Clinical Sites

Pacific University operates 6 clinics. There are clinics in Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Portland. The sixth clinic is the EyeVan, which does outreach events. Students will have an opportunity to observe and see patients in a variety of clinic settings with different specialties and patient populations.

First year students participate in observation and screenings with some of the clubs and organizations that are run on campus.

 Second year students participate in clinical observations (with a senior intern and an attending) as well as conduct pre-testing and screenings with various clubs and organizations.

Third year students begin seeing patients on their own and oversee second year students in the clinic. Third year students spend 8 hours/week in clinic, including some specialty clinics.

Fourth year students do four 11-12 week rotations in clinics across the US and internationally. Two of those four placements have to be in primary care and ocular disease and students can choose the two others. One may be an internal rotation at the Pacific University clinics. Clinic assignment and fourth year externship placement are done through a lottery system.

Affiliated Externship Sites

Externship rotations are a much anticipated, highly rewarding and exciting part of the optometry program.  Each of the fourth year courses are approximately 11-12 weeks in length and include either four external clinical sites or three external sites and one rotation with the college clinics.  

Site selection follows specific guidelines in order to maximize clinical experiences while also providing significant opportunities for students to customize their own plans with sites that meet their individual interests and career goals. The College affiliates with more than 100 preceptors throughout the US and at select locations in Canada, Europe and Asia.