Get ready to take your first steps on an exciting journey towards a career in Optometry. We'll give you the opportunity to gain the knowledge and practical skills you'll need to complete your professional training and become highly employable. As one of the UK's newest Optometry departments, we are committed to offering you a learning experience that's second-to-none, and small class sizes mean a personal approach to our teaching where you'll be well supported to reach your goals.

• This course is aligned to the requirements of the General Optical Council (GOC) and as a new course, currently has provisional approval* from the General Optical Council.
• We combine scientific principles in Optometry and vision sciences with practical clinical skills from the first year.
• The opportunity to learn clinical skills and develop your ability to meet the General Optical Council competencies for Optometry are embedded throughout our course.
• You'll also have the chance to learn in a new, purpose built Optometry laboratory equipped with all the necessary equipment for your studies. *In your final year you'll get real-world experience seeing patients with a variety of ocular conditions in our newly built, state-of-the-art University Eye Clinic here on campus.
• Your studies will also be enhanced through placements in local hospital eye departments, in your final year, where you'll have the opportunity to work alongside colleagues in the NHS.

*The University of Huddersfield currently holds provisional approval from the GOC to provide the Optometry BSc(Hons) programme. Whilst under provisional approval, students recruited onto the programme are not guaranteed entry to the GOC register and may be required to undertake additional assessments through an alternative GOC approved education provider in the event that any aspect of the programme when delivered does not satisfy the GOC standards.

Placements

On our Optometry BSc(Hons) course you can benefit from attending a hospital placement during your final year. The placement provides real-world experience in an NHS eye department and gives you the opportunity to work with other professional colleagues. Placements will be arranged in the local community wherever possible. You'll be required to arrange your own transport. Clinical attire will also be required

Your Career

Optometry is a regulated profession requiring registration with and adherence to the General Optical Council registration requirements.

You can find out more about careers in Optometry on the College of Optometrists website and registration requirements from the General Optical Council.

As a graduate of this course you may work in corporate optometry, in private independent practice, where you could start your own business, in hospital optometry working with other ophthalmic colleagues or in research and teaching.

*Whilst this is a new course and therefore no graduate statistics for this specific course are available, 97% of graduates from courses in this subject area at Huddersfield are in work and/or further study fifteen months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 17/18, UK domiciled graduates).