Policy briefing De Montfort University optometry university course

What has been announced

De Montfort University has announced it is seeking GOC approval for a new master’s degree in optometry. The course is expected to launch in September 2026 and follows shortly after the announcement of an optometry course at the University of Leicester.

There are now 16 UK optometry courses available on the UCAS website.

What do we say

The announcement of another optometry course is likely to cause concern for some optometrists, especially coming so soon after the announcement of the course at the University of Leicester.

We are aware that there are mixed views on the optometry workforce requirements. Members frequently raise concerns with us about the impact of new graduates entering the profession and ask what we can do about the introduction of new courses; meanwhile businesses speak of the workforce recruitment challenges in some parts of the country.

It is the responsibility of the GOC to approve new courses, but the GOC, even as the regulator, is limited in how much control it has over the development and introduction of new courses. The GOC is unable to refuse courses that meet the criteria to deliver an optometry course. They are also unable to refuse a course on grounds of proximity to other courses, or to consider the workforce requirements for the profession. These criteria sit outside of their remit.

This goes in some way to explain why it is unclear how these new courses will help to tackle recruitment challenges that businesses report. The two universities in Leicester are only separated by approximately a 10-minute walk. If we map out areas within a 60-minute drive time for all UK universities (see figure 1), and the Leicester area (see figure 2) the overlap with the well-established course at Aston University and more importantly with each other, seems to show that this new course is unlikely to tackle recruitment issues in the northern or coastal regions of England. In fact, Leicester and De Montfort overlap to such an extent to be almost indistinguishable when a 60-minute drive time is mapped.

We will continue to work with stakeholders across the sector on this issue, and seek to engage with members through our ongoing research activities in 2026.

While it is clearly important to have a sufficient optometry workforce to enable the profession to support the NHS in achieving the government aim to deliver care closer to home, we believe it is increasingly important that any additional courses can demonstrate they address a genuine workforce shortage.