Changes are in the works for the Doctor of Optometry (OD) program at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science.
The University of Waterloo Senate and the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) have approved the curriculum changes, which include inserting an additional study term after the winter term of second year. This will make both the third and fourth years 12 months (three terms) long. Students will still start and finish the program in the same timeframe as before.
The changes will be implemented starting in September 2026, affecting the incoming cohort (Class of 2030) and future classes.
Students already in the program will continue to follow the existing curriculum, so there will be no changes for them.
“The curriculum changes will allow students to start learning clinical skills sooner, get more and earlier patient care experience and benefit from more integrated learning in areas where the scope of optometry practice has been increasing worldwide – though to be clear, current students are already educated in these areas, as are many of our alumni,” said Dr. Natalie Hutchings, the School’s associate director of academics and student affairs.
“Students will also get a more evenly distributed course load, supporting wellness and providing opportunities for academic remediation if needed.”
The changes will take instructional weeks from 117 to 129. The number of instructional weeks will still be below average for OD programs in North America, though the changes bring Waterloo closer to the average.
Students will pay for an additional term of tuition, though total tuition costs will also still be below average for optometry programs in North America. Overall, the number of required credits will increase modestly from 33.5 to 34.5.
The new curriculum will add two new themes, also known as streams, to the coursework across years. Communication-focused content and additional clinical labs will join the existing themes of medical sciences, clinical vision sciences and experiential sciences. All students are required to take all courses in all themes.
“We identify themes where the content and learning objectives are related,” said Hutchings. “The new themes aren’t totally new content. For example, students already learn communication skills. What we’ve done is identify exactly where the communication activities start and how to build on students’ skills in this area in a progressive way.”
Some new courses will be added to better organize content already being covered, while other courses will be retired. The new courses include:
- Glaucoma and Neurodegenerative Disease
- Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease and Management
- Medical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence in Optometry
There will be more courses on binocular vision, to increase total learning in eye movements/disorders, as well as vision therapy and management of binocular vision problems. Students will also have additional clinical labs and an additional term of clinical practice in the spring term of the third year.
The material covered in courses that are slated to be retired won’t necessarily go away. Rather, it’s being reorganized into related courses to reduce redundancy while ensuring there are no critical knowledge gaps.
“I do think our current graduates are already very well prepared for optometry practice,” said Hutchings. “However, these curriculum changes will help make students more confident in the clinic at an earlier stage as well as providing a little more breathing room in the coursework.”
Information about the pending changes has been published on the application requirements page since August 2025, so candidates applying to start in 2026 should be aware. More detailed information about the program changes is available in the University of Waterloo Senate Minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Will students who graduate from cohorts using the current curriculum be at a disadvantage compared to students from future cohorts?
We don’t believe so. By far most of the new curriculum is already being taught, though not necessarily in the same way or at the same time. The changes rebalance elements of the curriculum, provide more and earlier clinic exposure and provide a little more academic breathing room especially to the currently intense second year. The new curriculum is intended in part to make students more confident in the clinic at an earlier stage, but we don’t anticipate significant differences in knowledge or experience by the time students graduate. Students will still have to pass the same board exams.
Q. Will students still be able to do research assistantships?
Yes, students will still be able to apply for full-time summer research assistantships between the first year and second year. They will also have opportunities for part-time research assistantships throughout their time at the School.
Q. Will students still be able to participate in volunteer eye care trips with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), typically now done in the summer between second and third year?
As there will still be a couple of weeks between terms, students should still be able to participate in VOSH trips during the break between winter term of second year and spring (first) term of third year or between the spring and fall terms of third year. However, the dates of trips may need to be shifted slightly.
Q. How will the curriculum changes affect the Waterloo Eye Institute optometry clinics?
Because we will have more third-year students working in the Waterloo and Kitchener optometry clinics in future spring terms, there will be more capacity for patient appointments. However, this will not be until the spring term of 2028. By the 2028 spring term, the rebuilt Waterloo Eye Institute will be open at 200 Columbia Street West in Waterloo, so there will be more physical capacity as well.
Q. What do these changes mean for faculty members?
More faculty members will have to teach during spring term. The content of some courses is also changing. However, beyond initially preparing for new or reorganized courses, the overall teaching load shouldn’t change significantly.
The curriculum changes were developed with faculty-wide consultation and were approved by the faculty council before proceeding through the University processes at the Faculty of Science and University levels.
Q. What do these changes mean for the ASOPP program?
The Advanced Standing Optometry Preparatory Program aims to prepare qualifying optometrists who were trained outside North America for licensure in Canada. Currently, the program takes place in spring term to prepare students who pass their exams to join the third year of the OD program starting in the fall term.
Because there will be no curriculum changes for students who start their third year in the fall of 2026 (Class of 2028) or fall of 2027 (Class of 2029), there will be no changes to the ASOPP program for the spring terms of 2026 or 2027.
There may be changes to the ASOPP program starting in 2028. Details will be communicated before ASOPP applications open for that year.
Have further questions? Please contact optometry.ada@uwaterloo.ca.