Careers › Health
Tests eyes and prescribes glasses, lenses and eye care.
Selection programmes like this often close months before the standard application deadline, and marks alone don’t guarantee a place. See the Dates page for the exact closing dates.
Tests eyesight, diagnoses eye conditions and prescribes glasses and contact lenses – most optometrists run or work in private practice, with some in hospitals or academia. It’s distinct from ophthalmology (eye surgery), which requires a full medical degree plus specialisation.
This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.
This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.
Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each programme links to the page it came from.
4 programmes at 4 universities. More are added as we verify them.
UJ APS 34 points
Mathematical Literacy, Technical Mathematics and Technical Science are explicitly not accepted. Selection is based on academic excellence with limited places - meeting the APS does not guarantee admission.
Source: View the official page (uj.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake
UKZN APS 33 points out of 48
CORRECTED 2026-10-02: a user-supplied copy of UKZN’s own Undergraduate Degree Requirements Guide shows English and Life Orientation at level 4 are also required (previously missing here), and that Life Sciences and Physical Sciences are an either/or choice, not both required as this row previously showed. The published APS range is 48-33. UKZN does not appear to offer a BDS; the brochure lists Dental Therapy instead. This comes from the Study@UKZN 2026 brochure, the most recent official source we could find. UKZN had not published a 2027 table when we checked, so treat these as 2026 figures pending a 2027 update. Applications go through the CAO.
Source: View the official page (studyatukzn.ukzn.ac.za) (opens the official page)
UL APS 27 points
Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against UL’s 2027 prospectus Health Sciences table (APS and levels match). From UL’s 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. UL states that meeting the minimum APS does not guarantee admission. No official 2027 closing date was found in the sections we read.
Source: View the official page (ul.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake
UFS AP score 33 points out of 49
New row, from the user-supplied 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus. A selection programme in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences; closing date 31 May.
Source: View the official page (ufs.ac.za) (opens the official page)
Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every programme above – scored each university’s own way.