1. Degrees offered at the UH College of Optometry include a doctor of optometry, combined doctor of optometry and a doctorate in philosophy, master of science and a doctor of philosophy.
2. Two well-known optometrists are UHCO faculty member Dr. Irvin Borish, who is considered the father of modern optometry, and Dr. Brien Holden, who founded the Brien Holden Vision Institute.
3. It takes 177 total credit hours to receive a doctor of optometry. A typical week for UHCO students consists of 26 or more hours spent in classrooms or labs. Once in clinic, there are 8 hours a day spent providing patient care. Students will spend approximately 54 hours to obtain a master’s of science degree and 96 hours to receive a doctorate in philosophy.
4. According to the American Optometric Association, the average starting income in optometry is around $60,000. Most graduates of the master’s or doctoral program either go into the pharmaceutical industry or academia.
5. A doctor of optometry, including equipment costs, will average around $90,000 during a four-year span. Master’s degrees are about $16,350 for two years and doctorates vary.
6. More than 4,000 students have graduated from the UHCO since 1952. In order to be licensed to practice, students must pass all three parts of the National Examination Board of Optometry Exams — management and clinical skills, applied basic sciences and patient assessment — while holding a GPA of no less than 2.0.
7. UHCO is looking for students who can academically excel with high scores on the OAT — an optometry admissions test administered to prospective students — who are comfortable treating patients and who have had previous experience in the optometric field.
Edit at 10:40 a.m. Oct. 4: Dr. Brien Holden was never a faculty member at UHCO. Numbers three and four were made more specific with the addition of specific degree tracks.