There are several colleges and universities in the state of Georgia that offer pre-optometry curriculum to students planning for careers as optometrists. The pre-optometry programs are intended to fulfill the freshman and sophomore level admission prerequisites for some optometry degree programs. Other optometry programs may require a minimum of 90 credit hours of undergraduate work, or a full baccalaureate degree, for admission.
Some schools in Georgia offering a pre-optometry curriculum include Kennesaw State University (kennesaw.edu), Georgia Southern University (georgiasouthern.edu), University of Georgia (uga.edu) and Georgia College (gcsu.edu).
Located approximately 85 miles west of the Georgia state line, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry (uab.edu) is the college nearest to Georgia that offers a full optometry degree program. The UAB School of Optometry was established in 1969 and now has more than 1,200 graduates of the program. In addition to Doctor of Optometry degrees, the UABSO also offers graduate degree programs in Vision Science.
Students willing to travel further away from Georgia, while still remaining in a neighboring southeastern state, might consider the Southern College of Optometry (sco.edu) in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1932 and dedicated solely to the science of optometry, SCO's students consistently score higher than the national average in board scores. Students interested in a smaller, specialized, college may find the Southern College of Optometry especially desirable.
South of Georgia, the optometry program at Nova Southeastern University (nova.edu) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, trains and educates students in all clinical areas of optometry. NSU offers Doctor of Optometry and Master of Science Clinical Vision Research degree programs to students enrolled in its College of Optometry. Founded in 1964, NSU currently enrolls more than 28,000 students, making it the seventh largest independent, not-for-profit, university in the nation.