The IU School of Optometry offers an Optician/Technician Program with two options for students. The first is a fast-track that allows students to earn a Certificate in Optometric Technology/Opticianry in two semesters (29 credits). The second option allows students to build on the certificate and, with an additional 31 credit hours, earn an Associate of Science degree in Optometric Technology/Opticianry (60 credits). Of those 31 additional credit hours, at least four credit hours must be clinic practicum courses and the remaining 27 may be chosen from allowable general education courses. The general education courses may be completed before or after the Optician/Technician Program courses.  For students wanting a four-year degree, some IUB schools/departments accept optician/technician program credits towards a bachelor’s degree.

For the associate degree, the second year consists of clinical experience in the school’s clinics and general education courses.  The second year may also include practical experience in ophthalmic lens  laboratory procedures for those with an interest in lens production. Students wishing to gain experience as laboratory opticians may take a TOPT-V210 Laboratory Practicum I and/or TOPT-V211 Laboratory Practicum II.  The courses provide practical experience and education in the making and assembling of spectacles, the finishing of lenses and other related topics.

Students completing the program are qualified to begin careers as optometric technicians or opticians. This study offers excellent entry point into one of the most interesting areas in the health care field. Students learn theoretical concepts and practical skills in the areas of anatomy and physiology of the eye; ophthalmic procedures and testing; office procedures; optical concepts and ophthalmic optics; ophthalmic dispensing; ophthalmic lens laboratory procedures; and contact lenses.

Accreditation

The Optician/Technician Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and by the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation.

Mission and Goals

Programmatic Mission

To educate and train individuals to be optometric technicians and opticians.

Programmatic Goals

• Teaching: The overall goal for teaching is to develop a program recognized for excellence and innovation in opticianry and optometric technology.
• Clinics: To provide students with the clinical experience needed to develop competence in patient care by working with a diverse and varied patient population.
• Optical Teaching Laboratory: To provide students with the optical laboratory experience needed to develop competency in the lens finishing of spectacle lens prescriptions.
• Physical Plant: To provide students with a pleasant, environmentally safe learning environment that has both basic and state-of-the-art equipment in sufficient quantity to foster maximum learning.
• Student Administration: To enroll a full class of students with a diversity of backgrounds and assure that upon graduation they are appropriately prepared for and successfully placed within the ophthalmic marketplace.