Optometry Coordinated Degree Program Agreement

Requirements of the program:

Admission to any of the 23 optometry schools in the United States requires completion of at least three years of undergraduate coursework. Some schools give preference to applicants with a bachelor's degree. Augustana's optometry program is not a graduation major, so a departmental major must be completed if the student intends to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

While requirements vary among different schools, Augustana's pre-optometry program satisfies the pre-requisites of nearly all optometry schools in the country. The program requirements include BIOL-130, BIOL-140,BIOL-250, BIOL-343, BIOL-362; CHEM-131, CHEM-132, CHEM-123, CHEM-321; PHYS-151, PHYS-152; PSYC-100, PSYC-240; and MATH-160. Recommended supporting courses include advanced communication courses and additional social science coursework.

Augustana College has an articulation agreement with Illinois College of Optometry. Students may be accepted to the program during spring of their first year at Augustana and must then maintain a minimum grade-point average and score above the average Optometry Admission Test (OAT) score of the prior year's incoming ICO class. Our agreement with ICO is a 3:4 program, meaning students can enter ICO following their third year at Augustana. After their first year at ICO, students may transfer coursework back to Augustana to complete the bachelor of arts degree. The 3:4 program is not restricted to Illinois residents. Students interested in optometry should confer with the advisor early in the first year of study.

Requirements of the Augustana Bachelor of Arts Degree; Student is responsible for:

• Completing a minimum of six (6) semesters of full-time enrollment at Augustana;
• Completing a minimum of 90 credits at Augustana (transfer and AP work cannot be included);
• See that all General Education coursework is complete prior to enrollment at the receiving institution;
• Seeing that all transfer coursework from the receiving institution meets all requirements of the Augustana transfer policy (see catalog);
• Communicating with the Augustana faculty advisor for particular advising needs;
• Applying to graduate within all published deadlines (see Academic Calendar) ;
• Arranging to have official transcripts sent directly to the Office of the Registrar before the intended date of graduation; and
• Adhere to all other degree requirements set forth in the Augustana Catalog.