*NOTE: Chart has been updated and corrected*
More than 2,000 students started their first semester of optometry school recently, and 71% of them are women. This is the fourth straight year that female students account for at least 70% of the incoming class.
One school, Rocky Mountain University College of Optometry, had fewer than 50% women. This school’s academic year runs from January through December, but in this tabulation, WO includes this year’s new students with the spring graduates in 2028.
This year, four schools noted their enrollment of women accounted for at least 80% of the class.
Women In Optometry reports the number of students who identified themselves as women to their university. Some students chose not to specify a binary gender. The total numbers reflect them all, but these individuals are not counted in the “women” column. Also this year, the University of Waterloo School of Optometry no longer categorizes students by gender. This 90-member class has been included in the total number of students, but it was not used to calculate the percentage of women in the first-year class.
Look below for a full breakdown of the women in this incoming class, the class of 2028.
Look at how this year’s report fits in with the trend.
Featured photo: Getty Images, FatCamera
