you read my post correctly I did say in it that I " DO NOT" currently have an undergrad. So yes I do realize that I do not have an undergraduate degree. I was listing my current post-secondary education because as I stated in my previous post the UK does not require an undergraduate degree and I was just looking for information regarding other options.

[tmorse]

Then I would suggest you go the USA route as wmcdonald stated. Then Canada's Optometry may recognize the credential.

[optical maven]

I graduated from U Waterloo in the late 70's and so I will correct your version of history. I was accepted after 1 year of undergrad sciences and then spent 4 years in optometry. It was never a 3 year professional program. Optometry moved to Waterloo in 1967 and it was a 4 year professional program at that time. In the 70's it was common to be accepted into medical or dentistry school with after 2 years in undergrad since the only prerequisite was organic chemistry, a 2nd year course.

[tmorse]

I graduated from U Waterloo in the late 70's and so I will correct your version of history. I was accepted after 1 year of undergrad sciences and then spent 4 years in optometry. It was never a 3 year professional program. Optometry moved to Waterloo in 1967 and it was a 4 year professional program at that time. In the 70's it was common to be accepted into medical or dentistry school with after 2 years in undergrad since the only prerequisite was organic chemistry, a 2nd year course.

My post had a date typo... it should have read 1967 and not 1997 (since corrected). I completed Toronto high school in 1966-67 and my buddy planned on going to a 3-year Optometry College of Toronto. But U of Waterloo took over Optometry in 1968. Are there not any old alumni of this 3-year program??

[Trina]

As an optician you have shown that you have a pulse and can sign your own name. As an Optometrist you will also have to prove that you have a brain.

This is incredibly rude. As someone who got a BSc FIRST and then took the two year opticianry program at NAIT in Alberta, I would argue that you do indeed need to have a brain in order to become a licensed optician and I take offense at the claim that you do not.