The following prerequisites are required for admission into UMSL-College of Optometry by August of the year the student plans to begin optometry school. Prerequisites do not have to be completed in order to be considered for interview.
All courses used to satisfy the admission requirements must have been taken at an institution accredited by an accreditation body recognized by the US Department of Education (foreign applicants, must submit transcripts through one of the recognized transcript evaluation services).
Applicants must have completed 90 semester or 135 quarter hours prior to matriculation. The applicant cannot apply more than 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) earned at a two-year institution toward the credit hour requirement.
Applicant's holding a bachelor's degree will be given preference over applicants with similar academic credentials who do not have a degree.
All prerequisites must be completed with a "C" or higher.
| Course | Semester(s) | Quarter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| English |
2
|
3
|
| General Biology with labs |
2
|
3
|
| Microbiology with lab |
1
|
1
|
| Physics with lab Algebra or calculus based accepted |
2
|
3
|
| General Chemistry with lab |
2
|
3
|
| Organic Chemistry with lab |
1
|
2
|
| Calculus |
1
|
1
|
| Statistics |
1
|
1
|
| Psychology |
1
|
1
|
| Liberal Arts/Humanities |
2
|
2
|
AP CREDIT POLICY: (Effective July 1, 2014)
The College of Optometry has adopted the following Advanced Placement (AP) credit policy:
A total of 10 hours of AP credit is acceptable if the applicant scored 4 or greater in the subject on the AP Exam. An official transcript is required.
- For science courses, in addition to the 10 hour limit and a score of 4 or higher achieved on the exam, the applicant must score a 330 or higher in that particular subject on the OAT exam.
If you have further questions please contact Linda Stein.