Universities That Offers Optometry in Nigeria 2024/2025

Which institution in Nigeria offers the best programs in optometry? What are the requirements to study optometry in Nigeria? Which state universities provide optometry? Are students studying optometry for JAMB accepted by all universities?

In this article, you will be provided with the best institutions in which one can study optometry. You will also be told the necessary requirements to study optometry in Nigeria, and you will know if you can use Jamb to study optometry in Nigeria. Therefore, stay tuned.

If you want to study optometry in Nigeria, this site will give you information on the universities that offer the program as well as the Jamb prerequisites, and course descriptions in Nigeria.

If you’re familiar with physics, you’ll see that the word “optics” alone refers to light, including light waves and other phenomena. Hopefully, this has given you a basic understanding of what optometry is all about.

What is Optometry all about?

Optometry is the field of examining the eyes and associated components to look for flaws or abnormalities and is part of the specialty medical. Professionals in the medical field known as optometrists often offer complete primary eye care.

A doctor of optometry is required to practice as an optometrist in the United States and Canada. They not only offer refractive (optical) eye care but are also trained and authorized to practice medicine for problems relating to the eyes. Optometrists are allowed to treat refractive eye disorders in the UK as well as practice medicine.

Those who have earned a postgraduate O.D. degree may also use the title “Doctor of Optometry” in the UK. Optometrists bill medical insurance (for instance, Medicare) in accordance with their status as physicians within the confines of their profession.

Many also take part in scholarly studies on diseases and illnesses related to the eyes. The only healthcare professionals who have a first professional degree specifically in eye care are optometrists; ophthalmologists are doctors who typically have a four-year undergraduate degree, a medical degree, and at least three years of residency training after medical school, eliminating the need for an eye-specific degree.

Which University Has an Optometry Program?

Despite the fact that all colleges, whether public, private, or independent, can offer optometry programs, not all do. This is due to the fact that not all universities can fulfill the prerequisites for this degree that have been established by the National University Council (NUC) and National Optometric Association (NOA).

The following universities are the only ones that will accept students for study in optometry through the JAMB or any other authorized admissions route.

Requirements to study Optometry

Optometry is studied under the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences in Nigerian Universities.

  • Use of English
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Physics

You must additionally enroll in four classes, with English being a requirement, for this degree. Furthermore, the combined score that the university will use to establish your candidacy for admission will be based on your JAMB score in addition to your POST UTME score.

To increase your chances of being admitted to a program where you can study optometry, your JAMB score should be at least 250. If you receive a score between 180 and 200 or above, you can still be admitted, but you will not compare favorably to individuals who received a higher score.

Universities Offering Optometry in Nigeria

It is important to remember that the eyes are one of the most delicate organs in the body and that only a select few Universities have been granted NUC accreditation to provide optometry.

There are just seven accredited medical schools in Nigeria that offer optometry at the moment. Some of Nigeria’s Top Optometry Universities are listed here.

1. Abia State University, Uturu

Abia State University, the top state university in Nigeria, was established in 1981 and has maintained its position of prominence both within and outside of the Eastern Core of Nigeria. Comparable to graduates from any African country, it has maintained its resiliency in the development and diffusion of ICT-driven skills.

The Abia State Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences offers courses in optometry, nursing, and medical laboratory science. The primary care optometry and pediatric clinic, which is further divided into four independent clinics, is the clinic that the department owns and uses for optometry education (clinics 1-4).

It is without a doubt that Abia State University has drawn the attention of students around the nation who want to study optometry as it has grown over time to be one of the Best Medical Colleges in Nigeria offering optometry.

ABSU Optometry School Fees

The following are the current tuition costs for the departments of medicine and surgery, medical lab science, optometry, nursing sciences, law, accounting, architecture, and estate management.

  • Acceptance Fee 50,000
  • Accreditation Fee 30,000
  • Development Fee 50,000
  • School Fees for 100L is 56,000, 200L and above is 56,000 and 600L is 40,000

2. Bayero University, Kano

Bayero University is located in Kano and it is one of Northern Nigeria’s best universities. It was established in 1975 when it was renamed from Bayero “University College” and upgraded from university college to “University”. It is the state of Kano’s first university.

The departments listed below are housed within the College of Health Sciences at BUK:

  • Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences
  • Department of Nursing
  • Department of Physiotherapy
  • Department of Radiography
  • Department of Optometry

BUK Optometry School Fees

The breakdown of school costs for students pursuing optometry at Bayero University Kano is shown below.

  • Returning students ₦38,000
  • 100L fresh students ₦41,500
  • 200L fresh students ₦42,500

3. University Of Benin, Benin City

The University of Benin is a public research university in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It was established in 1970 and is one of the educational institutions that Nigeria’s Federal Government owns.

The following departments are located within the Faculty of Life Sciences at UNIBEN.

  • Optometry
  • Animal and Environmental  Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Micro Biology
  • Science Laboratory Technology
  • Environmental Management and Toxicology
  • Plant Biology and Biotechnology

4. Madonna University, Okija

Madonna University is considered to be the first Catholic university in Nigeria and has received proper and thorough accreditation from the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC). Very Rev. Fr. Prof. EMP. Edeh CSSP OFR founded the school, which began offering full academic programs in 1999.

Madonna University is known as one of the top private universities in Nigeria and its main goal is to continue to advance education, research, and the long-standing Catholic legacy.

In addition, the school helps students succeed in their careers by guiding them to identify a field they are passionate about and take the initiative to lead it, as well as by providing them with the education and experiences necessary to prepare them for that success.

The Faculty of Health Sciences at Madonna University in Nigeria offers a six-year degree program in optometry that results in the award of a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.). The Department is ready to uphold the university’s slogan, “Decency in Morals and Education,” which it has done in the past.

The curriculum is created to expose students to the knowledge and abilities required to offer primary eye care as well as specialty care in all areas of optometry and to equip them to compete in a global marketplace.

One of the department’s top aims is to turn out doctors of optometry who have the in-depth knowledge, skill, and ethical perspective necessary to practice optometry anywhere in the globe.

The first group of students from the department of optometry graduated in 2009, and since then the department has continued to produce graduates who succeed academically.

Madonna University Optometry School Fees

You should make sure you can afford to study at this university because the tuition there is very high; if not, you should consider alternative universities.

  • First Semester = 246,500.00
  • Second Semester = 156,500.00
  • Total fee for a session = 403,000.00

5. University Of Ilorin

The University of Ilorin also referred to as Unilorin is a university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria that is owned by the federal government. In August 1975, the federal military government issued a decree establishing it.

The creation attempted to carry out one of the Third National Development Plan’s educational directives, which was designed to increase chances for Nigerians interested in pursuing higher education and to produce the highly skilled labor so necessary for the country’s quickly growing economy.

The institution has one of the largest land areas—roughly 15,000 hectares—when compared to other higher education institutions in the nation. According to JAMB, it will be the most sought-after university in Nigeria.

6. Federal University of Technology, Owerri

The Federal University of Technology is located at Owerri West, the state capital of Imo State and it is a federally funded university. The Imo State towns of Eziobodo, Umuchima, Ihiagwa, and Obinze surround the University.

The Department of Optometry seeks to produce optometrists who are creative, informed, and skilled in the development and application of technology for the amelioration of visual impairments.

Yet FUTA also seeks to train optometrists in pursuit of post-graduate specialization and to develop professionals that adhere to norms that are acknowledged globally.

The Federal University of Technology Optometry School Fees

The range of FUTO tuition fees, which depends on the level of study being pursued and the current semester, is between 42,000 and 58,000.

7. Imo State University, Owerri

The Imo State House of Assembly approved bill No. 4 in 1981, which founded the Imo State University in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. On October 23, 1981, the institution welcomed 392 pioneer students as its inaugural intake.

Over time, the university has demonstrated its suitability to offer optometry while also conferring excellent academic standing in the discipline on graduates. A fully operational university is Imo State University. The majority of the university’s programs have received full accreditation from Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC).

Students interested in studying optometry can apply to any of the following seven (7) universities in Nigeria mentioned above because applying to a school that is not accredited is a complete waste of time.