Illinois College of Optometry: Courses, Admission, Cost

The Illinois College of Optometry is a private optometry college. Founded in 1872, the college campus is spread across a vast area of 8.4 acres. It is the largest and the oldest continually operating educational institution only teaching optometry.

Situated in Chicago, Illinois, the college provides all the leading amenities to its students in the form of a fitness center, onsite eye care clinic, cafeteria, library, electronically enhanced lecture center, and computerized clinical learning equipment. It has a principal clinical training facility for its students, called the Illinois Eye Institute (IEI) which is situated adjacent to the college. The IEI serves as a Centre for Clinical Research involving vision and eye problems. The student body at the college comprises a diverse group that primarily consists of local students from Chicago, Illinois, and surrounding states of Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Students from California, Canada, and other international countries are also enrolled here.

The students need to take the Optometry Admission Test (OAT) to be eligible for admission to the college. The college provides the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Visual Science (BSVS) and Doctor of Optometry (OD). It also provides a joint course with the Department of Opthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Chicago to obtain an OD degree and Master of Science (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. The college also provides a joint program with Illinois Institute of Technology, in which the students can obtain a BS in Biology from IIT and an OD degree from the Illinois College of Optometry.

The college caters to a Career Development Department that provides professional assistance to the students in order to develop their networking opportunities and prepare them for interviews.