Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Orthoptist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an orthoptist. Orthoptists usually study ophthalmic and optometric support services, liberal arts, or health sciences and services. 44% of orthoptists hold a bachelor's degree, and 11% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 21 real orthoptist resumes to see exactly what orthoptist education sections show.
The most common colleges for orthoptists are the San Diego State University and the San Diego State University.
There are also many online orthoptist courses to help get the education required to be an orthoptist.
What education do you need to become an orthoptist?
What degree do you need to be an orthoptist?
- Bachelor's, 44%
- High School Diploma, 11%
- Master's, 11%
- Diploma, 11%
- Other Degrees, 23%
What should I major in to become an orthoptist?
- Ophthalmic And Optometric Support Services, 67%
- Liberal Arts, 22%
Most common colleges for orthoptists
| Orthoptist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| San Diego State University | 33.33% |
| University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | 33.33% |
| University of Florida | 33.33% |
Best majors for orthoptists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ophthalmic And Optometric Support Services | 66.7% |
| 2 | Liberal Arts | 22.2% |
| 3 | Health Sciences And Services | 11.1% |
Best colleges for orthoptists
The best colleges for orthoptists are Duke University, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University.
An orthoptist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for orthoptists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become orthoptists.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
2. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
4. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
5. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
7. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,306
Enrollment
6,975
8. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
9. University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$19,080
Enrollment
19,127
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Enrollment
18,946
20 best online courses for orthoptists
Advertising disclosure
1. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
2. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
3. Clinical Research for beginners
The Art of Publishing - Master Pub Med, Study design, Biostatistics, Journal choice, Manuscript writing & Referencing...
4. Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research Professionals
The Complete, Certified ICH GCP (R2 & R3) Course for Investigators, Study Coordinators, Sponsors, Monitors and Study staff...
5. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...
6. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
7. The Beginners Course for Clinical Research
The Essentials of Clinical Trials - Clinical Research for Beginners...
8. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training
Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...
9. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
10. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...
11. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
12. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
13. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
14. Wilderness First Aid - Introduction
In this course, students will learn the basics of wilderness medicine, including how it is a unique clinical environment, and concepts of scene safety. They will learn how to perform a basic assessment of a patient, including a physical exam, gather history data using the SAMPLE approach, and how to evaluate a patient for a potential spinal cord injury...
15. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
16. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
17. Motivational Enhancement Techniques: Working with Patients with Opioid & Substance Use Disorders or High Risk Use MAT Waiver Training S...
WORKING WITH PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS OR HIGH RISK This optional online course opportunity is made possible through a joint partnership with University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVASOM) and Nursing (SON) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), DATA 2000 sponsor. This content was created by the AAAP and has been used with permission. The course consists of one 1-hour session for healthcare providers who wish to enhance their effectiveness in treating high-risk...
18. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
19. Prepare for the EMT Certification Test
Welcome to your final course in Become and EMT! Prepare for the National Registry exam. The title for this course is a little bit misleading. We do hope that at the completion of this course that you feel more prepared to take the skills portion as well as the written portion of the national registry exam. More than anything else, however, our greatest hope is that we have given you the knowledge and tools to provide high quality patient care once you are certified as an EMT or once you achieve...
20. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
Top 10 most affordable universities for orthoptists
The most affordable schools for orthoptists are University of Florida, brigham young university, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for orthoptists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for orthoptists.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
5. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
6. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
7. Minot State University
Minot, ND • Private
In-state tuition
$7,064
Cost of attendance
15,576
8. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
9. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
10. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for orthoptists
The hardest universities for orthoptists to get into are Duke University, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for orthoptists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for orthoptists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
2. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. Emory University
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,449
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
8. University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL • Private
Admissions rate
32%
SAT average
1,365
9. Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,443
10. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for orthoptists
The easiest schools for orthoptists to get into are AdventHealth University, barry university, and d'youville college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an orthoptist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for orthoptists.
1. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
4. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
6. William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
994
7. Waynesburg University
Waynesburg, PA • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,080
8. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
9. Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,033
10. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
Average orthoptist salary by education level
| Orthoptist education level | Orthoptist salary |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | $67,569 |
| No Education | $67,610 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $67,477 |
| Master's Degree | $69,335 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $63,961 |
Orthoptist education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.
Search for orthoptist jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025