For admission to the Doctor of Optometry program, you must have:
A bachelor’s degree is highly recommended. For early admission to the program, without a bachelor’s degree, we require more college credit hours.
See early admission prerequisitesThe following courses must be completed at an accredited institution, with a grade of C or higher, by the time you enter the IU School of Optometry.
All course requirements are considered absolute minimums, which must be met or exceeded. A maximum of 60 credit hours may be taken at a junior college. Up to 10 credits of AP/CLEP coursework is accepted. None of the specified courses may be taken on a pass/fail basis. All science courses must be in-person and only three other courses may be taken online.
Would you like to attend an online webinar presentation about the admission process or would you like to meet with an advisor online and discuss your application in a one-on-one setting?
Subject Area | Minimum Semesters or Quarters Required | Comparable IU Courses |
Biology/Zoology | Biology/Zoology courses must be taken in-person | |
Introductory, w/lab | One Semester / | BIOL-L 112 and L 113 |
Advanced (animal or developmental, 200+ level) | One Semester / | |
Microbiology w/lab | One Semester / | BIOL-M 250/M 315 or M 380/M 315 |
Chemistry | Chemistry courses must be taken in-person | |
General/Inorganic, w/lab | Two Semesters / | |
Organic (lab recommended. C 342 also recommended) | One Semester / | CHEM-C 341 |
Biochemistry | One Semester / | CHEM-C 383, 483 (484 for Biochem majors) or BIOL-M 350 (for Microbiology majors only) |
Mathematics (one course) | One Semester / | Any course or courses fulfilling IU Math Modeling Requirements3 |
Physics—General | Two Semesters / | PHYS-P 201 and P 202 |
Statistical Techniques | One Semester / | STAT-S 300, or S303; PSY-K 300 or K 310; SPEA-K 300; ECON-E 370; MATH-K 310; SPH-Q381 |
Psychology—Introductory | One Semester / | PSY-P 101 or 106 |
Writing Skills | ||
English Composition4 | One Semester / | ENG-W 131 or W 132 |
Additional intensive writing course5 | One Semester / | Intensive Writing Requirement |
Subject Area | Comparable IU Courses |
Advanced Biology | Biology courses must be taken in-person. |
Vertebrate or Human Anatomy with lab/Histology | ANAT-A 225 or A 464 |
Human Physiology with lab | PHSL-P 225 |
Subject Area | Comparable IU Courses |
Anatomy & Physiology of the Eye | TOPT-V 201 Must be taken in-person |
Cell Biology | BIOL-L 312 Must be taken in-person |
Neuroscience | PSY-P 337 or PSY-P 346 |
Sensation and Perception | PSY-P 329 |
Sensory Processes | PSY-P 349 |
Immunology | BIOL-L 321 Must be taken in-person |
Genetics | BIOL-L 311 Must be taken in-person |
Intro Business Administration | BUS-X 100 |
Small Business Management | BUS-W 300 (P: BUS-A 200) |
Medical Terminology | CLAS-C 209 |
Ethics | PHIL-P 140 |
Independent Research | 490 series |
Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology | MSCI-M115 |
| Mathematics for Business and Public Affairs (3 cr.) | MATH-B 110 |
| The Mathematics of Decision and Beauty (3 cr.) | MATH-M 106 |
| Introduction to Calculus with Applications (3 cr.) | MATH-J 113 |
| Finite Mathematics (3 cr.) | MATH-M 118 |
| Honors Finite Mathematics (3 cr.) | MATH-S 118 |
| Finite Mathematics with Applications: Finite Mathematics for the Social and Biological Sciences (3 cr.) | MATH-V 118 |
| Finite Mathematics with Applications: Finite Math in Action (3 cr.) | MATH-V 118 |
| Finite Mathematics with Applications: Finite and Consumer Math (3 cr.) | MATH-V 118 |
| Brief Survey of Calculus I (3 cr.) | MATH-M 119 |
| Applied Brief Calculus I: Applied Brief Calculus I for the Life Sciences (3 cr.) | MATH-V 119 |
| Calculus I (4 cr.) | MATH-M 211 |
| Honors Calculus I (3 cr.) | MATH-S 211 |
For Doctor of Optometry program admission questions or to schedule an advising appointment, please contact:
Office of Student AdministrationPhone: 812-855-1917
Fax: 812-855-4389
Email: iubopt@iu.edu
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