Become a student member of the AOA.
When you’re a member of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA), you’re automatically a member of the AOA. Learn more about why you should join today, and get access to scholarship information, discounts and national board exam support.
Financial Aid
The AOA offers students and doctors of optometry tools for obtaining financial aid and also paying back loans, managing finances, finding scholarship opportunities and creating a budget so you can focus on what matters.
Residency Programs
The AOA provides members with a list of accredited optometric residency programs from the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE). Openings also include technician programs and optometric degree programs at schools and colleges of optometry.
Academic Checklist
Your education calendar must be firm but flexible when it comes to your optometry education requirements. Through it all—applying to a program, meeting optometry school prerequisites, going to grad school, taking the board exams and graduating—members of the AOA and its affiliate the AOSA are supported as students, recent graduates, optometric residents and, finally, as new doctors of optometry.
Leadership Society
The AOA+ Leadership Society is a program for students who want to build leadership skills, advance their careers through networking, personal and professional development and gain specialized education outside of the classroom. Enhance your resume by adding this academic achievement!
Local Meetings
Connect with doctors of optometry, optometric students and paraoptometric staff and expand your knowledge and gain new certifications at these upcoming events.
EyeLearn
AOA’s member-exclusive centralized education portal, EyeLearn, offers an expanding online catalog of educational modules, webinars and resources to help advance clinical proficiencies, the practice of contemporary optometry, and practice management for doctors of optometry, future doctors of optometry, and paraoptometric staff. In an effort to support professional development for the field of optometry, select courses may be available to all individuals in the profession.
Nose to the Grindstone Weekend + Wednesday (NTG26)
Hybrid Program - Saturday In Person; Sunday + Wed Remote
Aesthetics & Practice Growth Workshop
Washington, D.C.
Event CalendarOptometry's Meeting & AOA+ 2026
Phoenix, Arizona
Lowest registration rates available through Wednesday, March 31.
The 129th Annual AOA Congress & 58th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting unites the profession’s leaders to advance optometry for an impactful conference experience that promotes continued practice success and job-readiness skills for every stage of attendees’ career.
Powered by four days of industry-renowed, continuing education (CE) and professional development for doctors of optometry, paraoptometric professionals and office staff, Optometry's Meeting offers premier networking and leadership opportunities, as well as access to the latest clinical tech and innovation, hundreds of industry exhibitors in the Eye Care Square exhibit hall, and engaging special events and networking opportunities with the profession's leaders.
CONFERENCE DETAILS REGISTRATION
What to Expect at Optometry's Meeting
And if you're a student or new grad, Phoenix is the place to be. Why?
Experience AOA+ in Phoenix
AOA+ is the premier event designed specifically for optometry students and new doctors—with over 2,000 attendees anticipated in Phoenix for this dynamic, early-career-defining opportunity! Here's what you can expect from AOA+ 2026:
✅ Career Acceleration. Gain practical skills in practice management, career planning, professional development and much more.
✅ Leadership Cultivation. Discover pathways to lead, influence and chart the future of your new profession.
✅ Advocacy Amplified. Learn how you can get involved and effectively advocate for your profession and your patients.
✅ Build Community. Forge critical relationships within the profession, your affiliate and the AOA that will last your entire optometric career.
The AOA+ experience is so formative for optometry students and new doctors that AOA and affiliates have made this opportunity accessible for you. Register for Optometry's Meeting and secure your AOA+ Travel Grant to attend the meeting for free.
Ask the Coding Experts
You ask, the experts answer. The AOA Coding and Reimbursement Committee supports the AOA's strategic direction to develop and value procedural (CPT), diagnostic (ICD-10) and supply codes (HCPCS). Members can submit questions regarding medical records and coding to askthecodingexpert@aoa.org. Here are the latest questions.
AOA on Capitol Hill 2025: Live News Updates
Welcome to the official news hub for AOA on Capitol Hill 2025! Follow along with the AOA's exclusive coverage from optometry's single-largest federal advocacy event in Washington, D.C., and learn about the issues 600 of our colleagues championed on Capitol Hill.
A global force: Highlights from Optometry's Meeting® | 5th World Congress of Optometry
Check out what you might have missed at Optometry's Meeting® 2025!