Contact: Dr E Larry Nordyke 713-525-3169 or
nordyke@stthom.edu
Dr John A Palasota 713-525-6918 or
japalaso@stthom.edu
The pre-optometry Program is designed to prepare students for entry into optometry school, and students enjoy outstanding optometry school acceptance. Undergraduate preparation for the study of optometry requires a strong foundation in science and mathematics and a background in the humanities and social sciences. The program is a rigorous science and math-based program that can be combined with any major. It is important to note that the pre-optometry program is not a major but rather a program consisting of 49 credit hours (10 classes and 7 labs) of science and math courses and 6 credit hours of Psychology. These courses serve as the prerequisites for application to the University of Houston College of Optometry. The prehealth professions advisors in the program advise students in tandem with their major advisor, inform them of prerequisite courses, admissions test dates, and application deadlines, and present appropriate workshops, as well as providing letters of evaluation for application to optometry school.
Optometry school admission data for the last five academic years (Table I) shows that 80% of St. Thomas applicants were accepted to optometry school. In our opinion, the acceptance statistic is indicative not only of the success of the pre-optometry program but also the high quality of teaching at the University.
