Program Description

Optometry at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University
Gettysburg College has an affiliation agreement with Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University for an accelerated 3-4 Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree program.  Students complete three years at Gettysburg College and four at PCO, receiving the Doctor of Optometry degree in seven years instead of the usual eight years.  After completing all Gettysburg College requirements at PCO, the student is awarded a BA or BS degree from Gettysburg College. A Doctor of Optometry degree from PCO is received at the conclusion of the professional degree program.  Students also may attend PCO immediately after graduation from Gettysburg College under this agreement. Admission Requirements

For more information about the affiliation agreements, please contact Kristi Waybright, the Health Professions Office Administrator (kwaybrig@gettysburg.edu or (717) 337-6020) or Dr. Kristin Stuempfle, the Health Professions Advisor (kstuempf@gettysburg.edu or (717) 337-6448).

Program Requirements

Admission Requirements for Optometry at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University

1)      Prerequisite courses (completed with a "C" or better):

• General Biology with laboratory - 2 courses
• General Chemistry with laboratory - 2 courses
• General Physics with laboratory - 2 courses
• Organic Chemistry with laboratory - 2 courses (or 1 course in Organic Chemistry and 1 course in either Biochemistry or Molecular Biology)
• Microbiology with laboratory - 1 course
• Calculus - 1 course (although 2 courses are highly recommended)
• Statistics - 1 course
• English - 2 courses
• General Psychology - 1 course
• Additional coursework in such areas as Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Histology, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Experimental and Physiological Psychology are encouraged but not required
• An applicant need not have completed all the prerequisite courses prior to applying, but must complete all the prerequisite courses prior to enrolling.

2)      Optometry Admissions Test (OAT)

3)      Letters of evaluation

4)      Extracurricular activities

5)      Related and unrelated work experience

6)      Application essays

Before matriculating at PCO, students accepted under the accelerated degree program must have an approved graduation plan whereby courses taken at PCO will complete all the student's course requirements for Gettysburg College.