<p>It seems after searching these forums that I'm the only one interested in this. It probably has to do with only two schools having a program for it (University of Rochester and University of Arizona), but I'd think there'd be at least a thread mentioning it. As lasers and other optical breakthroughs are sure to become more important (even more so than today, where they're everywhere) I'm confused by the lack of acknowledgment. Perhaps it's because of the high level of specialization?</p>
<p>I don’t believe the Rose program is accredited. Also, I didn’t know about UC Davis, thanks. I know I could do “applied physics” but I think it’d be even more specialized doing an actual degree for optics itself, and that’s what I want. Same thing with USC. I shall look into these though; thanks for the input! Anyone else?</p>
<p>ABET lists five accredited optical engineering programs, at:</p>
<p>U Alabama - Huntsville (since 1998)
U Arizona (2002)
U California - Davis (2007)
Norfolk State U (2008)
Rose-Hulman (2007)</p>
<p>Huntsville is noted for Air Force/NASA connections. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Norfolk State program has something to do with the Navy.</p>
<p>Optical engineering is probably not an engineering field where ABET accredited degrees are strictly necessary, so there could be other, unaccredited programs out there. Or there could be optical engineering concentrations within other engineering departments.</p>
<p>I had a discussion with a neighbor about this over the weekend. His employer has a signboard out on my drive to the office advertising for optical engineers and researchers. My neighbor provides IT support to these guys and he said that they all have Phds. He said that it’s quite difficult for them to find people.</p>
<p>At my school, photonics falls under EE. This tends to cover courses in optoelectronics, lasers, semiconductors (LEDs, photodiodes, etc.). You have to choose it as a specialization within EE.</p>
<p>I work in optical engineering as a physicist. We have tons of people with this degree and they are mainly from: University of Arizona, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester.</p>
<p>Huntsville seems like a good alternative, but I think I’d prefer Arizona to Alabama. Thanks for the input DocT, so I should avoid applied physics?</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of the program in Huntsville. There are also tons of people from various institutes in Russia. Some years ago, we purposely went there to recruit optical engineers. In Arizona, you’ll work with people who have done optical engineering as a career. Some of the them worked with us in the past. I don’t know of any applied physics programs that teach you optical design and using Code V or Zemax.</p>
<p>Arizona claims to be the biggest optical engineering program. The Rochester area has traditionally been associated with optics, as the home of Kodak. University of Rochester offers a BS in optics, but it appears to be a science (rather than engineering) degree.</p>
<p>The Huntsville program is probably oriented to military and space applications. Huntsville has a pretty impressive looking [Optics</a> Building](<a href=“http://www.ece.uah.edu/labs.htm]Optics”>404 Error Page - UAH - The University of Alabama in Huntsville). In addition, the campus has NASA’s National Space Science and Technology Center, which includes the Advanced Optics Research Center. </p>
<p>One possible consideration for the Huntsville program is your citizenship. A strength of the university is its ties to the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Redstone Arsenal, which are located nearby. If you are not a US citizen, though, you may not get the same access to these facilities as those who are.</p>
<p>I know 4 people with degrees from University of Rochester. Two are heavily involved in optical fabrication, one is a tech lead on a complex optical module and the 4th is an optical designer.</p>
<p>Citizenship might be something to ask about if you were to pursue the optics program at University of Alabama - Huntsville. One of the school’s strengths is the opportunity to cooperate with the high-tech NASA and military facilities in Huntsville, but Russians or other non-citizens might not be able to fully participate in these regards. </p>
<p>For example, the best technical library in the area – better than the University’s – is at Redstone Arsenal. It is accessible to UAH students and faculty, but only if they are US citizens.</p>