Introduction
Take the first steps towards a career as an optometrist by studying for our General Optical Council accredited degree in Cambridge.
As a BOptom (Hons) Optometry student at ARU, you’ll study in our specialist eye care facilities, learning how to perform eye examinations, diagnose sight problems, improve people’s vision and manage a range of eye conditions.
You’ll spend much of your time in our University Eye Clinic. A working clinic that’s open to the public, it boasts 16 fully-equipped testing rooms and the latest optometric equipment such as an optical coherence tomographer, video slitlamps, and videokeratoscopes.
With support from expert tutors and the chance to gain work experience, this is the perfect place to train as an optometrist.
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Qualified optometrists are hands-on, spending lots of time examining patients and managing their visual needs and eye health. And we know that it’s important for you to gain this kind of practical experience.
That’s why more than 50% of your learning time is spent in clinical and lab sessions, practical demonstrations, and our University Eye Clinic.
There’s the chance to visit local hospital clinics too, and get work experience in the community, spending time with eye care charities such as Cam Sight.
In the lecture theatre, we’re often joined by visiting professors, orthoptists and optometrists working in diabetic clinics, hospitals and their own practices. They’ll share their professional insights – as will our expert tutors, who are trained optometrists and dispensing opticians.
These are just some of the reasons why our Optometry degree has had an overall satisfaction score of 90% or more for the past five years (National Student Survey).
As a BOptom (Hons) Optometry graduate, you’ll be ready to take on a pre-registration clinical placement before registering as a fully-qualified optometrist.
Facilities and accreditation
Specialist facilities
In Cambridge, our facilities include:
- 16 fully-equipped optometric consulting rooms
- specialist facilities in contact lenses, low vision and visual stress
- industry-standard equipment
- a dedicated dispensing laboratory
- the University Eye Clinic, a working clinic that’s open to the public.
Outstanding student support
Join our education community and:
- learn from supportive, expert staff who are registered opticians
- benefit from award-winning learning facilities, including extensive library and IT resources
- develop your brilliant business ideas though our Student Start-up Support Hub
- access support, should you need it, with study skills, careers advice, health and wellbeing, and more.
General Optical Council
Our Optometry degree is fully accredited by the General Optical Council, allowing you to go straight into a pre-registration, year-long clinical placement once you graduate.
Careers
As our Optometry degree is fully accredited by the General Optical Council, you can join The College of Optometrists’ scheme for registration once you graduate.
Once you’re a registered optometrist, you could go on to work in your own practice, a hospital, or an international optical company. You could also take the first step towards becoming an academic or a researcher with our postgraduate research degree. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get a discount on your fees.
For students who complete their first year of BOptom Optometry to an exceptional high standard, there may be the opportunity to transfer to Year 1 of MBChB Medicine. We encourage your interest in studying medicine, but it should be noted that this is a highly competitive route and there is limited availability.
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