Optometry BSc (Hons)

at City University of London

This course prepares you to work as an optometrist, making a real difference to the lives of people who suffer from vision impairment and sight loss.
 

You will learn about vision and the eye, through topics like optics, biology, eye disease and visual impairment. You’ll also learn about therapeutic solutions such as contact lenses and ophthalmic lenses and dispensing.
 

In your final year, you’ll develop your clinical practice by working in our very own eye clinic, City Sight. You will examine members of the public – from babies to the elderly – presenting with a wide range of ocular conditions and needs.
 

• Practise in excellent facilities, which include a range of purpose-built clinics and laboratories on campus, as well as our clinic, City Sight

• Learn from research-active academics who are leaders in their field and design the curriculum around cutting-edge developments in the discipline

• Benefit from a clinical placement at Moorfields, the UK’s leading Eye Hospital.
   

Observe at the Royal National Institute of Blind People's resource centre in central London, learning about multidisciplinary low vision care.
 

Our BSc (Hons) Optometry degree is accredited by the General Optical Council. Full registration with the General Optical Council is gained after successful completion of the Scheme for Registration (pre-registration year).
 

For Canadian applicants - If you would like to practise as an Optometrist in Canada following completion of this degree, you will need to go through the procedures specified by the Federation of Optometric Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FORAC). Information relating to this process and requirements can be found on the FORAC website (please note this process may change at any time). We strongly recommend that you investigate the possibility of returning to practice in Canada before applying to this course.
 

Course content
 

This three-year BSc Optometry degree prepares you for your pre-registration period in high street, independent practice or hospital optometry.
 

Year 1
 

Build a foundation in the basic sciences that underpin optometry and start your clinical training.

 

• Optics (30 credits)

• Ophthalmic Lenses & Dispensing I (15 credits)

• Neural Biology & General Pathology (30 credits)

• Clinical Skills I (30 credits)

• Visual Optics & Measurement techniques (15 credits)
   

Year 2
 

Expand your clinical skills, developing an understanding of ocular and systemic disease, and the neuroscience of visual perception. Enhance your clinical confidence and competence, learning how to use the latest technologies to investigate ocular abnormalities.

 

• Clinical Skills II (30 credits)

• Contact Lenses I (15 credits)

• Introduction to Eye Disease (30 credits)

• Binocular Vision (15 credits)

• Visual Perception (15 credits)

• Ophthalmic Lenses & Dispensing II (15 credits)
   

Year 3
 

Develop the knowledge and clinical skills for professional practice. See a diverse range of patients under supervision at our new City Sight Optometry Clinic and carry out full eye examinations. Develop highly specialised skills and observe patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital, one of the world's leading eye hospitals.

 

• Contact Lenses II (15 credits)

• Eye Disease & Therapeutics (30 credits)

• Binocular Vision, Paediatrics & Visual Impairment (30 credits)

• Research Studies (15 credits)

• Clinical & Professional Practice (30 credits)

UK
 

A-level:

AAB (including two from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics).
 

Tariff:

136 UCAS tariff points
 

International Baccalaureate:

31 points (including 6 in two Higher Level sciences and 5 in Standard Level English and Mathematics)
 

BTEC:

We do not accept Access courses or BTECs.
 

GCSE:

A minimum of five passes grade 4 (C) in GCSE, including English and Mathematics in addition to other stated requirements.
 

University preparation programmes

If you do not qualify for direct entry, you may wish to take a foundation programme first. These programmes are designed to prepare students for entry to City's undergraduate courses.
 

Introduction to Optometry
 

City, University of London also offers a one-year Introduction to Optometry course which can lead to progression onto our BSc (Hons) Optometry degree.
 

Mixed qualifications
 

We often use tariff points within our offers. Any conditional offer based on tariff is likely to only be based on the equivalent of an applicant's top three A-level grades.
 

We do not offer any flexible offers on this course.
 

Subject exclusions
 

We do not accept General Studies and Critical Thinking. These subjects will not be included in any conditional offer we make.
 

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
 

We welcome applications from students who are completing relevant EPQ Projects. Whilst we recognise the value of these projects in preparing students for independent learning at university, the EPQ is unlikely to form part of any conditional offer we make.
 

The EPQ will also not lower the specifics of any conditional offer we choose to make. We will consider the EPQ as part of the holistic assessment of the application and it could be used to form part of our final decision at Confirmation stage.
 

AS levels
 

We recognise that there will be differences of opportunity varying by school and college. As not all students will have the opportunity to sit AS Level exams, it is unlikely we will include AS Level grades in any offer we choose to make.
 

Where students have completed an AS Level subject, we will consider this as part of the holistic assessment of the application and it could be used to form part of our final decision at Confirmation stage.
 

General Optical Council
 

In addition to meeting the entry requirements, you are required to have enhanced disclosure and barring service clearance and are required to register with the General Optical Council and maintain this registration throughout the degree course.

 

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, we will require evidence of English language proficiency. Minimum requirements are:
 

IELTS:
 

7.0 overall with a minimum of 7.0 in each component.
 

If your first language is not English, we will require evidence of English language proficiency.

Fees for year 2022/23
 

UK
 

£9,250
 

Overseas/EU
 

£16,560
 

The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2022/ 23 academic year only. Fees for future years may be sub

Career
 

This degree is accredited by the General Optical Council. Full registration with the General Optical Council is gained after successful completion of the Scheme for Registration (pre-registration year).

 

Optometry offers a diverse and flexible career pathway. Optometrists work in:

 

• high street and independent practice

• hospitals

• research and teaching.
   

There are opportunities to specialise in areas such as:

 

• paediatrics

• binocular vision

• visual impairment

• contact lenses.
   

City’s employment rate is very high. 98.6% of our students gain employment within 15 months of graduation, with an average salary of £25,645 (Graduate Outcomes, 2020). The average salary for an experienced optometrist is £62,000 (Government Careers Service)