Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry

Founded in 1981, the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry offers a four-year Doctor of Optometry program and is located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. In 1992, the School of Optometry became a separate autonomous academic unit within the Inter American University of Puerto Rico system. The School of Optometry is accredited by the Higher Education Council of Puerto Rico, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association for the maximum term of eight years.

The bilingual nature of the School of Optometry is what makes this Optometry program unique. Lectures and clinical care are in Spanish, while the texts, tests, and patient records are in English. This allows graduates to be professionally fluent in Spanish allowing them to practice in various settings throughout the world. Furthermore, graduates leave with priceless exposure and knowledge of various ocular diseases found throughout Puerto Rico.

The school offers small class sizes of 50 students, allowing individualized attention and professor interaction. The student body represents more than 15 states and countries creating an international multiethnic environment. Students come from various cultural backgrounds including Puerto Rico, Florida, New York, Illinois, Texas, California, Hawaii, Canada, Colombia, and Nigeria, to name a few.

Known for its exceptional training in Ocular Diseases, the Instituto Interamericano del Ojo, or Inter American Institute of the Eye (better known as IIO), is the training facility of the School of Optometry. With six state-of-the-art clinics located throughout the island, students train in Primary Eye Care, Contact Lenses and Cornea, Low Vision, Ocular Diseases, and Vision Therapy.

Two residency programs are offered. One residency program provides advanced training in Primary Eye Care within multi-disciplinary clinical settings, as well as training in pre- and post-ophthalmic operative care. The other, in Geriatric and Visual Impairment Rehabilitation, provides advanced training in the care of elderly patients and patients with significant visual impairment. Clinical activities are primarily associated with the Veterans Affairs Caribbean Health Care System. Both programs provide learning opportunities in teaching and scholarly activities at the School of Optometry.

The School of Optometry is now in a new state-of-the-art facility. Remaining an independent entity, they share resources with the Bayamón campus of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico system.

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry provides superb and unparalleled education in the field of Optometry allowing their students to be outstanding ambassadors of the profession and the institution.