What will I learn?

The Master of Optometry (MOptom) degree, developed and taught by the Leicester School of Optometry at the University of Leicester, is a gateway to a rewarding career as a registered optometrist. Optometrists work on the frontline of healthcare, playing a critical role in maintaining and improving the eye health of people of all ages and backgrounds. Optometrists work in a variety of settings, including in hospitals and on the high street. They carry out detailed eye examinations, prescribe glasses or contact lenses and, through their use of advanced technology and deep clinical knowledge, they also detect and manage defects in vision or disease. The course is undergoing the General Optical Council's (GOC) staged **process** to offer GOC-approved qualifications. This is the standard procedure for a new MOptom degree in the UK. We are working towards **permission to recruit** (i.e., enrol) students by the General Optical Council in September 2026 (Stage 3 of GOC approval). As of 3rd March 2026, the Leicester School of Optometry has passed Stages 1 & 2 of the GOC’s approval process and is constructively working towards Stage 3 approval, with the aim to enrol students in September 2026. The qualification does not yet have full GOC approval until a decision is made at Stage 5 of the approval process (i.e., Stage 5 is the final stage of the process and takes place in the academic year in which the first cohort of students reach their final year of study.)On this degree, you will develop your knowledge and skills through a mix of academic study and work- and clinic-based learning. You will be taught by expert practitioners, and you will benefit from our outstanding clinical facilities at Leicester Royal infirmary and optic labs on campus, as well as pioneering and highly specialist facilities such as our medical dissection rooms and Space Park Leicester. Preparing you for your professional career life is a fundamental aspect of this course, which has been designed in close collaboration with the professional optometry sector. We believe that gaining practical, real-world experience is one of the best ways to develop the professional competencies demanded of an optometrist. You will undertake multiple placements throughout the course, which will allow you to experience the wide range of workplace environments and applications of an optometrist. These placements will also develop invaluable patient-centred skills which are essential to your role.For the first three years of the course, you will join other healthcare students from across the College of Life Sciences (which includes Nursing, Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Diagnostic Radiography, Operating Department Practice and Pharmacy) in a series of inter-professional teaching and learning sessions. Learning alongside other healthcare students is ideal preparation for the workplace environment.You will also study aspects of business and management that are relevant to an optometrist's role in the high street or private sector. This includes business models, practice management and clinical law.In your final year, you will undertake a year-long College of Optometrists Clinical Learning in Practice (CLiP) module with a single employer (pending contractual negotiations with the College of Optometrists), and work towards a Professional Certificate in Glaucoma (Prof Cert Glauc) subject to accreditation by the College of Optometrists. This allows you to implement your clinical learning into routine practice and build on your experience at university instead of doing a separate pre-registration year. This also means that you will be ready for the workplace upon graduating, having spent a year in a professional role already.