International graduates are considered to be those individuals who have obtained their optometric education from a school other than those accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.

International graduates may be eligible to obtain a license or certificate of registration to practice in a province or territory in Canada. International graduates are encouraged to contact the optometric regulator in the province or territory in which they are interested to determine if they are eligible for a license or certificate of registration to practice in that jurisdiction. International graduates may be referred by an optometric regulator to the Director of the International Optometric Bridging Program of the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario for an evaluation of their educational and professional credentials and an opinion on their equivalency to those required in a particular jurisdiction.

As part of the evaluation process, a Prior Learning Assessment is required. A component of the Prior Learning Assessment is the CEO PLA which is a service of Canadian Examiners in Optometry.

Beginning in 2005, the University of Waterloo will be offering two different bridging programs for the assistance of international graduates whose educational and professional credentials are not equivalent to those required in a particular jurisdiction. International graduates are encouraged to review these programs at http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/iobp/index.html

International graduates who are otherwise eligible for a license or certificate of registration to practice optometry in a province or territory of Canada are required and will be authorized by a provincial or territorial optometric regulator to take the Canadian Standard Assessment in Optometry (CSAO). As with all applicants, CEO verifies the eligibility of international graduates to take the CSAO as per the published eligibility requirements available here.