How to Get Into Optometry School in Canada: Prerequisites and Admission Averages

Two schools, two very different applications

If you want to become an optometrist in Canada, you apply to one of two schools: the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science , which teaches in English, or the Universite de Montreal program, which teaches in French. Both lead to an accredited Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree that qualifies you to sit provincial licensing exams. The application paths differ enough that you should plan around one school specifically rather than treating them as interchangeable options.

Waterloo: prerequisite courses

Waterloo requires a set list of prerequisite courses and labs completed during at least 3 years of undergraduate study before you can apply. The list covers:

• English, one course

• Introductory ethics and introductory psychology, one course each

• Biology, 2 courses plus 1 lab

• Microbiology, 1 course

• Physiology, 2 courses

• Chemistry, 1 course plus 1 lab, plus biochemistry and organic chemistry, 1 course each

• Physics, 2 courses plus 2 labs

• Calculus, 1 course, and statistics, 1 course

That is 15 required courses and 4 required labs in total. Map these against your own degree plan early, since several (organic chemistry, biochemistry, calculus-based physics) are not automatic requirements in every science degree.

Waterloo: admission averages and test scores

Waterloo sets a minimum overall university average of 75.0 percent to apply, but that is a floor, not a competitive target. Applicants actually admitted carried averages roughly between 79 and 92 percent. Starting with the Fall 2026 admission cycle, Waterloo also began requiring a full course load for the majority of your undergraduate terms, so a light course schedule can work against you even with strong grades.

You also need the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) . Waterloo's stated minimum is a score of 300, but the average score among 2024 applicants sat around 350, so treat 300 as a bare threshold rather than a competitive score. You also sit CASPer, a situational judgment test, which you need to keep current to stay eligible through the cycle.

Non-academic requirements round out the file: two confidential reference letters, with at least 8 hours of shadowing an optometrist backing one of them, proof of Canadian citizenship or at least 12 months of legal residency, and an interview for applicants who make the shortlist.

Universite de Montreal: the French language route

Universite de Montreal runs the only French language Doctor of Optometry program in Canada. Admission for CEGEP students runs through Quebec's cote de rendement (cote R), a competitive ranking rather than a fixed cutoff, so the bar shifts with the strength of each year's applicant pool. Because the program is delivered in French, strong French proficiency matters as much as your grades. If your CEGEP or prior study did not give you the required science prerequisites, confirm the current course list directly with the program before you build your application timeline, since prerequisite details are set and updated by the university.

Building your application timeline

• Confirm your prerequisite courses against your target school's list at least 2 years before you plan to apply, not the semester before.

• Book your OAT (Waterloo route) early enough to retake it if your first score lands below the competitive range.

• Arrange optometrist shadowing hours well ahead of your reference letter deadline. 8 hours is a minimum, and clinics get booked up.

• Track CASPer test dates separately from your OAT and application deadlines. It runs on its own schedule.

After you graduate

An OD from Waterloo or Universite de Montreal qualifies you to write your provincial licensing exam and register with your province's optometry regulator. Licensing is provincial, so confirm the specific registration steps for the province where you plan to practise once you are close to graduation, through the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials or your provincial regulator directly.