Ian Juarez MCALLEN – UTRGV has added a School of Optometry to its medical department after the purchase of the former Monitor Newspaper building in January.
The addition was prompted after the UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center opened in October 2025.
The UTRGV School of Optometry will be the second public university in Texas to have the program, with the University of Houston College of Optometry being the first.
Nikhilesh Anand, assistant professor of medical education, said an optometry program in the RGV could expand medical practices for students.
“So, eye test [and] eye examination will be more easier. The primary care providers can send their patients so it can be expanded care as well as it’s trainings,” Anand said. “So, when all the system students learn it well, they can refer, they can learn as a team and in future to practice.”
Anand said many chronic diseases affect the eyes such as diabetes and hypertension. He added early detection through eye care is important for prevention.
According to Medline Plus, an organization under the National Institutes of Health, Optometrists must use a special magnifying glass to see the back of a patient’s eye to view any areas that may be damaged by these diseases.
Anand said the program’s medical education will benefit students and local residents. Providing healthcare access, training and jobs in the valley.
“We don’t have much trained doctors and trained healthcare professionals required locally. So, over the time we have seen that if we train the local people, they tend to stay locally,” Anand said.
With the expansion on the university’s medical programs Patrick Gonzales, vice president for university marketing and communications, said it was a part of UTRGV’s 10-year plan for academic opportunities.
“We’ve added a School of Medicine that’s going to produce medical doctors. We’ve added a school of Pontiac medicine that’s going to provide foot doctors,” Gonzales said. “We already have occupational therapists, nurses, and physicians’ assistants. So, these are all programs that either didn’t exist before UTRGV, or we’ve enhanced them over the last ten years.”
The School of Optometry is set to be open for students by fall of 2027.
