Doctor of Optometry (OD)

To inspire and educate future doctors of optometry to provide collaborative, evidence-based, ethical, and equitable health care that reflects the evolving practice of optometry, and to be leaders in the community and profession.

Program Overview

The Doctor of Optometry is a four-year academic program that prepares graduates to deliver contemporary eye, vision, and health care as an integral member of the primary care health team.

During the first year, students are introduced to clinical techniques and the basic biomedical and vision sciences.

The second year emphasizes advanced studies in clinical techniques, biomedical, and visual sciences. Students begin seeing their first patients at Ketchum Health, the University’s eye and health center.

Third-year students have patient care assignments at Ketchum Health and take courses in contact lenses, vision therapy, treatment and management of diseases of the eye, clinical medicine, and public health.

The final year is primarily spent serving patients in the various facilities of the outreach clinical program and within the University operated Ketchum Health Network. The Ketchum Health Network consists of a variety of clinical experiences and services located in the Los Angeles and Orange counties. The mission of the Southern California College of Optometry’s outreach clinical programs is to deliver the highest quality patient care and service and to educate clinicians in the art and science of optometry in diverse patient care delivery environments.

The degree of Doctor of Optometry will be conferred on students who are officially admitted to, and who satisfactorily complete, the four-year professional curriculum in optometry. Satisfactory completion of the SCCO program will qualify the graduate to apply for licensure in each of the 50 states, select U.S. territories, and Canada. 1

Each state / U.S. territory (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands) / province has its own requirements for licensure. Candidates for licensure should refer to the individual state/ U.S. territory / province requirements.

Admissions

The Southern California College of Optometry is committed to accepting a diverse group of qualified individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences in accordance with MBKU's Nondiscrimination Statement.

Criteria

Functional Guidelines for Didactic and Clinical Optometric Education

The functional guidelines in optometric education require that the candidate/student possess appropriate abilities in the following areas:

  1. observation;
  2. communication;
  3. sensory and motor coordination;
  4. intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; and
  5. behavioral and social attributes.

Each of these areas is described below.

Observation Abilities

The student must be able to acquire a defined level of required knowledge as presented through lectures, laboratories, demonstrations, patient interaction, and self-study. Acquiring this body of information necessitates the functional use of visual, auditory, and somatic sensation enhanced by the functional use of other sensory modalities. Examples of these observational skills in which accurate information needs to be extracted in an efficient manner include:

Visual Abilities

(as they relate to such things as visual acuity, color vision, and binocularity)

Auditory Abilities

Tactile Abilities

Communication Abilities

The student must be able to communicate effectively, efficiently, and sensitively with patients and their families, peers, staff, instructors, and other members of the health care team. The student must be able to demonstrate established communication skills using traditional and alternative means. Examples of required communications skills include:

Sensory and Motor Coordination Abilities

Students must possess the sensory and motor skills necessary to perform an eye examination, including emergency care. In general, this requires sufficient exteroception sense (touch, pain, temperature), proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis, and vibratory), and fine motor function (significant coordination and manual dexterity using arms, wrists, hands, and fingers).

Examples of skills required include but are not limited to:

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities

Problem-solving, a most critical skill, is essential for optometric students and must be performed quickly, especially in emergency situations. In order to be an effective problem solver, the student must be able to accurately and efficiently utilize such abilities as measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, judgment, investigation, memory, numerical recognition, and synthesis. Examples of these abilities include being able to:

Behavioral and Social Attributes

The student must possess the necessary behavioral and social attributes for the study and practice of optometry. Examples of such attributes include:

It is our experience that a number of individuals with disabilities, as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, are qualified to study and work as health care professionals and scientists with the use of reasonable accommodations. To be qualified for health sciences programs at MBKU those individuals must be able to meet both our academic standards and the technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations.

For further information regarding services and resources for students with disabilities and/or to request accommodations, please visit the Students tab of the portal and/or contact the University Student Affairs (studentaffairs@ketchum.edu).

Prerequisites

Academic requirements for admission to SCCO are based on standards set by the California State Board of Optometry, the accrediting bodies, and the judgment of the Admissions Policy Committee. To be considered as a candidate for admission to the professional OD program, a four-year baccalaureate degree is recommended but not required. Applicants who complete a minimum of 90 semester or 135 quarter credit hours of undergraduate study will qualify for admission. To be eligible to apply, the applicant must be on track to complete the required credit hours or degree by the end of the summer term that precedes fall matriculation.

The following minimum prerequisite courses must be completed with a C- or better at a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or Canada:

Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents must submit a certified bank statement showing their ability to pay for the first year of education prior to an I-20 form being issued for immigration purposes.

2 semester courses or 3 quarter courses:

2 semester courses or 2 quarter courses:

2 semester courses or 3 quarter courses:

1 semester course or 1 quarter course in each of the following (minimum of 3 credit hours for each course):

Advanced Placement (AP) courses or IB (International Baccalaureate) courses for the prerequisite requirements will be accepted, provided the course content aligns with that of the prerequisite requirement.

Procedures

The number of applicants for admissions to SCCO regularly exceeds the number of available spaces. SCCO, as a regional and national resource, receives applications from nearly every state in the nation.

All first time applicants, re-applicants and those who have been previously enrolled in another optometry program must apply through the centralized service OptomCAS at www.optomcas.org. Applicants must follow the instructions on how to complete the application, submit transcripts and submit letters of recommendation. In addition, SCCO’s supplemental application is located on the OptomCAS site and may be completed after selecting SCCO as a program to receive the application. The SCCO supplemental application fee is $50. Applicants will receive an automatic notification of how to pay the supplemental application fee once the application is received from OptomCAS.

The official SCCO application period is July 1 (the first day of the OptomCAS cycle) through March 15. Applicants must submit both their application and college transcripts to OptomCAS by March 15.

Standardized test scores are a mandatory application requirement. While the OAT is the preferred standardized test, SCCO accepts the MCAT or DAT. Applicants designate SCCO as the recipient of OAT scores, and they are automatically downloaded into the OptomCAS application. The website for the OAT program is: www.ada.org/en/oat. For standardized scores other than the OAT, it is the applicant’s responsibility to authorize the release and submission of these scores to SCCO. The last test date for all standardized test scores that will be accepted is March 15.

A nonrefundable Matriculation Deposit of $1500 is required to matriculate with the incoming class. The full $1500 deposit will be credited to the Fall Quarter tuition upon their enrollment. If you are admitted before May 1, you have the option to pay this fee in one of two ways; as one full deposit, or in three $500 installments. Anyone admitted after May 1 must pay the full deposit within 1 week of acceptance.

Accepted candidates who have not completed all course prerequisites at the time of application must do so before beginning studies at SCCO.

Send a request for more information on the application and interview process to ODadmissions@ketchum.edu.

Process

Once applications are received, it is SCCO’s responsibility to select those applicants who are best qualified to make a contribution to the public and profession and who will benefit most from the optometric education program. The decision for admission is based on the applicant’s ability, scholarship, character, and motivation.

Once an application is submitted to OptomCAS, it takes approximately 2-3 weeks for OptomCAS to verify the application and release it to SCCO. Once we receive the application, applicants are given the ability to pay the $75 Supplemental Fee, which initiates the process of evaluation. Though not a mandatory requirement, letters of recommendation will be available to SCCO through OptomCAS. OAT scores are automatically processed and become available from the testing center within three weeks after the exam. The admissions procedure begins with a screening of each applicant’s scholastic qualifications including the college record and the OAT scores. The goal is to select students who are academically capable of completing the Doctor of Optometry program.

Next, the applicant’s personal qualifications are reviewed, since the study and practice of optometry requires great responsibility, maturity, ethics, devotion, intellectual curiosity, and social commitment. Letters of recommendation, essays, and extracurricular activities are evaluated. Candidates will be invited to campus for interviews dependent upon their academic and professional potential credentials. Interviews will begin in the fall and will be completed early in the spring. The interview enables SCCO and the applicant to learn more about each other. Additionally, the interview process endeavors to appraise such personal qualities as responsiveness, warmth, social situation adjustment, the communication of clear and concise ideas, maturity, and career motivation. Should an applicant successfully interview, a provisional acceptance is offered pending the successful completion of a routine criminal background check.

Combined Program

SCCO offers a combined OD/MS dual degree program. Once students have been successfully accepted into the OD program and completed all matriculation requirements including the full $1500 matriculation deposit, they are eligible to apply for the MS program to then complete the degrees. concurrently. First year OD students must submit their application to the MS program by the end of the 8th week of the Fall quarter.

Transfer Policy

The Southern California College of Optometry does not accept transfer students or offer advanced standing under any circumstances. All applicants to our program must apply through OptomCAS and complete the entire four-year program.

Tuition

2024–25 Tuition, Doctor of Optometry Program

Tuition Annual
Annual Tuition & Fees Full-Time Tuition Class Fee Mandatory Equipment & Materials Student Association Fee Clinic Fee Board Prep Fee Graduation Fee Total Annual Tuition and Fees
Class of 2025 $51,200.00 $45.00 $50.00 $70.00 $150.00 $51,515.00
Class of 2026 $51,200.00 $45.00 80.00 $70.00 NA $51,395.00
Class of 2027 $51,200.00 $45.00 $1,331.58 $70.00 NA $52,646.58
Class of 2028 $51,200.00 $45.00 $7,560.43 $70.00 NA $58,875.43
Tuition Quaterly
Quarterly Tuition & Fees Summer Fall Winter Spring Total Tuition and Fees
Class of 2025 $12,850.00 $12,915.00 $12,800.00 $12,950.00 $51,515.00
Class of 2026 $12,850.00 $12,915.00 $12,800.00 $12,830.00 $51,395.00
Class of 2027 NA $17,625.53 $17,510.53 $17,510.52 $52,646.58
Class of 2028 NA $19,701.82 $19,586.81 $19,586.80 $58,875.43

Tuition for returning students enrolled less than full time

Fees
Fee Amount
Tuition (less than full-time) per credit hour 897.26

Fees

Fees
Fee Amount
Annual Parking fee (optional) $350.00

While the occasion has not previously presented itself, the MBKU Board of Trustees does reserve the right to change tuition and fees or to establish additional fees for special features or services if deemed necessary.

Curriculum

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall QuarterHours
BVS 511 Applied Biomedical Science 3.00
BVS 540 Optics I 5.00
BVS 550 Eye Movements 4.25
CLE 590A Optometric Clinical Service IA 0.25
CLS 560 Clinical Methods I 4.50
IPE 406A DEI in Healthcare 0.75
IPE 401A Professional Ethics 0.75
Hours18.5
Winter Quarter
BVS 530 Ocular Anatomy and Physiology I 5.00
BVS 541 Optics II 5.00
BVS 551 Visual Optics 4.00
CLE 590B Optometric Clinical Service IB 0.25
CLS 561 Clinical Methods II 4.50
IPE 403A 2.00
Hours20.75
Spring Quarter
BVS 513 Neurophysiology 4.50
BVS 515 Pharmacology I 3.00
BVS 531 Ocular Anatomy and Physiology II 3.00
BVS 542 Ophthalmic Optics I 3.00
BVS 552 Visual Psychophysics 4.25
CLE 590C Optometric Clinical Service IC 0.25
CLS 660A Ocular Health Procedures IA 3
Hours21
Second Year
Fall Quarter
BVS 616 Pharmacology II 2.00
BVS 640 Ophthalmic Optics II 3.00
BVS 650 Sensory Vision 4.25
CLE 690 Optometric Clinical Service III 0.75
CLS 660B Ocular Health Procedures IB 3.00
CLS 661 Case Analysis and Prescribing I 2.00
CLS 664A Ocular Disease Diagnosis & Mgmt IA 2.00
CLS 670 Cornea and Contact Lenses I 4.00
Hours21
Winter Quarter
BVS 617 Pharmacology III 2.00
BVS 655 Binocular Vision & Space Perception 2.50
CLE 691 Optometric Clinical Service IV 1.00
CLS 662 Case Analysis and Prescribing II 2.00
CLS 663 Ocular Health Procedures II 3.50
CLS 664B Ocular Disease Diagnosis & Mgmt IB 2.00
CLS 671 Cornea and Contact Lenses II 3.50
IPE 402A 2.00
Hours18.5
Spring Quarter
BVS 618 Pharmacology IV 2.00
CLE 692 Optometric Clinical Service V 1.00
CLS 632 Ocular Disease III: Vitreo-Retinal 3.00
CLS 665 Case Analysis and Prescribing III 2.00
CLS 672 Mgmt Non-Strab Binocular Vision Cnd 3.50
CLS 760 Pediatric Optometry 2.00
CLS 770 Cornea and Contact Lenses III 3.25
Hours16.75
Third Year
Summer Quarter
CLE 790 Optometric Clinical Service VI 3.50
CLS 720 Clinical Medicine I 4.00
CLS 762A Ocular Disease Diag & Mgmt IIA 3.00
CLS 771 Vision, Perception and Learning 4.00
CLS 783 Business & Career Management I 2.00
Hours16.5
Fall Quarter
CLE 791 Optometric Clinical Service VII 3.50
CLS 721 Clinical Medicine II 4.00
CLS 763A Ocular Disease Diag & Mgmt IIIA 2.00
CLS 772 Strabismus & Amblyopia Diag 4.50
Hours14
Winter Quarter
CLE 792 Optometric Clinical Service VIII 3.50
CLS 722 Ophtha Lasers, Injection & Med Dia 2.50
CLS 763B Ocular Disease Dia & Mgmt IIIB 2.00
CLS 774 Low Vision Rehabilitation 4.00
CLS 773 Strabismus & Amblyopia Mgmt 3.00
Hours15
Spring Quarter
CLE 793 Optometric Clinical Service IX 3.50
CLS 723 Ophthalmic Surgery 2.50
CLS 765 Ocular Diesease Case Management 1.00
CLS 775 Cornea and Contact Lenses IV 1.50
CLS 782 Health Promotion 1.00
CLS 784 Business & Career Management II 1.50
IPE 404A Interprofessional Case Conferences 0.75
Hours11.75
Fourth Year
All Quarters
CLS 885A
& CLS 885B
& CLS 885C
& CLS 885D
Business & Career Management IIIA
and Business & Career Management IIIB
and Business & Career Management IIIC
and Business & Career Management IIID
2
CLE 890 Clinical Seminars 4.00
CLE 891 Optometric Clinical Service X 12.00
CLE 892 Outreach Clinical Service I 12.00
CLE 893 Outreach Clinical Service II 12.00
CLE 894 Outreach Clinical Service III 12.00
Hours54
Total Hours227.75

Graduation Requirements

A student will be recommended for the degree of Doctor of Optometry, provided the candidate:

The degree will not be conferred and the diploma will not be issued until all graduation requirements are met.

If a student has not met all graduation requirements, the student may be eligible to walk through and participate in the graduation ceremony with their class, if approved by the Dean.

Note on licensure: Meeting the graduation requirements for the OD degree at the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University does not guarantee eligibility for state licensure. Some states have specialized curricular requirements for licensure, and students are advised to check with the Optometry Board in states of possible residency for licensure requirements.

The Southern California College of Optometry reserves the right to make changes to the academic requirements, teaching modality, and required schedule at any point to ensure that all competencies and objectives are being met by optometry students.

Commencement Awards

Latinized honors are accorded to those students who have excelled scholastically on the following basis:

Latin Honors
Latin Honor GPA
Summa Cum Laude 3.80 - 4.00
Magna Cum Laude 3.60 - 3.79
Cum Laude 3.40 - 3.59

Required Courses

Course List
Code Title Hours
BVS 511Applied Biomedical Science3.00
BVS 513Neurophysiology4.50
BVS 515Pharmacology I3.00
BVS 530Ocular Anatomy and Physiology I5.00
BVS 531Ocular Anatomy and Physiology II3.00
BVS 540Optics I5.00
BVS 541Optics II5.00
BVS 542Ophthalmic Optics I3.00
BVS 550Eye Movements4.25
BVS 551Visual Optics4.00
BVS 552Visual Psychophysics4.25
BVS 616Pharmacology II2.00
BVS 617Pharmacology III2.00
BVS 618Pharmacology IV2.00
BVS 640Ophthalmic Optics II3.00
BVS 650Sensory Vision4.25
BVS 655Binocular Vision & Space Perception2.50
CLE 590AOptometric Clinical Service IA0.25
CLE 590BOptometric Clinical Service IB0.25
CLE 590COptometric Clinical Service IC0.25
CLE 690Optometric Clinical Service III0.75
CLE 691Optometric Clinical Service IV1.00
CLE 692Optometric Clinical Service V1.00
CLE 790Optometric Clinical Service VI3.50
CLE 791Optometric Clinical Service VII3.50
CLE 792Optometric Clinical Service VIII3.50
CLE 793Optometric Clinical Service IX3.50
CLE 890Clinical Seminars4.00
CLE 891Optometric Clinical Service X12.00
CLE 892Outreach Clinical Service I 1 12.00
CLE 893Outreach Clinical Service II 1 12.00
CLE 894Outreach Clinical Service III 1 12.00
CLS 560Clinical Methods I4.50
CLS 561Clinical Methods II4.50
CLS 632Ocular Disease III: Vitreo-Retinal3.00
CLS 660AOcular Health Procedures IA3.00
CLS 660BOcular Health Procedures IB3.00
CLS 661Case Analysis and Prescribing I2.00
CLS 662Case Analysis and Prescribing II2.00
CLS 663Ocular Health Procedures II3.50
CLS 664AOcular Disease Diagnosis & Mgmt IA2.00
CLS 664BOcular Disease Diagnosis & Mgmt IB2.00
CLS 665Case Analysis and Prescribing III2.00
CLS 670Cornea and Contact Lenses I4.00
CLS 671Cornea and Contact Lenses II3.50
CLS 672Mgmt Non-Strab Binocular Vision Cnd3.50
CLS 720Clinical Medicine I4.00
CLS 721Clinical Medicine II4.00
CLS 722Ophtha Lasers, Injection & Med Dia2.50
CLS 723Ophthalmic Surgery2.50
CLS 760Pediatric Optometry2.00
CLS 762AOcular Disease Diag & Mgmt IIA3.00
CLS 763AOcular Disease Diag & Mgmt IIIA2.00
CLS 763BOcular Disease Dia & Mgmt IIIB2.00
CLS 765Ocular Diesease Case Management1.00
CLS 770Cornea and Contact Lenses III3.25
CLS 771Vision, Perception and Learning4.00
CLS 772Strabismus & Amblyopia Diag4.50
CLS 773Strabismus & Amblyopia Mgmt3.00
CLS 774Low Vision Rehabilitation4.00
CLS 775Cornea and Contact Lenses IV1.50
CLS 782Health Promotion1.00
CLS 783Business & Career Management I2.00
CLS 784Business & Career Management II1.50
CLS 885ABusiness & Career Management IIIA0.50
CLS 885BBusiness & Career Management IIIB0.50
CLS 885CBusiness & Career Management IIIC0.50
CLS 885DBusiness & Career Management IIID0.50
IPE 401AProfessional Ethics0.75
IPE 402A 2.00
IPE 403A 2.00
IPE 404AInterprofessional Case Conferences0.75
IPE 406ADEI in Healthcare0.75

The fourth professional year is designed to promote continued development of the student’s emerging clinical problem-solving abilities. The focus is on higher order cognitive thought processing such as analysis and evaluation, rather than basic levels of knowledge and comprehension. The instruction material is designed to advance the student’s content knowledge beyond the first three years through challenging patient care problems that highlight or emphasize differential diagnosis, management decisions, referral decisions and follow-up, as well as address newer techniques and procedures for diagnosis and management. The outreach clinical programs provide students with comprehensive clinical education in the diagnosis, management and treatment of conditions of the visual system. Patient groups served are diverse in age, race, culture, socio-economic level and health delivery systems. Patient care is provided in various settings including optometric and co-management centers; Department of Veterans Affairs centers; HMOs; military; public health and USPH Indian Health clinics; medical ambulatory clinics; community health centers; and general and specialty hospitals. Under direct supervision of licensed optometric faculty, students provide full-scope optometric care in specialty clinics. Interdisciplinary team training in vision rehabilitation and primary care educates students for the role of optometrists as vital members of the health care team. Advanced clinical instrumentation and both diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents are utilized, in all clinical care settings, under the direct supervision of licensed optometric faculty and/or board-certified ophthalmologists.


To offer fourth-year students a wide variety of clinical educational experiences, SCCO has approximately 40 primary and 65 alternate outreach clinical program affiliations with various military, public health, Department of Veterans Affairs, low vision rehabilitation, developmental/pediatric clinics, co-management clinics, inter-professional clinics and private practices. The clinics are located throughout the U.S., with the majority located west of the Mississippi River, as well as international sites located in Japan. These clinical programs are operated in conjunction with a number of independent, local, state and federal agencies.


Students select their outreach assignments at the beginning of the third professional year, which allows for a full year of planning.

Elective Courses

Course List
Code Title Hours
BVS 801Nutrition and Preventative Health1.00
CLS 802I and A of Imaging Technology2.00
CLS 803Geriatric Optometry2.00
CLS 805Effect Learning Strategies Optom1
IPE 400AMedical Spanish2.00

Scholarships and Awards

Each year more than 150 scholarships and awards totaling more than $500,000 are given to qualified optometry students at MBKU. These awards are made possible by philanthropic donors who made gifts of private support to SCCO.

Fall scholarships and spring awards recognize and honor students who have achieved excellence in academics, clinical skills, research, leadership, and service or have financial need. Recipients of scholarships are determined by the SCCO Scholarship Committee, SCCO clinical faculty, and Dean of SCCO under the direction of the SCCO Student Advising and Programming Specialist. All students, entering any of the four professional years of study, may apply for Fall scholarships based on criteria given by the donors. All monetary scholarships are directly applied to the recipient’s financial aid package for education expenses at the university.

Spring awards are primarily given to graduating fourth-year students at SCCO. Under the direction of the SCCO Student Advising and Programming Specialist and the SCCO Scholarship Committee, the clinical faculty in each discipline recommend recipients on the basis of merit in their clinical area based on criteria as set forth by the award donor. These awards recognize the noteworthy achievements made by optometric interns.

Descriptions of individual scholarships and awards may be found by accessing the Tuition & Financial Aid page on the SCCO Admissions website by clicking this link: SCCO Scholarship Programs.

Residency Programs

The mission of the Department of Residency Programs of SCCO at MBKU is to establish, promote and support postgraduate residency training. Residency programs are uniquely designed to advance intellectual knowledge and enhance the clinical expertise of residents through excellence in patient care, scholarly activity, and research.

SCCO at MBKU has residency programs that cover the areas of Cornea & Contact Lenses, Low Vision Rehabilitation, Neuro-Optometry, Ocular Disease, Primary Care, and Pediatric Optometry/Vision Therapy. There are currently 58 residency positions within 26 programs in the areas of health management organization, Indian Health Service, multi-disciplinary settings, private-practice settings, on-campus programs, and Veteran’s Affairs. For detailed information regarding residency programs, please visit our website: ketchum.edu/optometry/academics/residency-programs. These one-year accredited postdoctoral programs are focused on training our residents to attain advanced competencies through direct patient care with exceptional clinical management experiences, teaching opportunities, and didactic/scholarship activities. All programs are structured in accordance with the guidelines of the AOA’s Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and are fully accredited or provisionally accredited during the inaugural year. All residents receive a stipend, liability coverage, and various benefits depending on the specific program.

© 2024-2025 Marshall B. Ketchum University