7-Year Optometry Program
Earn your OD in 7 years
Detroit Mercy offers a special academic program which enables highly-qualified applicants to earn a baccalaureate degree and a Doctor of Optometry degree in seven calendar years, rather than the traditional eight.
How it works
Students in this program spend their first three years completing their Biology or Chemistry studies at the McNichols Campus, then study in the School of Optometry for the remaining four years.
Pick your path
Choose to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Biology or a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry before earning your Doctor of Optometry degree.
As 7-year students, you are guaranteed a seat in the School of Optometry if you meet all criteria.
Focused on you
Get the one-on-one attention you deserve, thanks to our small classroom sizes and 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
Make an impact
Gain experience and benefit the community by providing optometry care to local residents.
Think beyond your limits
As the only Jesuit and Mercy university in the country, a Detroit Mercy education encompasses the development of the whole person: mind, body and spirit.
Gain a real world understanding of optometry
At Detroit Mercy, having our own School of Optometry provides a distinct advantage for you. As a student in the 7-year program, you will take a course within the School of Optometry that enhances your understanding of the profession.
As part of this course, you will complete 10 hours of clinical shadowing, which fulfills the shadowing requirements for our optometry program and for most optometry schools across the country
Hands-On Experience
As a Detroit Mercy Optometry student, you will gain meaningful hands-on experience through direct patient care at our state-of-the-art Eye Institute. The facility includes 23 fully equipped individual examination rooms, each thoughtfully designed to support personalized care and serve the diverse needs of our surrounding community.
From the classroom to the clinic, your education will be enriched by advanced digital learning technologies and hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment. In the classroom, you will train with tools such as slit lamps, retinoscopes, keratometers, and ophthalmoscopes, alongside emerging technologies like virtual reality simulators, electronic medical record systems, and aberrometer systems. This integrated approach ensures that you graduate with clinical expertise, critical-thinking ability, and professional confidence needed to thrive in today’s optometric practice.
Service-Learning
Our commitment to the community is embedded into our curriculum. Throughout the year, there are a variety of outreach initiatives available for student involvement.
Service to the community is much more than the activity itself — it’s about meeting the needs of the community through patient care, enabling students to help others and to give of themselves.
Research Opportunities
Students have the chance to participate in groundbreaking research as early as their freshman year. As an undergrad, you will work in small teams with your classmates and faculty, build skills and experience for your résumé, receive a competitive edge for employment, author scientific publications and more.
Admission Requirements
See the website for Detroit Mercy Admissions for the early and regular submission dates for applications. All who are interested in being considered for admission into the 7-Year Program should specifically and clearly indicate this at the time they submit their applications for admission as new first-year students into the College of Engineering & Science. Applications for the program are to be sent to the office of Undergraduate Admissions at the McNichols Campus, not to the program coordinator nor to the School of Optometry.
The student's overall application will be used to determine which students are accepted into the limited number of seats in the program.
More information, including admission requirements and application procedure, will be available when the Academic Catalog is published. Please contact the Office of Admissions, admissions@udmercy.edu, 313-993-1245, with any questions.
- 7-year Bachelor of Science in Biology / Doctor of Optometry or
- 7-year Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry / Doctor of Optometry
Undergraduate Core Requirements
Students may earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology or a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. In addition to the basic science courses required of all optometry school applicants, students in the 7-Year Optometry program must meet all requirements for their major and the University Core Curriculum. This includes coursework in mathematics, English, history and culture, speech, computers, ethics and social responsibility, philosophy and religious studies.
Students in this program will complete an Introduction to Optometry course during their third year of undergraduate education.
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Criteria for a Guaranteed Seat in the School of Optometry
As 7-year students, you are guaranteed a seat in the School of Optometry if you meet the following criteria.
The requirements are:
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4
- A minimum science GPA of 3.2
- Completion of all prerequisite coursework required by the University of Detroit Mercy School of Optometry
- Score of at least a 300 on the Optometry Admission Test (OAT) (academic average and on each section) after the second year of the program
- A successful interview with the School of Optometry Admissions Committee
- Completion of 10 hours of optometric shadowing
- Successful completion of Optometry Centralized Application Service (OptomCAS®) after the second year of the program.