2022 Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,666 people earned their degree in optometry, making the major the 193rd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, optometry graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $83,824 and had an average of $167,326 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southeast region, there were 293 optometry graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,967 and $163,527 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 293 optometry graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,978 and $116,300 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in optometry. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great optometry programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the optometry program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region doctor’s degree optometry students.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Optometry in the Southeast Region

#1

University of Pikeville

Pikeville, Kentucky

#3 in overall quality

$8,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pikeville. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region list. UPIKE is a small school located in Pikeville, Kentucky that handed out 36 doctorate’s optometry degrees in 2019-2020.

UPIKE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UPIKE are $8,100, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Optometry at UPIKE

#2

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

#1 in overall quality

$19,188 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Alabama at Birmingham. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region list. University of Alabama at Birmingham is a large school located in Birmingham, Alabama that handed out 41 doctorate’s optometry degrees in 2019-2020.

UAB also took the #1 spot in our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Alabama at Birmingham are $19,188, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Optometry at University of Alabama at Birmingham

#3

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

#2 in overall quality

$22,242 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$99,069 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Nova Southeastern University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Optometry Schools for a Doctorate in the Southeast Region. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 87 degrees to qualified doctorate’s optometry students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NUS Florida, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Optometry Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Nova Southeastern University are $22,242.

Read more about Optometry at Nova Southeastern University

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Optometry

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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