Thank you for your interest in the UAB School of Optometry. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early in the admissions cycle because we use a rolling admissions process. The deadline for applications for the class entering fall 2024 is April 1, 2024. A specific major is not required for admission to the UAB School of Optometry, but specific prerequisite courses must be completed prior to matriculation. Applicants must also complete the Optometry Admissions Test (or a comparable exam), submit letters of recommendation, forward academic transcripts and be interviewed at the UAB School of Optometry.

The Admissions Committee is keenly aware of your concerns during these uncertain times of COVID-19. We want to assure you we will show flexibility when accessing your academic record during the semesters effected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Pass/Fail grading scale used for courses, including prerequisite courses, will be accepted whether the grading scale decisions were made by the institution or the student. Ultimately the committee remains committed to admitting the best and brightest students using a holistic assessment process.

Students at the UAB School of Optometry receive clinical training at UAB Eye Care, affiliated sites throughout the Birmingham area and through the externship program.

Optometry students at UAB provide numerous screenings and comprehensive eye exams at sites across Alabama and the region through community outreach. Students, faculty and residents collectively examine nearly 25,000 patients per year.

As one of the first optometry schools to be integrated into an academic health center, the UAB School of Optometry offers courses within its Department of Optometry and Vision Science, in addition to courses in other UAB health science departments.

Students at the UAB School of Optometry can combine their four-year Doctor of Optometry degree with an additional degree that will allow them to better understand the ever advancing field of eye care and equip them to follow a variety of career paths. The UAB School of Optometry has partnered with other UAB schools to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary curriculum in three programs. 

The expertise of our faculty reflects the full scope of optometric and vision science. While faculty members are primarily clinical optometrists, vision scientists and ophthalmologists also provide direct supervision and training of optometry students and postdoctoral residents. Students learn under the tutelage of faculty in a number of clinics affiliated with the UAB School of Optometry, and faculty are widely published in the scientific and clinical literature.

Scholarship applications will be open from April 1st to May 1st each year for awards made that following academic year.

The UAB School of Optometry offers scholarships and awards that provide financial support for our outstanding Optometry students. Currently, the School has 56 endowed optometry scholarships which were generously given by alumni and friends of the School of Optometry. Some scholarships provide multiple awards. Most awards range in value between $500 and $1500 each, though there are exceptions that have higher award amounts.

*98% of our non-resident, non-contract students qualify for the School of Optometry Merit Scholarship.