Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry

Founded in 1981, the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry (IAUPR) 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 Council on Higher Education 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. Classroom instruction and patient records are done in English, while clinical care is provided in Spanish. 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 60 students, allowing individualized attention and professor interaction. The student body represents students not only from United States and Puerto Rico, but from many other countries creating an international multiethnic environment. Students come from various cultural backgrounds including Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, California, Canada, China, Colombia, Poland 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, Cornea and Contact Lenses, Low Vision, Ocular Diseases, and Vision Therapy.

A single residency program is offered providing advanced training in Primary Eye Care within multi-disciplinary clinical settings, as well as training in pre- and post-ophthalmic operative care. This program provides 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.

External links

* [http://www.optonet.inter.edu Official site]