Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science offers a professional, four-year Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree that is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (accredit@theacoe.org). The School is the only provider of English-language instruction for optometry in Canada (there is also a French-language school; the École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal).
Our students enjoy a leading university that attracts award-winning professors along with some of the best and brightest students from around the world. Licensed ODs make up the body of expert faculty and clinic supervisors who provide an optimum mix of theoretical study and practical training.
Student graduation rates in Optometry
Standards for students and for teaching are set very high, but our graduation/attrition rates suggest that our students excel in this environment, as can be seen in the following table of recent graduations:
| Matriculation year* | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation year for 4 year program | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
| First year students | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Advanced standing** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||||
| Number | % of total | Number | % of total | Number | % of total | Number | % of total | |
| Graduated in 4 years | 87 |
96.7% |
87 |
96.7% |
86 |
95.6% |
87 |
91.6% |
| ASOPP | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 5.3% |
| Total | 87 | 96.7% | 87 | 96.7% | 86 | 95.6% | 92 | 96.8% |
| Graduated in 5 or more years | 2 | 2.2% | 3 | 3.3% | 3 | 3.3% | 0 | 0% |
| ASOPP | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 2 | 2.2% | 3 | 3.3% | 3 | 3.3% | 0 | 0% |
| Still enrolled or on a leave of absence | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 2.1% |
| Attrition for academic reasons | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1.1% | 0 | 0% |
| Attrition for non- academic reasons | 1 | 1.1% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1.1% |
Notes
*Matriculation year refers to the year 1 of the four year program.
**Advanced standing students join the matriculated cohort in year 3 of the program after successful completion of the ASOPP program.
Student test scores for registration exams
To complete their professional qualifications, after graduation, students must pass a registration exam. In Canada, this exam is administered by the Optometry Examining Board of Canada (OEBC), and some provinces accept the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) exam. Graduates from our program are eligible for either set of registration exams and, depending on their plans, may opt to take one or both exams. The School of Optometry & Vision Science has a history of doing very well on these exams.
First-time Test Takers
Below are the annual institutional pass rates for all first-time takers of the Optometric Examining Board of Canada (OEBC) and the National Board Examiners in Optometry (NBEO). The OEBC has two parts, a written exam and an objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE). The NBEO has 3 parts: Part I Applied Basic Science (ABS), Part II Patient Assessment & Management (PAM), and Part III Clinical Skills Examination (CSE). As of August 2024, the Part III CSE will be replaced with Part III Patient Encounters and Performance Skills (PEPS).
Here are the most recent results for our students:
| Graduation Year | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Students | Passed | % | # Students | Passed | % | # Students | Passed | % | |
| OEBC Written* | 68 | 64 | 94.1% | 71 | 69 | 97.2% | 80 | 77 | 96.3% |
| OEBC OSCE* | 69 | 58 | 84.1% | 71 | 67 | 94.4% | 25 | 23 | 92% |
| NBEO Part I ABS* | 25 | 23 | 92.0% | 20 | 17 | 85.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NBEO Part II PAM* | 21 | 21 | 100.0% | 21 | 21 | 100.0% | 16 | 16 | 100.0% |
| NBEO Part III CSE** | 23 | 16 | 69.6% | 24 | 16 | 66.7% | 13 | 7 | 53.8% |
*First-time test takers, regardless of matriculation or graduating year, challenging exam between Sept. 1 - Aug. 31 of the academic year
**First-time test takers, regardless of matriculation or graduating year, challenging exam between July 1 - June 30 of the academic year
Ultimate Passage Rate
The ultimate passage rate describes the percentage of the graduating cohort that successfully passed NBEO or OEBC entry-to-practice examinations by September 30th of their graduating year. Data presented prior to October 31st may be incomplete as not all graduates have challenged or successfully passed all parts of the OEBC or NBEO assessments.
| Graduating Cohort | 2022-2023** | 2023-2024** | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By Oct. of grad year | Any time after grad | By Oct. of grad year | Any time after grad | |||||||
| # Students in grad. cohort |
Attempted / Passed |
% of cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | # Students in grad. cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | |
| Attempted and passed all parts of OEBC | 88 | 70 / 68 | 77.3% | 70 / 68 | 77.3% | 95 | 24 / 21 | 22.1% | 21 / 21 | 21.1% |
| Attempted and passed all parts of NBEO and OEBC | 88 | 0 / 0 | 0.0% | 0 / 0 | 0.0% | 95 | 1 / 1 | 1.1% | 1 / 1 | 1.1% |
| Attempted and passed all parts of NBEO | 88 | 20 /20 | 22.7% | 20 / 20 | 22.7% | 95 | 13 / 12 | 12.6% | 13 / 12 | 12.6% |
| Total | 88 | 100.0% | 88 | 100.0% | 34 | 35.8% | 34 | 35.8% | ||
| Graduating Cohort | 2020-2021** | 2021-2022** | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By Oct. of grad year | Any time after grad | By Oct. of grad year | Any time after grad | |||||||
| # Students in grad. cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | # Students in grad. cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | Attempted / Passed | % of cohort | |
| Attempted and passed all parts of OEBC | 87 | 70 / 67 | 77.0% | 71 / 71 | 81.6% | 89 | 70 / 67 | 75.3% | 70 / 69 | 77.5% |
| Attempted and passed all parts of NBEO and OEBC | 87 | 0 / 0 | 0.0% | 0 / 0 | 0.0% | 89 | 2 / 2 | 2.2% | 2 / 2 | 2.2% |
| Attempted and passed all parts of NBEO | 87 | 14 / 14 | 16.1% | 15 / 15 | 17.2% | 89 | 20 / 18 | 20.2% | 20 / 18 | 20.2% |
| Total | 81 | 93.1% | 86 | 98.9% | 87 | 97.8% | 89 | 100.0% | ||
**Graduating cohort are students that graduated between Oct 1-Sep 30 of given year.
Current year cohort still in progress; not all students have completed all parts.