This month, the first cohort of UK students will begin their Clinical Learning in Practice (CLiP) placements – part of the new integrated Master of Optometry degrees introduced under the updated UK Education and Training Requirements.
At the University of Lancashire, 16 optometry students will begin workplace-based learning through a 44-week placement program, running until June 2026. Already qualified as Dispensing Opticians, these students can qualify as optometrists in just three years. CLiP placements provide 44 of the 48 weeks of patient-facing experience which students must complete, under the General Optical Council's (GOC) Education and Training Requirements (ETR).
The College of Optometrists facilitates, supports, assesses, and quality-assures each CLiP placement, on behalf of its optometry university partners, coordinated through the CLiP Portal, which guides the application process, support supervisors, and provide live student progress data throughout the CLiP program. More than 500 placements have been confirmed for 2026.
Professor Lizzy Ostler, Director of Education at The College of Optometrists, said: “It is really exciting to see the first students starting their pre-registration supervised practice on CLiP. The new GOC requirements have given us the opportunity to build on 20 years of successful delivery of the Scheme for Registration.”
