23 Best colleges for Optometry in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Optometry. A graph of 153K citations received by 8.49K academic papers made by 23 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Optometry

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

2. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Optometry

#9 in the United States

#10 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

3. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Optometry

#10 in the United States

#11 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Optometry

#12 in the United States

#13 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

5. Stanford University

Stanford

For Optometry

#13 in the United States

#15 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Optometry

#17 in the United States

#19 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Optometry

#24 in the United States

#27 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

8. Marshall B Ketchum University

Fullerton

For Optometry

#52 in the United States

#58 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 685
Male:Female: 28:72
Founded: 1904

9. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Optometry

#60 in the United States

#67 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

10. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Optometry

#90 in the United States

#104 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

11. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Optometry

#108 in the United States

#122 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $42,953

12. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Optometry

#119 in the United States

#134 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

13. Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

For Optometry

#127 in the United States

#142 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Enrollment: 4,280
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1905

14. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Optometry

#137 in the United States

#154 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

15. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Optometry

#139 in the United States

#156 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

16. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Optometry

#165 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

17. Western University of Health Sciences

Pomona

For Optometry

#168 in the United States

#186 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,724
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1977

18. Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science

Los Angeles

For Optometry

#169 in the United States

#187 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Net Price: $27,637
Receiving Aid: 73%
Average Aid: $11,419

19. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Optometry

#183 in the United States

#202 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

20. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Optometry

#186 in the United States

#206 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,129
Male:Female: 14:86
Founded: 1975

21. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Optometry

#187 in the United States

#207 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

22. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Optometry

#190 in the United States

#210 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $9,590
Enrollment: 31,818

23. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Optometry

#192 in the United States

#212 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

Closest to California states to learn Optometry

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	4	31
Arizona	3	28
Washington	3	20
Colorado	3	74
Nebraska	4	87
Kansas	3	124
Texas	17	7
Oklahoma	3	101
Iowa	2	16
Missouri	5	45
Arkansas	4	84
Louisiana	4	71
Wisconsin	4	8
Illinois	12	18
Indiana	4	46
Michigan	6	11
Tennessee	6	42
Alabama	3	14
Kentucky	3	56
Ohio	8	5
Georgia	4	19
South Carolina	3	55
North Carolina	5	23
Virginia	8	79
Pennsylvania	9	15
Florida	9	6
District of Columbia	3	62
Maryland	8	1
New York	24	4
New Jersey	4	53
Connecticut	2	39
Massachusetts	11	2