School of Optometry
Description
Mission
黑料在线’s School of Optometry fosters a forward-thinking, inclusive learning environment that develops competent, socially, and ethical eye and vision care professionals committed to patient care and community wellness. Their success is rooted in the Jesuit and Mercy traditions through the integration of scholarly activity, evidence-based teaching, and service.
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Admission Requirements
Admissions Process Overview
- Fulfill all academic prerequisites listed below.
- Take the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) and connect your score with your application
- OptomCAS Application: Apply through the Optometry Centralized Application Service (OptomCAS), including submission of all official transcripts, OAT scores, and letters of recommendation. Once your OptomCAS application is received by Office of Admissions, an acknowledgement email will be sent to you
- Supplemental Application - no supplemental fee. Those selected for an interview will receive instructions via email
Please send all admissions questions to: optometryadmissions@udmercy.edu
Admissions Process Details
Academic Prerequisites
Academic preparation must include the following specific requirements, both in time and in credit hours. Please note that eight semester hours in science and six semester hours in English are generally equivalent to a one-year course): Prerequisites that are older than 10 years at time of application must be retaken, preferably at a 4-year institution. Applicants must have 90 credits at time of application and must earn their bachelor's by matriculation to the School of Optometry.
Biology:
- Eight semester hours (12 quarter hours) of general biology with laboratory
- Additional courses encouraged in immunology, microbiology, physiology, anatomy
Chemistry:
- Eight semester hours (12 quarter hours) of general chemistry with laboratory
- Four semester hours (6 quarter hours) of organic chemistry with laboratory
Physics:
- Eight semester hours (12 quarter hours) of physics with laboratory
English:
- Six semester hours (9-quarter hours).
- First-year college courses in composition will satisfy the requirement.
- Three semester hours of credit in literature may be used to satisfy part of this requirement if the course description confirms that writing was integral to the course.
The optometry admissions committee reserves the right to modify the prerequisites when additional courses are necessary to an applicant's preparation for optometry school. Grades of C or higher are expected in prerequisite courses; however, high B grades or higher are truly more competitive.
Courses in biochemistry, statistics, and psychology are strongly recommended. If a student wishes to strengthen their academic credentials, they should consult with pre-health advisors at their present college/university regarding the proper course of action.
Academic Achievement
A minimum GPA in science courses of 3.0 is recommended, but GPAs of 3.5 or higher are considered more competitive. A full-time academic load (15-18 semester hours) of three or four science courses each term is encouraged, particularly during the junior and senior undergraduate years.
Application
The School of Dentistry utilizes the Optometry Centralized Application Service (OptomCAS). This service is available to all students applying to optometry schools participating in the application service. When you use OptomCAS, you complete just one application. Applications are available from late-June through late-May of each year. Simply visit the OptomCAS website to submit your electronic application.
Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis.
Optometry Admissions Test (OAT)
The preferred test for admission is the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT), a national standardized test. Scores from the OAT are an important component to one's application to optometry school and should be recognized as such by the student. Members of an admissions committee frequently use the OAT to predict a student's success or potential failure in the school's curriculum. Additional information about the OAT can be obtained by visiting the American Dental Association's (ADA) website.
Students are advised to take the OAT only after basic requirements in chemistry and biology have been completed. Applicant must achieve a score of 300 or higher in each section. Retaking the OAT, with the goal of achieving more competitive scores is encouraged. OAT scores older than three years from the time of the test are not acceptable.
The program also accepts scores from the MCAT, DAT, PCAT, and GRE, with scores below the mean for each examination considered less competitive. Scores from any of the aforementioned examinations should be from within three years of the date of application.
Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of recommendation are required. One from a science faculty where the student has taken a class and earned a grade. A composite or committee letter can be used in this place. Applicants are encouraged to shadow with a non-relative optometrist in an optometry office and are also required to have a letter from an optometrist attesting to the applicant having spent a reasonable amount of time with the practitioner exploring the optometry profession. The third letter can be from one of the following: non-relative optometrist, science faculty, non-science faculty, pre-health advisor, faculty advisor, healthcare professional, or employer.
General Guidelines for Letters of Recommendations: Letters of recommendation must appear on official college/university or business/optometry practice letterhead. Professionally, they must include an original signature with typewritten name beneath the signature as well as professional title. Faculty should ensure the course (code, title and term) for which you were enrolled and they instructed is conveyed within the content of their letter. Letters of recommendation from TAs, graduate student instructors or PhD candidates must be cosigned by the course director or department chairperson.
Selection Factors
The Director of Admissions reviews all completed applications and together with the Optometry Admissions Committee selects applicants for admission to the School of Optometry.
Selection is based upon various components of the OptomCAS application which may include cognitive and non-cognitive components of an application: difficulty of an undergraduate curriculum, academic performance in undergraduate studies, OAT scores, and personal characteristics and potential for success as determined by letters of recommendation, personal statements, and personal interviews, to name a few. The optometry admissions committee requests an interview for the purpose of gaining information not readily gained from the application; interviews are by invitation only to academically qualified applicants.
Reapplication Requirements and Suggestions
Submit your application early. Detroit Mercy Optometry accepts students on a rolling basis.
Continue to enroll FULL-TIME in upper-division (graduate) biologically-based science courses (non-plant or non- environmental). If you have already obtained your BS degree, it is suggested you begin working toward a master's degree (preferably a biology or biomedical science based one)
Submit new letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be submitted from current professors each year you apply.
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Degree Requirements - Doctor of Optometry (204 credits)
The required courses for the Doctor of Optometry:
- OPT 8100 Optometry School 101 (.5 credit)
- OPT 8101 Biomedical Sciences I-Foundations of Cellular and Molecular Biology (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8102 Biomedical Sciences II- Foundations of Microbiology and Infectious Disease (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8103 Biomedical Sciences III- Structural and Nervous Systems (1 credit)
- OPT 8104 Biomedical Sciences IV- Hematology and Immunology (3 credits)
- OPT 8110 Gross Anatomy (3 credits)
- OPT 8121 Geometric Optics (3.5 credits)
- OPT 8122 Clinical Foundations I (4.5 credits)
- OPT 8123 Ocular Anatomy (3.5 credits)
- OPT 8131 Visual and Applied Optics (4 credits)
- OPT 8132 Clinical Foundations II (4.5 credits)
- OPT 8133 Ocular Physiology (2 credits)
- OPT 8134 Evidence-Based Optometry and Research Concepts (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8105 Biomedical Sciences V- Cardiovascular and Renal Systems (2 credits)
- OPT 8106 Biomedical Sciences VI- Respiratory Systems (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8107 Biomedical Sciences VII- Gastrointestinal System (1 credit)
- OPT 8108 Biomedical Sciences VIII- Metabolism and Nutrition (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8109 Biomedical Sciences VIIII- Endocrine and Reproductive Systems (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8210 Biomedical Sciences X- Bone, Muscle, and Integument (2 credits)
- OPT 8211 Ophthalmic Optics (3 credits)
- OPT 8212 Clinical Foundations Review (1 credit)
- OPT 8213 Vision Science (3.5 credits)
- OPT 8214 Neuroanatomy (3 credits)
- OPT 8221 Ethics and Healthcare Dynamics (2 credits)
- OPT 8222 Clinical Foundations III (4.5 credits)
- OPT 8223 Clinical Internship I (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8224 Pediatric Optometry (3 credits)
- OPT 8225 Ocular Pharmacology (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8226 Pathology of the Anterior Segment (4 credits)
- OPT 8227 Pharmacology I (3 credits)
- OPT 8232 Clinical Foundations IV (3 credits)
- OPT 8233 Clinical Internship II (1 credit)
- OPT 8236 Pathology of the Posterior Segment I (3 credits)
- OPT 8238 Contact Lens I (3 credits)
- OPT 8235 Clinical Medicine for Optometrists (2.5 credits)
- OPT 8231 Public Health and Epidemiology (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8234 Binocular Vision (4 credits)
- OPT 8237 Pharmacology II (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8313 Clinical Internship III (6 credits)
- OPT 8314 Strabismus, Amblyopia and Vision Therapy (4 credits)
- OPT 8315 Glaucoma (2.5 credits)
- OPT 8316 Pathology of the Posterior Segment II (3 credits)
- OPT 8318 Contact Lens II (3 credits)
- OPT 8321 Ophthalmic Surgery I (3 credits)
- OPT 8322 Systemic Disease in Eyecare (2 credits)
- OPT 8323 Clinical Internship IV (6 credits)
- OPT 8324 Low Vision (3 credits)
- OPT 8325 Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease and Acquired Brian Injury (3 credits)
- OPT 8326 Optometry Review I (1 credit)
- OPT 8331 Ophthalmic Surgery II (3 credits)
- OPT 8332 Optometric Practice and Leadership (3 credits)
- OPT 8333 Clinical Internship V (6 credits)
- OPT 8334 Clinical Case Analysis (1.5 credits)
- OPT 8336 Optometry Review II (1 credit)
- OPT 8412 Clinical Externship (40 total credits, taken over multiple semesters)
- OPT 8413 Clinical Internship VI (19 credits)
- OPT 8414 Clinical Capstone Project (1 credit)
Credit Total = 204
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Academic Policies Handbook
Detroit Mercy Optometry Academic Policies Handbook
*Handbook is subject to changes based on ongoing review.
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Contact Information
Address
黑料在线 School of Optometry
41555 W 12 Mile Rd.
Novi, MI 48377
Telephone (Office of Admissions): 313-494-6611
Email: optometryadmissions@udmercy.edu