Optometrists detect sight problems and prescribe and dispense spectacles, contact lenses and other aids to vision. They also play a key role in diagnosing and managing a wide range of eye conditions, including infective and inflammatory disorders, cataracts, and glaucoma.
GCU’s integrated master’s course in Optometry provides comprehensive training in the theory and practice of optometry to enable graduates to deliver a range of core and enhanced eyecare services to communities across Scotland and beyond. The course is unique and designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to undertake advanced clinical practice upon graduation. Beyond registration with the General Optical Council (GOC) as an Optometrist, graduates will be eligible to join the GOC’s specialty register of independent prescribing optometrists.
From the outset of the course, students receive training in fundamental vision science as well as clinical care, to facilitate the development of skills in critical thinking and clinical decision-making. Students develop their clinical skills from Year 1 in our purpose-built pre-clinical facilities and the on-campus Vision Centre, which provides a wide range of core and specialist clinical services to the public. Students also gain extensive clinical experience through external placements.
GCU has been Scotland’s main provider of education in the non-medical eyecare professions for more than 50 years. The programmes offered in the Department of Vision Sciences are highly rated by students and our teaching is informed by research. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF2021), 91% of GCU’s health research was rated as world leading or internationally excellent and its impact was ranked second in the UK.
Employment prospects for optometry graduates are excellent and varied, and include roles in community and hospital practice, industry, teaching, and research.
Please note that this course is subject to GCU and regulator approval.
Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.
The following entry points are available for this course:
Year 2 - Previous degree level study in a Vision Science field (for example, Ophthalmic Dispensing Management or Orthoptics). Or ABDO (Associate of British Dispensing Opticians) with average grade 75% at first sitting.
Year 3 - Successful completion of 3 years of the BSc Hons Orthoptics programme at GCU with no less than a Merit, or 2:1 degree in Orthoptics.
SWAP Access to Science and Technology /SWAP Access to Radiography/SWAP ACCESS to Optometry/SWAP Access to Ophthalmics considered would require 75% overall (Distinction) or AAA pass. Must have 80% in Physics module. Must pass SWAP at 1st attempt
Access to Science and Technology considered would require 75% overall (Distinction) or AAA on the first attempt (including 80% in Physics module) Must pass SWAP at 1st attempt
Year two entry subject to availability. Ophthalmic Dispensing Degree at overall 65% and professional exams at first attempt. Applicants in their 3rd year of Ophthalmic Dispensing/ Ophthalmic Dispensing Management can apply for consideration.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 7 | IELTS of overall 7.0 with 7.0 in speaking and no other element below 6.5 |
This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).
It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.
Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
This report uses your grades to show how students with similar results have done when applying to this course in the past. Sometimes, there isn’t data for every possible set of grades. When that happens, universities and colleges occasionally fill in the gaps for sets of grades that are typically accepted.
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Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
Please visit our website for helpful information https://www.gcu.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate-moptom-optometry-glasgow
Additional costs may apply to students on this programme. Please check the fees and funding section of the programme page on the GCU website for specific details.
Email:Clearing@gcu.ac.uk
Phone:08000279171
Email:studentenquiries@gcu.ac.uk
Phone:0141 331 8630
Fax: 0141 331 8676
City Campus
Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow
G4 0BA
At Glasgow Caledonian University
