A Message From The Dean

Welcome to the University of Houston College of Optometry, the only public optometry training program in the state of Texas since 1952. Our professional and graduate degree programs prepare future leaders for careers in clinical practice, teaching, and biomedical research.

Our campus is in Houston, the largest city in Texas, and home to the largest medical center in the world. Our professional degree program prepares students for clinical practice as primary eyecare providers through patient experiences in community clinics, rural and urban practices, surgical centers, and collaborative care settings throughout Texas, and around the nation. Our outstanding doctors, staff, and facilities enable advanced training in medical and surgical eye care, pediatrics, myopia management, advanced contact lenses, neuro-rehabilitative care, and more through our on-site ambulatory surgical center and clinics. We extend our training programs through partnerships with a wide network of internships and residency training sites nationwide.

The college's research and graduate degree program is the leading public research institution for federally funded eye and vision research in Texas and ranks among the best in the world. The college's research laboratories house more than 100 faculty with more than $10.2 M in NIH/NEI in research funding support. These biomedical research awards support more than 25 active research programs across the translational spectrum: from cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease to clinical trials. Please take some time to browse our research resources and faculty research pages to learn more about our research programs and latest discoveries.

The college was founded in 1952 by University of Houston President W. W. Kemmerer with vital support from the Texas Optometric Association. Our facilities now encompass more than 120,000-sq. ft. The college's main building, the J. Davis Armistead building, was completed in 1971 and houses our campus clinics, small classrooms, student lounges, teaching and research laboratories, faculty offices, and college administrative units. The Health 1 building complex, completed in 2010, includes the Doug and Molly Barnes Vision Institute, the Vision Source Surgical Center, and the Texas State Optical Alumni Auditorium. The Health 2 complex, completed in 2014 includes the Health Sciences Library, the College of Medicine Faculty Practice, the College of Pharmacy, and College of Nursing classrooms. Together, these facilities comprise a modern health training institution with lecture and laboratory teaching spaces, student study rooms, social gathering spaces, quite study areas, the health sciences library, advanced simulation labs, clinical training labs, and more.

At the University of Houston College of Optometry, we a community that values growth and learning, integrity, reason, and humanity. We are dedicated to training the leaders of tomorrow and we would love to have you join our community of health care providers, educators, scholars and investigators.

 

Michael Twa, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO.