Expand+Deadlines for on-time applications

2023 entry application deadlines

For courses starting in 2023 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If y...

Hide-Deadlines for on-time applications

2023 entry application deadlines

For courses starting in 2023 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.

15 October 2022 for 2023 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.

25 January 2023 for 2023 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.

Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests.

Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.

Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.

Start date: September 2023.

Expand+Overview
At Ulster we offer a 3-year BSc (Hons) Optometry or a 4-year Masters with Honours Optometry degree.

Summary
Did you know that most people value their sight above all other senses? That’s not surprising considering how important vision...

Hide-Overview
At Ulster we offer a 3-year BSc (Hons) Optometry or a 4-year Masters with Honours Optometry degree.

Summary
Did you know that most people value their sight above all other senses? That’s not surprising considering how important vision is to our everyday lives. Vision is a complicated process involving not just our eyes, but our brains and nervous system.

Studying for an Optometry degree you will discover the fascinating way in which the visual system works and learn to help patients of all ages to keep their eyes healthy and achieve the best vision possible.

You will explore everything from the physiology and psychology of vision, to how to conduct an eye test, prescribe glasses and contact lenses and detect signs of injury or disease (both in the eye and the rest of the body). You will practise your new skills in the range of specialist clinics that are available in our on-campus eye clinic and you will also visit local hospital eye clinics to further broaden your experience.

About
If you are interested in problem-solving, science and working with people the Optometry degree at Ulster will provide you with the training you need to become an Optometrist. You will benefit from the small class sizes (approximately 32-36 per year), unique to Ulster, which ensures our students have excellent access to patients, equipment and lecturing staff. Our graduates consistently score our course in the top three of UK Optometry degrees and go on to careers in high street practice, hospital practice, the optical industry, vision science research and academia.

At Ulster we offer a 3-year BSc (Hons) Optometry or a 4-year Masters with Honours Optometry degree. All students start on the BSc programme and, depending on availability and academic progress, students may choose to transfer onto the Masters option.

This full-time programme of study is based at the Coleraine campus where we have a well equipped Optometry Clinic which provides eye care services to the local population whilst also acting as the central teaching hub for our students.

You can find out more about the Optometry Clinic by clicking here.

In addition to the extensive clinical experience gained in the Optometry Clinic and NHS placements, you will learn through interactive lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions, where engagement in learning is encouraged through a diverse range of teaching and assessment methods.

Key skills for Optometry include the ability to understand and apply scientific principles and methods, a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, good organisational and administrative skills, good manual dexterity and strong interpersonal and communication skills.

The Optometry programme at Ulster has been accredited by the General Optical Council to provide optometric education and provides the training required to become a registered optometrist in the UK or Ireland.

Expand+Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Right from the first week of your studies, you will be in the eye clinic, where you will learn how to test each other's eyes before you apply these skills to paid volunteers in the second year. In the third year of ...

Hide-Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Right from the first week of your studies, you will be in the eye clinic, where you will learn how to test each other's eyes before you apply these skills to paid volunteers in the second year. In the third year of study, you will provide eye tests and contact lens assessments for patients of all ages in our public Optometry Clinic. Third-year students also experience a range of specialist clinics both in the on-campus Optometry Clinic and in NHS placements, preparing them for pre-registration practice.

The final year of the MOptom programme encompasses the College of Optometrists' Scheme for Registration and includes higher level modules taken by distance learning in specialist areas of optometric practice.

The small number of students accepted each year onto the Optometry degree allows a high level of interaction between students and both staff and patients making sure that you get the best out of the experience.

A wide range of teaching and learning methods are utilised including lectures, practicals, tutorials and clinical practice. Computer-based and problem-based learning are integral to the programme. Assessment for most modules is by a combination of coursework and sessional examination. Coursework may include written reports of practical work, essays, class tests, projects, oral presentations and a wide range of clinical assessments.

Teaching is enhanced and informed by the high-quality research that is undertaken by academic staff within the Optometry Clinic and in the Vision Science Research Group.

Expand+Job roles
With this degree you could become:
• Pre-reg Optometrist
• Optometrist

Career options
Our graduates have an excellent record of employment and have secured clinical, research, academic and managerial roles in the public and priva...

Hide-Job roles
With this degree you could become:
• Pre-reg Optometrist
• Optometrist

Career options
Our graduates have an excellent record of employment and have secured clinical, research, academic and managerial roles in the public and private sector and have progressed to higher degrees (taught or research) in the UK and Ireland. In addition to challenging and rewarding clinical roles as an optometrist in either hospital or high street practice, a degree in Optometry will also offer you career options working with charitable bodies, in industry, government service, teaching and research.

To become an optometrist, graduates of Optometry BSc programmes must undertake a pre-registration year of supervised, paid practice in either a registered optometric practice or in a hospital. During this year graduates are continually assessed and take professional examinations which lead to membership of the College of Optometrists (http://www.college-optometrists.org/) and to registration with the General Optical Council as a registered optometrist. In order to enter the pre-registration year, graduates must have a first or second class degree in Optometry and have completed the Core Competency requirements stipulated by the General Optical Council.

Ulster University offers graduates the opportunity to study for higher qualifications including PgCert/PgDip/MSc Advanced Clinical Optometry, studies to doctoral level and professional qualifications including the College of Optometrist accredited Professional Certificates in Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Paediatric Optometry and Low Vision.