Optometry (BSc)
UCAS Code: B510
The Optometry degree course at Cardiff has been designed to be stimulating, flexible and relevant to the needs of a career in Optometry. One of the main functions of an Optometrist is to correct long and short sightedness and to detect any disease that may affect the eye or the visual system. The course at Cardiff is of three years duration and is designed to provide you with the scientific and clinical knowledge to enable you to become a fully qualified and practising Optometrist. Great emphasis is placed on the practical aspects and you will spend considerable time in our purpose-built clinic which is open to members of the public who require eye examination as well as children and adults with special needs.
In the most recent Higher Education Funding Council assessment of undergraduate teaching in UK Optometry departments, the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences in Cardiff was awarded the designation 'excellent'. This was partly because of the excellent staff-student relations and friendly atmosphere that exists within the School. The School has 28 academic and clinical staff. The staff are experts in their field of research and their work attracts grants in excess of £300,000 p.a. from government research councils and other agencies in the private sector. About 70 undergraduates are accepted each year and the School has a total student body of nearly 200 which includes a number of postgraduate students, carrying out research for a doctorate degree.
First Year
The first year is an important period for any student. It is a year in which you will discover a new way of life and a new way of learning. Your initial year is designed to give you a sound foundation in the discipline with clinical and dispensing techniques introduced at the very beginning of the first year to enhance your academic studies. First year modules include lectures, tutorials, and clinical practice. You will also be advised on study skills.
You will study the following modules:
- Basic Clinical Techniques
- Optometric Dispensing and Appliances
- Geometrical Optics
- Visual Optics
- From Cells to Systems
- Ocular Anatomy and Physiology
Second Year
The second year builds on the foundation of the first year, and develops all the main themes of the subject. You will receive lectures on contact lenses, investigative techniques, binocular vision and pharmacology. Clinical studies and dispensing techniques will continue and towards the end of the second year you will, with close supervision, be introduced to your first patients.
You will study the following modules:
- Clinical Studies and Dispensing
- Contact Lenses
- Investigative Techniques
- Binocular Vision and Optometric Neurophysiology
- Ocular Pharmacology
- Physiology of Vision
Third Year
In your final year you will develop, on a more individual basis, selected areas of interest. You will carry out a project, which may be laboratory, clinical or library based. This will be under the close supervision of a member of academic staff. You will spend about eight hours per week with patients in our clinic and will attend hospital clinics. Lecture courses in law and business, optometric practice, visual perception, low vision and paediatric optometry will be taught, designed to complete the integrated course.
You will study the following modules:
- Optometric Practice
- Low Vision and Contact Lenses
- Binocular Vision and Special Needs
- Abnormal Ocular Conditions
- Occupational Optometry, Law and Business
- Visual Perception
- Research Project
Professional Training
Optometry students obtain their BSc after three years of studies. With a final BSc degree classification of 2ii or higher, they proceed to a final pre-registration year at an optometric practice or hospital.
This further 'pre-registration' year of training is under the supervision of a qualified optometrist, and the student is required to pass professional examinations. Graduates from this School rarely experience difficulties in obtaining a 'pre-registration' post, but if the competencies or the required grade are not obtained, the student will need to take the College of Optometrists’ Professional Qualifying Examinations (PQE) Part 1 before progressing on to their pre-registration year. You will then be able to register with the General Optical Council as an optometrist and begin to practice in your own right.
See this course on the University's Coursefinder website.