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We are practitioners of the healing arts defining the standard for excellence in optometric education and vision care.
Our D.O. medical school is nationally ranked and recognized for a reputation of excellence in rural medicine and family healthcare. UPIKE’s osteopathy program gives you a clear path to success in the medical field.
All of our graduate programs are offered in a convenient, online format. Explore our graduate programs and learn more about earning your master’s degree at UPIKE.
Located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, the Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) is the only college of optometry in Kentucky. Become part of a community of medical professionals providing vision care to those who need it most, and learn in an environment built with the future of optometry in mind. At KYCO, faculty, staff and administration embrace the expanded scope of optometric practice in Kentucky with unique clinical experiences and a challenging curriculum. KYCO students are afforded an abundance of rewarding clinical opportunities serving patients in need.
All equipment, textbooks and technology are provided at no additional cost to students.
Students serve patients from the blindest region in the U.S. in community clinics and hospitals.
Practice with new and advanced equipment and technology in KYCO’s innovative 103,000 square foot facility.
On Monday, September 9, the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) and Ferrum College agreed to work in partnership to provide access to a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree for Ferrum College students. UPIKE President Burton J. Webb, Ph.D., and Provost Lori Werth, Ph.D., joined Ferrum College President David Johns, Ph.D., Provost Amié Sposato, […]
Vision Service Plan Global (VSP) awarded an incoming optometry student with a $5,000 Vision of Hope Scholarship to assist with her optometric education at the University of Pikeville – Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO). KYCO’s Faculty Scholarship and Awards Committee hand-selected Swathi Gutti, as she met the criteria to be eligible for the scholarship which […]
Whether they were providing eyeglasses in Mexico, helping with repairs for a church in Guatemala or volunteering with Remote Area Medical in Hazard, Ky., University of Pikeville students of all types spent their summer striving to serve. A team of nine students and two faculty members from the UPIKE-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) traveled nearly […]
The Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) recently held a summer camp which gave pre-health and pre-optometry majors an introduction to the profession of optometry by providing an interactive on-campus experience. The camp also gave students a glimpse into KYCO’s faculty, facilities and technology. Over the course of three days students were able to learn how […]
The University of Pikeville has partnered with numerous educational institutions in Kentucky and Virginia to create pathways to UPIKE’s Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM), Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) and Coleman College of Business (CCOB) Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. This spring, the university signed memorandums of agreement with Appalachian College of Pharmacy […]
Twenty students from the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) officially became student fellows of the American College of Optometry (AAO) during a recent pinning ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pikeville. Yousef Pippin, president of KYCO’s AAO student chapter; Katherine D. Dronka, O.D., ABCMO, FAAO, assistant professor of optometry; and Eilene Kinzer, […]
The University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) held its White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2021 on Saturday, May 11, 2019. The event was held in Booth Auditorium on UPIKE’s campus. The White Coat Ceremony is symbolic within the health professions, reflecting a commitment to patient care. After two years of a rigorous […]
Jeremy Penn, a member of the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) inaugural Class of 2020, hails from a small town in northeast Ohio about the size of Pikeville, Ky. His family is in the auto-body business; Penn will be the first doctor in the family. Penn, KYCO’s 2018-2019 Student Government Association president, began earning […]
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