FAQs

Please visit the websites listed below for general information about the profession of optometry:

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (www.opted.org)
The American Optometric Association (www.aoa.org)

No. Be sure to complete all Required Courses (linked above) for optometry, regardless of declared major, before the date of your planned enrollment in optometry.

A bachelor's degree is not required for admission to Berkeley Optometry, but it is required for matriculation.

Berkeley Optometry conducts a rolling admissions process. While you have the opportunity to apply during any round throughout the cycle, it’s advantageous to submit your application earlier, as there is a finite number of seats available in the class and more seats are available at the beginning of the cycle.

Ensuring that applicants have the necessary foundation and knowledge to begin the program allows us to start early with clinical education and dive in to more optometry focused coursework. As such, all prerequisite coursework should be from an accredited institution where students have earned a final grade of C or better.

Courses do not expire for our program. However, we do advise you should retake a course if you feel you can receive a better grade or to better demonstrate expertise over the subject knowledge. Another option is to take the OAT to demonstrate that knowledge, but we are OAT optional. It is most important to us that you feel you can handle the academic rigor of the program and can showcase that through your previous coursework.

Our admission committee prefers that courses are taken in person and for a letter grade, when possible. However, we will accept Pass or Not Pass courses and labs.

No, not all prerequisite courses have to be completed at the point of application, but we cannot review your application if more than four prerequisite courses are outstanding.

Yes, courses for which AP credit was given are acceptable if listed on an official college transcript.

Although we do not have a required amount of shadowing hours, the purpose in shadowing an optometrist is to help you decide that optometry is the profession for you. The number of hours will vary from individual to individual. Additionally, we do recommend shadowing in more than one mode of practice, if possible, to have multiple perspectives and experiences within the profession of optometry. Different modes might include private practice, VA hospital, corporate practice, group practice, etc.

No, we do not require research experience to be admitted into our program, nor do we give preferential treatment to applicants with research backgrounds.

You should contact us via email at optometry-admissions@berkeley.edu regarding acceptable substitute courses if no courses are offered at your school in human anatomy and human physiology.

We prefer a life science-based statistics course if it is available at your institution. If your institution does not have a life science-based statistics course, we will accept the introductory course. If you are unsure of equivalent content, please email the course name, number, description and units to us at optometry-admissions@berkeley.edu.

In terms of the application process, there is no preferential treatment given to students who are in-state vs. out-of-state. There are also no additional documents required for the application process for out-of-state students.

Yes! Undocumented students are eligible to apply to the Doctor of Optometry program at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science. Before applying, we encourage you to contact our Admissions and Student Affairs team to learn more about how this may impact licensing, malpractice insurance, rotations and/or externships.

Many applicants to Berkeley Optometry choose to gain additional experience, both in optometry and life, by taking a year or more off following completion of their bachelor’s degree. Because the Admissions Committee recognizes the value of this real-world experience, it can improve these individual’s competitive advantage for admission.

We do not offer part-time student status into the program. The curriculum to become an Optometrist must be done full time to complete the program.

The Optometry Admission Test (OAT) can be a helpful factor for bolstering applicants who have a low GPA or weaker science background but is an optional part of the application and thus are not counted against students who decide not to submit test scores.

Scores cannot be older than 3 years old.

No. We will take the highest Academic Average (AA) and corresponding subject area for that test date only. We will not mix scores from different test dates. In a case where your AA is the same between or among scores, we will use your Total Science (TS) score as a tiebreaker.

We do not currently offer an option for students to enroll in a dual degree program. Some OD graduates each year may choose to continue their education in a PhD program but it is not an existing option for a dual degree.