Southern College of Optometry: A Legacy of Visionary Education and Community Impact

Southern College of Optometry (SCO), nestled in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, stands as a beacon of optometric education, research, and patient care. Founded in 1932, SCO has cultivated a rich history and a strong commitment to academic excellence. With a focus on cutting-edge clinical training and a deep-rooted connection to the Memphis community, SCO's influence extends far beyond its campus borders.

A Foundation Built on Excellence

Established in 1932, Southern College of Optometry has evolved into a leading institution dedicated to shaping the future of optometry. SCO’s influence knows no boundaries. The college is committed to academic excellence and cutting-edge clinical training. SCO has a long-standing tradition of producing outstanding clinicians, reflected in the achievements of its alumni. SCO has graduated numerous top clinicians in the field, including 15 American Optometric Association Presidents.

Signs of SCO’s history are everywhere, if you know where to look. On the eleventh floor, in the lounge area where nervous interviewing students wait for their turn to manifest their destiny, three separate iterations of the school are photographed: two different brick buildings, and one of the tower we all know and love. A few floors down on the eighth floor, there exists a wall triptych detailing some of the individuals driving the growth of the institution and their accomplishments. Lastly, a very recent addition is a mural in the atrium of the new academic complex that depicts the history of Southern College of Optometry, from first foundations to shiny new buildings.

One encounter occurred in Adult Primary Care about a month ago. A 75 year old male presented for an eye exam. He hadn’t had one in fifteen years or so and only came because his wife was undergoing treatment for glaucoma. His vision wasn’t terrible with his current prescription, but we updated his ancient prescription for the better. He used to live near a brick building, an optometry school…Southern College of Optometry. As a child growing up in the 1940s, his mother would take him yearly to SCO so that the optometry students could get practice with pediatric patients. And now here he was, in the winter of his life, still receiving his eyecare from the same institution, just in a different building! I was just one student doctor in a chain of student doctors dating back to the 1940s.

The second event happened just a few weeks ago, during Homecoming. As part of that busy weekend, a donor reception was held in the new complex to honor those that had contributed a lot of money to SCO’s future. During that reception, I had the privilege of giving a tour of the new complex to a retired doctor from the class of 1955, and he had some interesting stories to tell. For starters, his brother graduated from SCO in 1948. Thus, his older brother could very well have seen my 75 year old patient! Furthermore, back then they had class in a tin shack. So, if it rained too hard, the lecture would be canceled because you wouldn’t be able to hear anything. If the temperature got too hot, the optometry students melted, and in the winter, they froze. But, he told me as we walked through the new labs, it was all worth it. His time at SCO prepared him well for life after graduation. He even taught at SCO for a stint after the tower was built in 1969, but he couldn’t ignore his native Kentucky for very long. He started his own practice there and retired about 15 or 16 years ago.

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Academics: Shaping Future Optometrists

SCO offers a comprehensive Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree program designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for a successful career in optometry. The curriculum is rigorous and demanding. Optometry school is very hard. I was one of those students that pretty effortlessly earned straight As in high school, and I don’t recall studying in college more than a handful of times. I was not under the assumption that optometry school would be a walk in the park, but I don’t think I ever considered that I would unlock entirely new levels of academic stress. One memory that has unfortunately stuck with me vividly is the first Monday of class, struggling to get my OneNote to upload the slides that were shared the night before. Before I had even taken a single note, I was doubting my place here. The program does not exist to “weed out” anybody. SCO has refined the art of applying and interviewing, and they genuinely want all 136 individuals that start each fall to receive their diploma four years later.

The degree program or major you pursue is major! Southern College of Optometry is known for one of its top majors: Optometry. SCO’s students consistently outscore the national average in board scores and graduation rates. The institution is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE).

A Curriculum That Goes Beyond Vision Correction

Shockingly little of my education so far has pertained to prescribing lenses to correct vision. Substituting 20/20 visual acuity for “perfectly healthy eyes” is a bit like having a normal reflex when your primary care physician hammers your knee and concluding that there couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with your body. The visual system stands alongside the brain and immune system as not only some of the most complicated systems in the human body, but the most amazing phenomena in the known universe. I had never considered the simple fact that nowhere else in the human body, except the eye, can you observe blood vessels without cutting flesh. The power of this cannot be overstated. The eyes are intimately connected to your body in so many ways. As the population in the US ages, optometrists will have a crucial role in primary healthcare, and we need more brilliant students to come learn how to evaluate systemic health using the magic of optics.

Hands-On Learning and Clinical Experience

More than 50,000 patient encounters are recorded each year at The Eye Center. Our students benefit from hands-on learning as they accompany faculty on community outreach initiatives at school vision screenings and regional health care settings. These patients rely upon quality vision care overseen by nearly 60 faculty members.

The Delicate Balance: Tradeoffs in Optometry School

In college there are friends, good grades, and sleep. You can choose two. The reality is there are about 45 things to choose from and you don’t really get to choose any of them. You will stumble around exhausted and feeling like you haven’t studied or been to class or seen a friend off-campus in a month. Seriously, what happened to the last two weeks? The good news is that academic success is not about your GPA. There is so much that goes into being a physician that is learned through experience rather than an academic understanding. There is no textbook that teaches you how to break bad news to a patient, or leave a good feeling in your patients’ minds that will keep them coming back for years. The person who gets the highest grades on every test may struggle to perform the technical procedures in lab, or have a hard time building rapport. The point of this program is not to produce 136 identical robot physicians each year, and the world will rely on us having diverse strengths and weaknesses. There is not enough time in a day or even a lifetime for an optometrist to master every single aspect of this trade.

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Another thing that is occasionally hard to believe is that being a student does not absolve you of being a human being with weird, often irrational needs. You still must think about your health-physical and mental-your family, your friends from home, what you’re going to eat for dinner when your checking account is in the double or single digits… Everyone here has had to take a test while they can’t get their mind off their sick grandparent, or a breakup, or an accident that totaled their car. For better or worse, the show must go on, and it can feel impossible to make time to decompress and just live a human life. Optometry school is a juggling act. Moreso than the clinical knowledge you will gain from the classroom, labs, and clinic, you will learn about yourself, how you react to stress, how you can overcome challenges, how to manage a strict budget, and so much more that can’t reasonably be considered optometry. Optometry school will be a very difficult and very beautiful time in your life. I am speaking primarily to myself when I say that it is of utmost importance to start giving yourself a little grace. You’re not perfect, and despite what you may feel some days, nobody expects you to be. Some days, you will be the one that scores 15% below the class average. Just as often, it will be one of your colleagues who is going through it, internally feeling that they are not up to snuff, not aware of how much you admire their work ethic and positivity. It isn’t cool to walk around school crying openly, but if it was, I suspect virtually all of us would have done it at one time or another. All of this to say that you should expect failure. There are five years or curriculum stuffed into four years, you’re in soul crushing debt, and almost every day will push you to the edge of your academic abilities. But you can also expect to emerge on the other side with a massive and important set of skills. You will change people’s lives for the better, including your own. It is ok to let that 4.0 slide a little, or a lot. Your test scores will not define you, only your willingness to learn.

Campus Life: A Supportive and Engaging Environment

Many prospective students become familiar with the various aspects of student life during the undergraduate experience. And while student life during optometry school is different from student life during undergrad, many aspects remain the same: "Where do I live? How do I get to know other people in my program? What clubs can I join? " The campus provides a vibrant experience with a strong emphasis on student life, fostering a close-knit community where students can thrive both personally and professionally.

Housing and Community

For those interested, the Office of Student Services maintains housing information, including a city map, apartment guides, a housing marketplace, apartment locator services, and realtor recommendations. Admissions staff are also happy to provide personalized advice to students about where to live and how to handle the housing search process.

Student Life Blogs and Testimonials

Expose yourself to optometry. Embrace the culture. Our Student Life blogs allow you to gain insightful perspectives directly from our students. Many blog posts highlight our students’ service activities in the community. Other posts highlight clinical and externship experiences, student organization and social activities, or simply life as a student at SCO. Our students are excited to share their stories. We have students from across the country-and across the globe. On our Student Testimonials page, you can watch many of our current students and alumni discuss their time at SCO. These students and graduates share because they were once in your position, nervous about applying to optometry school or deciding where to attend optometry school.

A Diverse and Inclusive Community

Our students represent a large cross-section of demographics and regional areas of our nation. Our alumni live and practice in all 50 states and abroad. SCO is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Memphis: A City with a Small-Town Feel

Big city. Small-town feel. Memphis is a city full of terrific food, incredible live music, festivals of all sorts, powerful historical museums and more. Do you want to learn more about the city? Our students have chosen SCO for a variety of reasons, ranging from our superior clinical education through The Eye Center to the diverse patient-base we work with here in Memphis. However, a common theme you'll find in our student testimonials is an appreciation for the community of SCO.

Applying to SCO: Embarking on Your Optometry Journey

You have chosen to apply to one of the nation's leading optometry schools-alma mater to 15 American Optometric Association Presidents with almost 100 years of graduating outstanding clinicians in the field. The Admissions Office provides outstanding service throughout the admissions process, from prompt and courteous responses to your questions to detailed literature that provides facts, not just fluff.

SCO’s application process operates within OptomCAS, a centralized service that begins accepting applications on June 26, 2025 for the 2025-2026 application cycle. There are numerous, detailed steps to follow when applying to SCO. Enrollment at Southern College of Optometry requires at least 90 semester hours -- or 135 quarter hours -- at an accredited undergraduate institution. Additionally, candidates are required to complete all prerequisite courses before enrolling. If your prerequisite courses include classes taken online-or credits via AP/CLEP courses-we encourage you to contact the Admissions Office to further discuss your course history. When our team reviews applications, we want to see how your experiences, education and knowledge stand apart from others in the highly competitive pool of candidates. Note that the items listed above are not the only considerations for admission.

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