18 December 2025
De Montfort University is seeking General Optical Council (GOC) approval for a new Master’s in optometry.
The university, in Leicester, is hoping to welcome students to its four-year MOptom course in September 2026.
The De Montfort University course is expected to combine “academic study with extensive hands-on clinical practice,” the university said.
The university added that the MOptom has been developed in conjunction with industry professionals, and will include teaching from both academics and practising optometrists, as well as hands-on workshops and visits to optical manufacturers.
Students will undertake placements with local optical providers, including eight weeks of clinical placements in the first three years. A 44-week paid clinical learning in practice placement will make up the final year.
The course will be administered by the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and building work on new facilities is expected to begin in January 2026. It has been designed by De Montfort University’s associate dean of education, Dr Nikki Brooks.
Brooks said: “The programme is designed to build students’ clinical skills and confidence, giving them the opportunity to work with people across the lifespan and gain to experience beyond the classroom setting.
“The course has a strong focus on the social impact of optometry. Using our expertise in health and life sciences, particularly in public health, our future plan is to reduce local health inequalities and work with public health services to help bring optometry and eye care health into the deprived areas of the city.”
She added: “Inclusive practice and social responsibility is at the heart of the programme, offering students opportunities to make an impact not only locally in Leicester but internationally.”
The course will allow both optometry and audiology students to “gain independent clinical experience while contributing to global social good,” Brooks added.
De Montfort will be allowed to recruit students for the new course when it has progressed to level three of the GOC’s approval process.
The first cohort of students will have their GOC student registration fees covered for the duration of the programme, the university said.
Professor Simon Oldroyd, dean of the university’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, said: “The introduction of De Montfort University’s new optometry degree represents a powerful opportunity to shape the future of vision health.
“For students, it offers a pathway into a rewarding profession at the forefront of clinical innovation. For the public, it means greater access to high-quality vision care delivered locally.”
The course provides “a vital step towards tackling health inequalities, ensuring that communities most in need benefit from improved eye health services and the expertise of the next generation of optometrists,” Oldroyd added.
Comments (9)
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Anonymous30 December 2025
I wouldn’t recommend optometry as a career for anyone. Another university course to saturate the market to get salaries down. Shortened test times; more and more of, the ultimate sign of greed, the rolling clinic and an OCT that folk don’t really need for a tenner all lumped onto the optometrists. It’s a profession in the decline. In Scotland, there’s this attempt by stealth to guilt folk into becoming independent prescribers as well. All for the same pay.
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Anonymous27 December 2025
Read this article over a few times. There are so many cliched sound bites. It’s a complete joke.
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Anonymous22 December 2025
Who as a student would want now to go into optometry. Acquiring a pile of student debt with a profession offering rapidly decreasing salaries and from alot of whats been previously reported increasing stress and burn out. Its not at all surprising with demands from the multiples to reduce overheads but somebody really needs to make students aware of the reality of daily life as an employed optom working in many multiples with sales, conversion and ghost clinic pressures.
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Anonymous21 December 2025
“The university added that the MOptom has been developed in conjunction with industry professionals, and….”
Industry professionals eh? Wouldn’t be the big green multiple would it, perchance?
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Anonymous19 December 2025
Ridiculous decisions being made. A city already saturated with Optoms, now opening 2 more courses. GOC needs to protect the profession
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Anonymous21 December 2025
Not much chance of that. The GOC exist to protect the public, paid for by us. The Multiples want to saturate the country with Optom producing factories - oh wait, I meant universities- to drive down salaries.
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Anonymous19 December 2025
Best of luck finding staff!
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Anonymous19 December 2025
One city with 2 courses? Ridiculous.
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Anonymous18 December 2025
So, I wonder, a Specsavers or Boots factory?
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