Overview

Study the Optometry BSc or MOptom at Aston University, Birmingham and you’ll experience hands-on teaching with real patients, setting you up for a rewarding life-long profession that changes lives.

Course outline and modules

Optometrists are professional clinicians responsible for multiple aspects of vision care, specializing in preserving sight by diagnosing and treating visual problems. They’re trained to examine the eyes and detect disorders originating in the eye, brain, or other parts of the body.

Studying Optometry at Aston will give you the practical clinical skills, theoretical knowledge, and contact with real patients needed to prepare you for a rewarding career in this exciting field of healthcare.

You’ll experience a wide range of learning methods and opportunities like:

• Supervised hands-on clinical experience working with patients at the Aston Eye Clinic, based on our vibrant city center campus.
• Virtual patient simulators are designed to help you develop your skills and expertise.
• Observing treatment of patients in multiple settings such as specialist clinics, local eye hospital departments, and the Aston University Day Hospital.
• The opportunity to complete a master's level qualification while working as a re-registration optometrist with our optional MOptom year.

Expand your knowledge with our integrated MOptom year

In addition to the BSc (Hons) Optometry degree, you have the opportunity to continue your studies with our MOptom (Hons) Optometry course.

Completing the MOptom enables you to achieve a master's degree as you qualify as a registered optometrist. Whilst undergoing the pre-registration period, your depth of knowledge will be enhanced by the distance learning modules that we offer, and your skills will continue to grow.

What accreditations does the Optometry course at Aston have?

This course is regulated by the General Optical Council (GOC) and is the first step towards becoming a qualified optometrist.

The GOC states that in order to become a fully qualified Optometrist, you must complete the College of Optometrists Scheme for Registration during the re-registration period. In order to enter the scheme, you must achieve at least a 2:2 (if you are on the BSc Optometry course), or at least an overall average of 50% by the end of Year 3 and completed all clinical competencies (if you are on the MOptom course).

The pre-registration period involves working in practice, being supported by supervisors, and taking a number of assessments. You will be responsible for finding your own pre-registration post, however, the Aston Careers and Placements team and optometry careers tutor will be on hand to support you.

International students and post-study work visa

Aston University is a diverse, close community and welcomes international students on many of our undergraduate programs. Students from over 120 different countries chose to study with us every year and Aston is not only a great place to study, based in the center of Birmingham it’s also a great place to live.

Over recent years there has been increasing interest in our Optometry program from Canadian applicants. Some of our Canadian graduates now live and work in the UK, whilst some have returned to practice in Canada. Discover more.

For those students interested in studying the MOptom, the 4th year of this full time course is an integrated work based learning year, allowing students to work and study at the same time. This means that international students on the MOptom programme will not require a separate work visa during their pre-registration period, discover more about visas for the Pre-Registration period. During this year, you will complete an Ocular Therapeutics module, Aston Optometry graduates who have returned to countries where optometrists have prescribing rights have found this invaluable.

The new post-study work visa enables international students to remain in the UK for two years after they have completed their studies to find work. For more information visit the government website.

For International Students intending to do a foundation year, visit ONCAMPUS.

Course outline

During your time at Aston, you’ll learn to conduct a wide range of tests and examinations across all aspects of eye care for people at all times of life; from paediatrics (children) to geriatric (older people) optometry.

From your first weeks you’ll learn about the internal structures of the eye and how to assess occular health. As you move further into the course you will also get the opportunity to:

• Understand how optometrists can use eye examinations to detect possible brain tumours or other general health problems.
• Learn how to use non-invasive techniques to examine patients’ blood vessels.
• Discover the range of specialist fields and areas of optometry from dry eye to low vision by observing specialist clinics led by experts.
• Develop knowledge and experience in the fitting and aftercare of contact lenses.
• Broaden your understanding of the role opticians play in the wider healthcare field by taking part in interdisciplinary learning.

Modules

Develop your knowledge of the scientific principles that underpin optometry, while acquiring a range of core clinical skills.

Core modules:

• Medical Biology and Pathology
• Clinical Practice 1
• Basic Investigative Techniques
• Clinical Visual Biology
• Ophthalmic Lenses
• Optics and Medical Imaging
• Vision and Visual Perception
• Personal and Professional Development

Learning, teaching, and assessment

What facilities will I have access to?

As an optometry student at Aston, you'll spend most of your time in our Vision Sciences building, which is equipped with a range of facilities and equipment for learning, research and clinical work. The facilities that you will benefit from include:

• An onsite public-facing Optometry clinic. You will help to provide patients with a full range of primary eye care services under the close supervision of our clinical staff, including ophthalmologists, optometrists, orthoptists and dispensing opticians.
• Unique virtual patient simulators to help you develop clinical skills.
• Refurbished lecture theatres and seminar rooms with modern audio-visual equipment.
• Blackboard, our virtual learning environment used for general study, revision and assessment. This platform allows you to access a comprehensive range of study materials, scientific journals, e-journals, databases and much more.
• Course texts and relevant journals are available from the library either electronically or in book form.

Career prospects