Overview of Your OD Program
The Southern California College of Optometry combines teaching, patient care, research and public service to help you earn a professional Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree. Satisfactory completion of SCCO’s academic program qualifies you to apply for licensure in all 50 United States.
Year One–Get Started
In the first year of your studies, you’ll gain a solid foundation for clinical practice that emphasizes basic and applied biomedical and vision sciences. As a student clinician, you’ll participate in vision screenings, you’ll also have supervised patient interactions at the University Eye Center at Ketchum Health Anaheim while developing knowledge and proficiency in areas such as:
- Public health
- Professional ethics
- Pre-clinical methods
- Interpersonal communications
Year Two–See Patients
Year two expands your knowledge of the clinical sciences and completes the biomedical science course sequence, including clinical medicine and pharmacology. You’ll take part in school vision screenings and begin examining your own patients at the University Eye Center at Ketchum Health Anaheim.
Year Three–Complete Classes
In the third year of your professional curriculum, you’ll be scheduled for two days of patient care assignments each week at the University Eye Center at Ketchum Health Anaheim, under the supervision of SCCO clinical faculty. You’ll also finish up your didactic (classroom) requirements, with courses that cover:
- Cornea and contact lenses
- Strabismus
- Vision therapy
- Ocular disease management
- Public health
- Low vision rehabilitation
Year Four–Clinical Rotations
The final year of your SCCO optometry program focuses on direct patient care while allowing you to customize your educational experience through 4 three-month rotations at your choice of 80 clinical outreach sites across the U.S. and abroad.
