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What is the potential income?
Courses
Optometrists practice in rural communities, suburban areas
A candidate for admission to SCO is
and large cities in a variety of settings. Within the private practice
required to present at least three years
setting, optometrists may be practicing alone or in a group practice
of undergraduate work that includes a
with other ODs and/or MDs. Where a practice is established and
minimum of 90 semester or 135 quarter
the mode of practice can both affect the potential income
hours.
for optometry.
A minimum of 30 semester hours (or 45
Data from the American Optometric Association’s 2022 Survey of Optometric
quarter hours) must be completed at a four-
Practice shows the average net incomes ranging from $168,193 for the primary practice of optometry to $204,773 for optometrists who own all or a portion of their practice. The graphic below from Review of Optometry’s 2023 Salary Survey illustrates the average income of full-time optometrists in each region of the United States.
194,628
207,869
$
165,467
sco.edu
184,558
$
222,813
$
SCOnews
What are the prospects for finding a position following graduation? Career counseling begins in the first year and continues throughout the four-year program. It is intended to prepare students for a career in optometry,
admissions@sco.edu
Prerequisites General Biology with labs..................1 year
our rolling admissions infrastructure, SCO
Microbiology with lab. ......................1 course
encourages interested students to apply early
General Physics with labs..................1 year
in the application cycle.
General Chemistry with labs.............1 year
A completed application includes: • OptomCAS Application with all supporting documents:
Organic Chemistry with lab..............1 course Biochemistry..................................1 course Calculus.........................................1 course
— Personal Statement/Essay
Statistics.........................................1 course
— Official Transcripts
General Psychology........................1 course
— Two letters of recommendation
Social Science.................................1 year English...........................................1 year
Optometry The perfect vision for your future.
What is an OD?
A Doctor of Optometry is an independent primary health care provider who examines, diagnoses,
treats and manages diseases of the eye, the visual system and associated structures. Optometrists are the major providers thoroughly trained in all aspects of vision science and optics.
Learn more at
At SCO, we offer a comprehensive placement service to our graduates.
800-722-3224
completed prior to enrollment.
• Optometry Admission Test (OAT) scores
southerncollegeofoptometry
1245 MADISON AVENUE MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 38104
courses or their equivalents must be
application service, OptomCAS. Because of
• SCO’s Supplemental Application
southerncollegeofoptometry SCOedu
Admissions SCO operates within optometry’s centralized
$
$
Requirements
year university or college. The following
What is required to become an optometrist? Most students enter
To receive an optometric license to
optometry school after
practice in a given state, graduates
completing a bachelor’s degree. To practice in the United States,
must also pass National Board Examinations that are administered
while complementing their interests and longterm goals for practice.
students must graduate from a four year
during the last two years of optometry
Students may utilize the online placement service listing, and those who do
Doctor of Optometry (OD) program at a
school. Some states require an
typically receive four to six practice opportunities as a result. Although the
U.S. accredited optometry school such
additional board examination for
primary source of listings for practice opportunities is our alumni, other
as Southern College of Optometry (SCO).
licensure. Once licensed, optometrists
sources for listings are welcome.
The optometry curriculum emphasizes
must complete continuing education
To further assist, the American Optometric Association maintains an
the biological, medical, visual and optical
hours to maintain their licensure
additional practice opportunity network database that is available to all
sciences, as well as the understanding of
throughout their years of practice.
optometry graduates.
the health care delivery system.