History of PCO

The history of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is the history of modern optometry and includes the following milestones:

• 1919
  First non-profit, independent college of optometry.
• 1923
  First to confer Doctor of Optometry degree.
• 1935
  First to require four-year optometric educational program.
• 1948
  First contact lens course for practitioners.
• 1954
  First independent health profession institution to receive regional accreditation.
• 1975
  First school or college of optometry to develop a comprehensive, off-campus Externship Program.
• 1978
  First to develop a comprehensive inter-disciplinary clinical facility, The Eye Institute, for education and patient care.
• 1988
  First independent college of optometry to affiliate with a medical school, Hahnemann University.
• 1990
  First school or college of optometry to conduct research and training using an excimer laser.
• 2001
  New four year optometry curriculum launched, which has become a model for other schools and colleges of optometry, offers a completely redesigned optometric curriculum with interdisciplinary integration of basic and clinical courses using a module approach leading to the immediate introduction of clinical concepts and skills.
• 2008
  First school or college of optometry to establish a university.