Overview

If you’re an optometrist registered with the General Optical Council (GOC), this postgraduate qualification enables you to expand your clinical scope and gain prescribing rights.

Upon successful completion, you'll be eligible to join the GOC's Independent Prescribing (IP) register.

Designed for working professionals, this course is primarily composed of flexible online learning with the opportunity for on-campus teaching. You’ll complete three 30-credit modules at SCQF Level 11 (Masters Level).

These cover:

ocular disease assessment
diagnosis
treatment options
the ethical, legal, and professional responsibilities of prescribing.

You’ll have the opportunity to attend two on-campus days, typically on a Sunday, for interactive sessions. These include workshops, clinical simulations, panel discussions and peer discussions.

Online learning includes recorded lectures, academic readings, and peer-led case discussions.

The final module is a supervised clinical placement, including at least 90 hours of IP-specific clinical experience under the supervision of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP). Settings may include community practice, hospital eye departments, or Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) facilities.

Through our dedicated Vision Centre, GCU is a major provider of vision science education, enabling you to build on your knowledge of specialist eyecare.

GCU has supported over 1,700 optometrists across the UK to study towards gaining IP status since 2009 and is currently the sole provider of postgraduate IP training in Scotland.

Why study Independent Prescribing for Optometrists at GCU?

Our PgD IP is currently the only postgraduate course in Scotland that offers Independent Prescribing (IP) training to qualified optometrists.
This is the longest established course for IP training in the UK, with a strong history and reputation since 2009.
GCU has trained over 1,700 optometrists in IP, making us a frontrunner in the UK for IP qualification.
Our on-campus Vision Centre has established GCU as a major provider of vision science education.
By studying with us, you’ll join a learning environment where students consistently report high levels of satisfaction with teaching, support, and their overall experience.

General Optical Council

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What you will study

Modules

Independent Prescribing: Management of Ocular Disease

Independent Prescribing: Prescribing Safely and Effectively

Independent Prescribing: Placement

Careers

As a qualified optometrist already in practice, gaining the Independent Prescribing (IP) qualification can expand your scope of practice and enhance your career opportunities.

Completing this recognised postgraduate diploma strengthens your professional profile, supports career progression, and enables you to deliver higher-quality patient care.

Course information

Award	Mode of study	Duration	Start date	Location
PgD	Part Time	18 months	Jan 27	Glasgow	Enquire Apply

Please note that admission to GCU is considered on a competitive basis, and the academic entry requirements stated here may be the minimum required to be eligible for an offer.

International students can get information on entry requirements specific to their country in our International Study section.

Requirements

Current and active GOC registration as an Optometrist (Your registration number will be required) and
Existing approval on the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, or equivalent (e.g. Disclosure and barring service (DBS) in England), to cover work with children and protected adults

English language requirement

IELTS score of 7.0 with no element below 6.5 (or equivalent). This is required to meet General Optical Council (GOC) requirements.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Information:

As a GOC-registered Optometrist, you will automatically receive 30 credits for your previous learning, and experience in practice.

These 30 credits are awarded based on experience gained during your pre-registration training year and continued professional practice. Alternatively, these are awarded after one year of professional experience and CPD (Continuing Professional Development) since registering with the GOC, if:

You qualified through a UK university with an extended placement that included your pre-reg year, or
You qualified overseas and followed a suitable alternative route to GOC registration

Receiving these 30 credits means you can only apply for another 30 additional credits of RPL at most.

Additional information for international applicants

Entry requirements by country
Application deadlines
English language tests
Knowledge of English - Applicants from a majority English speaking country may not be required to provide further proof of your English language proficiency. Information about this requirement is available on the Student Visa section of the gov.uk website.

Additional information for all applicants

Relevant experience (Recognition of Prior Learning)

GCU's flexible entry policies exist to allow relevant work experience and prior learning to be considered towards standard entry or advanced entry into a course.

If you do not have the typical academic entry qualifications, but can demonstrate relevant work experience and/or credits from recognised professional bodies, you may be eligible to enter this course via the University's Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) scheme.

Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) and Supervisors

In order to undertake the programme, you will need to have a nominated DPP and any additional Supervisor(s) in place.

To qualify as a DPP or Supervisor, the individual must be an appropriately trained and qualified registered healthcare professional with independent prescribing rights, e.g. an Ophthalmologist or IP Optometrist.

You must provide the details of the DPP and any Supervisor(s) to apply.

This will include:

name
qualifications
UK registration number (e.g. GOC/GMC number)
contact details.

Checks will take place prior to admission to confirm UK General Optical Council (GOC) registration status.

Clinical placement and simulation-based training

In Scotland, you can base your placement within the Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) facilities.

The PSD Scotland facilities include sessions with real patients with ocular disease. You will examine the patients and formulate and implement a management plan whilst receiving supervision and feedback from an experienced and trained prescriber.

The PSD Scotland facilities provide the opportunity for simulation-based training (SIM) to be utilised. Simulations employ specialised equipment including EyeSi Slit Lamps which utilise a high-fidelity diagnostic training system for healthcare professionals. Such equipment will allow you to examine virtual patients with a slit-lamp biomicroscope, fundoscopy lens, or gonioscopy lens which permits real-time visualisation of the internal and external ocular structures. A key benefit of the SIM sessions is that they provide a standardised experience, while allowing the option for support to be tailored to your individual learning needs.

Real patient experiences need to encompass the majority of student hours, taking up at least 50% of the placement hours. For the programme you are not required to use SIM, but up to half of the hours can be using SIM.

If you would like to do a placement using the PSD Scotland facilities, you'll need to confirm a place with PSD Scotland before applying. For enquiries about how to do this, contact PSD Scotland via email at: nes.optometrysimulation@nhs.scot

If you're based in Scotland and doing your placement primarily in a community optometry practice or hospital eye department, you can also sign up to simulation sessions run by PSD Scotland, subject to availability. PSD Scotland have allocated a maximum 12 SIM sessions (six days) available for this. In this case, your DPP will be based in the community optometry practice or hospital eye department where you'll be undertaking most of your placement.

Visit the NHS website - https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/our-work/optometry/placements-and-skills/

General Optical Council (GOC)

The course is aligned with the requirements for approved qualifications in Additional Supply (AS), Supplementary Prescribing (SP) and/or Independent Prescribing (IP) and has been successfully noted by the GOC.

Visit the GOC website for more information

Assessment methods

Assessments monitor the academic achievement of module and programme learning outcomes. In addition, they aim to reflect real-world practice and maintain authenticity in order to promote deeper learning transferable to professional eyecare practice.

The nature of the assessments varies depending on the module content and learning outcomes and include a mixture of case-based assignments and written exams for theory modules and an assessed clinical portfolio for the placement module.

Assessments have been designed to confirm satisfactory completion of all the necessary GOC-specified learning outcomes.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the General Optical Council (GOC).

Upon completing this course, you’ll automatically be eligible for the GOC’s independent prescribing speciality register.

Visit the GOC website for more details.

Download the programme specification

In addition to the core modules that all students must undertake, some courses offer students a choice from a selection of optional modules to shape the focus of their degree. Optional modules where available, form part of the overall credit structure of the course.

Download the programme specification for a detailed breakdown of the course structure, including modules, what you'll learn and other useful information.

Terms and Conditions

Details of the University’s terms and conditions are available here.

Overview

Why study Independent Prescribing for Optometrists at GCU?

Accreditations

What you will study

Careers

Course information