Doctor of Optometry 4-year program - NECO
Source: https://www.neco.edu/academics/doctor-of-optometry-4-year-program
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:35
Doctor of Optometry 4-year program - NECO
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Doctor of Optometry Four-Year Program
We know how important this decision is for you. We get it, because we’ve been there. When you come to NECO, you’ll find faculty, staff, and fellow students who know how much this matters and are eager to help you succeed.
Your training combines rigorous academics with unmatched exposure to diverse patient populations and cutting-edge technologies in various clinical settings. You’ll connect with fellow students who share common goals and come from a variety of backgrounds.
At the end of the four-year Doctor of Optometry program, you’ll be ready to practice independently anywhere in the world.
Program Details
Degree Conferred
Doctor of Optometry
Program Duration
Four years
Concentrations
Pediatric Optometry
Cornea and Contact Lens
Low Vision Rehabilitation
Apply to the Four-Year OD
Find information on steps, deadlines, fees, and the materials you’ll need to submit.
Our rolling admissions application cycle begins in July and the final deadline to apply is March 31. We recommend you apply as early in the cycle as possible. Applications received after March 31 are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Get Application Details
Why NECO for your Doctor of Optometry?
NECO helps prepare you to flourish as a valuable member of modern healthcare teams. Your training combines rigorous academics with unmatched exposure to diverse patient populations and community clinical settings.
Unrivaled Clinical Training
Few schools are able to provide the breadth and depth of clinical experiences you’ll find at NECO. And it starts within your first month here.
You’ll rotate through community health centers and see a greater variety of systemic diseases and conditions. And you’ll experience a unique multidisciplinary model, collaborating with primary care doctors, ophthalmologists, and pediatricians.
See our Clinical Training Approach
Microsurgical procedures and laser training are part of the many ways we support student success in their career.
Experience a Supportive Culture
Supportive peers, knowledgeable staff members, dedicated faculty mentors, and supportive alumni will help you succeed at NECO, and after.
Student Support Services
About the NECO Student Experience
Get involved and create friendships to last a lifetime
Get Involved in the Community
Gain practical experience and make a difference as you serve the community, advocate for the them and the profession, and broaden access to important eye care services.
Student Organizations
Make an Impact with Us
Concentrations are one way you can tailor your learning experience at NECO.
Consider a Concentration
Customize your NECO experience, deepen your expertise, and expand your career opportunities by choosing one of these concentrations: pediatric optometry, cornea contact lens, or low vision rehabilitation.
View Concentrations
Focus your optometry education on areas you are passionate about, like pediatric care
Pursue Research and a Residency
Expand your knowledge and make discoveries through faculty-mentored research or advance your clinical training with a year-long, postgraduate residency.
View OD/MS Dual Degree
View Residency Programs
Timeline: A closer look at your NECO journey
It’s the most important decision of your life, and we want to give you a solid roadmap for what’s ahead. Here’s a breakdown of the four-year doctor of optometry program at NECO.
Jump right into the fundamentals of anatomy, physiology, vision, and optics, as well as public health policy, clinical decision making, and patient care.
During your first year at NECO, your days will be action-packed, starting with morning labs and small group seminars followed by afternoon lectures and field observations.
With 40+ hours of patient care experience by the end of your first semester, you’ll be able to:
Perform refractions, lensometry, and visual acuity tests.
Conduct basic elements of a comprehensive eye exam.
Independently complete a pediatric vision screening.
In the spring semester, you’ll have an opportunity to specialize in pediatric optometry or cornea/contact lens care.
Now you’re ready for the next level of optometry education, which includes coursework in:
Advanced optics concepts
Refraction
Ocular disease
General medicine and pharmacology
Practice management
Patient communication
You’ll continue to learn along with your peers through lab sessions and small-group seminars, plus you’ll venture out into the community once a week for a clerkship at the NECO Center for Eye Care or an affiliated location.
By the end of your second year in optometry school, you will be expected to:
Conduct a comprehensive primary care eye exam
Reach a diagnosis
Outline a patient care plan
Your third year is all about putting learning into practice. As your coursework expands into advanced disease and diagnostics, you’ll also broaden your clinical experience.
You’ll learn about world health and special populations as you care for patients in a diverse range of settings, including community health centers, VA hospitals, schools, and private practices. Through elective classes, you’ll deepen your knowledge of patient care and management.
By year’s end, you should be proficient in full-scope primary care optometry and contact lenses. And with a supportive community behind you every step of the way, you’ll feel prepared and confident for your first board exam.
This year, you’ll immerse yourself in the field as an eye care practitioner. You’ll build your skills with a rich array of populations, communities, and conditions through four full-time clinical rotations:
Primary care
Advanced care
Specialty care
Elective area of your choice
Choose from more than 150 clinical sites located in 30 states, three Canadian provinces, Spain, and China.
You’ll also be ready to complete your exams for the National Board of Examiners, apply for a license or a residency—and to graduate with your Doctor of Optometry degree.
For detailed course descriptions, view the College Catalog on
Consumer Info
.
View 4 Year OD Curriculum
Voices of NECO
Exploring Optometry to its Fullest
Ashlee
NECO’s structured OD program builds confidence systematically: from intensive classroom learning in first year, to hands-on clinical practice in second year, to developing strong patient relationships in third year. This step-by-step approach ensures that by fourth-year rotations, you’re fully prepared to practice as a confident, competent optometrist.
Class Year
2026
Hometown
Maryland
Optometry Education in Action
When you choose NECO, you join a tight-knit, intellectually stimulating community that looks out for you and for each other. Through study groups, the peer mentorship program, and spending time together, you’ll form meaningful connections with fellow students and faculty that last long after graduation.
Optometry school is hard, rewarding work. And it's fun. You'll meet friends you'll keep for a lifetime.
Experience the commitment of faculty one-on-one time.
Before the first month at NECO is out, you'll be providing vision screenings in area elementary schools.
Students have the chance to do rotations through specialty clinics, such as our low vision clinic at Perkins School for the Blind.
Optometry is a rapidly changing field and you will be exposed to new diagnostics and therapeutic tools.
Learn lasers, microsurgical procedures, and IPL.
Students support one another's success through study groups and helping each other learn skills in the lab.
Our Clinical Training Center is a wonderful learning center for skills labs, testing new equipment, and special programs.
Optometry is more than refraction and eyewear. It's about total health.
Lectures are recorded so you can review the information later.
Standard and specialty contact lenses are important to therapies and vision correction.
You'll get to train at NECO Center for Eye Care under some of the leaders in low vision, myopia control, contact lenses, and more.
You'll have a variety of options for externships around the U.S. and internationally.
The reward....Commencement and a step into a lifelong engaging, dynamic profession.
Learn more about us.
Request Information
Apply
Take a virtual tour of NECO
Skip to main site navigation
Skip to main content
Doctor of Optometry Four-Year Program
We know how important this decision is for you. We get it, because we’ve been there. When you come to NECO, you’ll find faculty, staff, and fellow students who know how much this matters and are eager to help you succeed.
Your training combines rigorous academics with unmatched exposure to diverse patient populations and cutting-edge technologies in various clinical settings. You’ll connect with fellow students who share common goals and come from a variety of backgrounds.
At the end of the four-year Doctor of Optometry program, you’ll be ready to practice independently anywhere in the world.
Program Details
Degree Conferred
Doctor of Optometry
Program Duration
Four years
Concentrations
Pediatric Optometry
Cornea and Contact Lens
Low Vision Rehabilitation
Apply to the Four-Year OD
Find information on steps, deadlines, fees, and the materials you’ll need to submit.
Our rolling admissions application cycle begins in July and the final deadline to apply is March 31. We recommend you apply as early in the cycle as possible. Applications received after March 31 are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Get Application Details
Why NECO for your Doctor of Optometry?
NECO helps prepare you to flourish as a valuable member of modern healthcare teams. Your training combines rigorous academics with unmatched exposure to diverse patient populations and community clinical settings.
Unrivaled Clinical Training
Few schools are able to provide the breadth and depth of clinical experiences you’ll find at NECO. And it starts within your first month here.
You’ll rotate through community health centers and see a greater variety of systemic diseases and conditions. And you’ll experience a unique multidisciplinary model, collaborating with primary care doctors, ophthalmologists, and pediatricians.
See our Clinical Training Approach
Microsurgical procedures and laser training are part of the many ways we support student success in their career.
Experience a Supportive Culture
Supportive peers, knowledgeable staff members, dedicated faculty mentors, and supportive alumni will help you succeed at NECO, and after.
Student Support Services
About the NECO Student Experience
Get involved and create friendships to last a lifetime
Get Involved in the Community
Gain practical experience and make a difference as you serve the community, advocate for the them and the profession, and broaden access to important eye care services.
Student Organizations
Make an Impact with Us
Concentrations are one way you can tailor your learning experience at NECO.
Consider a Concentration
Customize your NECO experience, deepen your expertise, and expand your career opportunities by choosing one of these concentrations: pediatric optometry, cornea contact lens, or low vision rehabilitation.
View Concentrations
Focus your optometry education on areas you are passionate about, like pediatric care
Pursue Research and a Residency
Expand your knowledge and make discoveries through faculty-mentored research or advance your clinical training with a year-long, postgraduate residency.
View OD/MS Dual Degree
View Residency Programs
Timeline: A closer look at your NECO journey
It’s the most important decision of your life, and we want to give you a solid roadmap for what’s ahead. Here’s a breakdown of the four-year doctor of optometry program at NECO.
Jump right into the fundamentals of anatomy, physiology, vision, and optics, as well as public health policy, clinical decision making, and patient care.
During your first year at NECO, your days will be action-packed, starting with morning labs and small group seminars followed by afternoon lectures and field observations.
With 40+ hours of patient care experience by the end of your first semester, you’ll be able to:
Perform refractions, lensometry, and visual acuity tests.
Conduct basic elements of a comprehensive eye exam.
Independently complete a pediatric vision screening.
In the spring semester, you’ll have an opportunity to specialize in pediatric optometry or cornea/contact lens care.
Now you’re ready for the next level of optometry education, which includes coursework in:
Advanced optics concepts
Refraction
Ocular disease
General medicine and pharmacology
Practice management
Patient communication
You’ll continue to learn along with your peers through lab sessions and small-group seminars, plus you’ll venture out into the community once a week for a clerkship at the NECO Center for Eye Care or an affiliated location.
By the end of your second year in optometry school, you will be expected to:
Conduct a comprehensive primary care eye exam
Reach a diagnosis
Outline a patient care plan
Your third year is all about putting learning into practice. As your coursework expands into advanced disease and diagnostics, you’ll also broaden your clinical experience.
You’ll learn about world health and special populations as you care for patients in a diverse range of settings, including community health centers, VA hospitals, schools, and private practices. Through elective classes, you’ll deepen your knowledge of patient care and management.
By year’s end, you should be proficient in full-scope primary care optometry and contact lenses. And with a supportive community behind you every step of the way, you’ll feel prepared and confident for your first board exam.
This year, you’ll immerse yourself in the field as an eye care practitioner. You’ll build your skills with a rich array of populations, communities, and conditions through four full-time clinical rotations:
Primary care
Advanced care
Specialty care
Elective area of your choice
Choose from more than 150 clinical sites located in 30 states, three Canadian provinces, Spain, and China.
You’ll also be ready to complete your exams for the National Board of Examiners, apply for a license or a residency—and to graduate with your Doctor of Optometry degree.
For detailed course descriptions, view the College Catalog on
Consumer Info
.
View 4 Year OD Curriculum
Voices of NECO
Exploring Optometry to its Fullest
Ashlee
NECO’s structured OD program builds confidence systematically: from intensive classroom learning in first year, to hands-on clinical practice in second year, to developing strong patient relationships in third year. This step-by-step approach ensures that by fourth-year rotations, you’re fully prepared to practice as a confident, competent optometrist.
Class Year
2026
Hometown
Maryland
Optometry Education in Action
When you choose NECO, you join a tight-knit, intellectually stimulating community that looks out for you and for each other. Through study groups, the peer mentorship program, and spending time together, you’ll form meaningful connections with fellow students and faculty that last long after graduation.
Optometry school is hard, rewarding work. And it's fun. You'll meet friends you'll keep for a lifetime.
Experience the commitment of faculty one-on-one time.
Before the first month at NECO is out, you'll be providing vision screenings in area elementary schools.
Students have the chance to do rotations through specialty clinics, such as our low vision clinic at Perkins School for the Blind.
Optometry is a rapidly changing field and you will be exposed to new diagnostics and therapeutic tools.
Learn lasers, microsurgical procedures, and IPL.
Students support one another's success through study groups and helping each other learn skills in the lab.
Our Clinical Training Center is a wonderful learning center for skills labs, testing new equipment, and special programs.
Optometry is more than refraction and eyewear. It's about total health.
Lectures are recorded so you can review the information later.
Standard and specialty contact lenses are important to therapies and vision correction.
You'll get to train at NECO Center for Eye Care under some of the leaders in low vision, myopia control, contact lenses, and more.
You'll have a variety of options for externships around the U.S. and internationally.
The reward....Commencement and a step into a lifelong engaging, dynamic profession.
Learn more about us.
Request Information
Apply
Take a virtual tour of NECO