Prerequisites

Before you apply

For admission to the Doctor of Optometry program, you must have:

  • At least 90 college credit hours, from the list of required courses
  • All courses must have been completed within 10 years from the time you hope to start the Doctor of Optometry program.

Early admission

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 prerequisites

Required courses

The 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.

Course requirements

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 /
1 Quarter

BIOL-L 112 and L 113

Advanced (animal or developmental, 200+ level)

One Semester /
1 Quarter

See Strongly Recommended Courses

Microbiology w/lab

One Semester /
1 Quarter

BIOL-M 250/M 315 or M 380/M 315

Chemistry

Chemistry courses must be taken in-person

General/Inorganic, w/lab

Two Semesters /
3 Quarters

CHEM-C 1171 /C 127 and N 331 and N3372 or C 118

Organic (lab recommended. C 342 also recommended)

One Semester /
1 Quarter

CHEM-C 341

Biochemistry

One Semester /
1 Quarter

CHEM-C 383, 483 (484 for Biochem majors) or BIOL-M 350 (for Microbiology majors only)

Mathematics (one course)

One Semester /
1 Quarter

Any course or courses fulfilling IU Math Modeling Requirements3

Physics—General

Two Semesters /
3 Quarters

PHYS-P 201 and P 202
Physics courses must be taken in-person and must have a lab.

Statistical Techniques

One Semester /
1 Quarter

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 /
1 Quarter

PSY-P 101 or 106

Writing Skills

English Composition4

One Semester /
1 Quarter

ENG-W 131 or W 132

Additional intensive writing course5

One Semester /
1 Quarter

Intensive Writing Requirement

Strongly Recommended Courses

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

Other Recommended Elective Courses

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

1Chem C105/C125 may be substituted for C117/C127; however, students with C105/125 credit who are planning to take C341 on the IU Bloomington campus are strongly encouraged to take C117/C127 before taking C341.

2Chem C106/C126 may be substituted for C118 but not for N331/337.

3Any math course(s) that fulfill(s) the Math Modeling requirement for IUB’s General Education Program will be accepted, as of March 2024:

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 additional and the most up-to-date information on the IUB's mathematical modeling requirements, please visit, https://gened.indiana.edu/requirements/index.html

4A minimum SAT Critical Reading score of 670 or ACT English score of 32 will exempt the student (without credit) from the requirement. Other means of completing the composition requirement exist. Consult the IUB College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin for details on these options.

5Specific Arts & Humanities and Social & Historical Studies courses may count toward both the distribution requirements and the intensive writing requirement.

Contact the Office of Student Administration

For Doctor of Optometry program admission questions or to schedule an advising appointment, please contact:

Office of Student Administration
Indiana University School of Optometry
800 E. Atwater Avenue
Second Floor
Bloomington, IN 47405

Phone: 812-855-1917
Fax: 812-855-4389
Email: iubopt@iu.edu


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