Welcome to Marshall B. Ketchum University. MBKU is home to the Southern California College of Optometry, School of PA Studies, and College of Pharmacy.
In 1904, Dr. Marshall B. Ketchum opened the initial embodiment of Marshall B. Ketchum University. Today, tradition meets innovation as we focus on interprofessional education and adopt the name of our founder.
Located in Fullerton, CA, Marshall B. Ketchum University is an independent, private, non-profit, accredited educational institution. MBKU is home to the Southern California College of Optometry, the School of PA Studies, and the College of Pharmacy. The Southern California College of Optometry confers a Doctor of Optometry and a Master of Science in Vision Science degree. The School of PA Studies awards a Master of Medical Science degree. The College of Pharmacy welcomed its first class in the fall of 2016 and will award a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. MBKU owns and operates two premier eye and vision care centers: the University Eye Center at Ketchum Health Anaheim and the University Eye Center at Ketchum Health Los Angeles. We seek to reimagine the future of health care education.
The mission of Marshall B. Ketchum University is to educate caring, inspired health care professionals who are prepared to deliver collaborative, patient-centric health care in an interprofessional environment.
Interprofessional education (IPE) is an innovative approach for preparing students of different disciplines to work together as a team to deliver the best possible patient care.
Promoting more excellent communication, safety, quality of care, and interprofessional team-based approach delivers better patient outcomes. Ideally, health care is a group effort, including the patient and many different health care professionals working in teams in the patient's best interest.
Research at Ketchum University spans all three of our professional health care programs. It provides optometry, PA, and pharmacy students opportunities to get involved in projects as early as their first year. Ketchum University faculty support students in their research interests, and many are highly-lauded researchers in their own right.
Numerous members of MBKU’s faculty are published in prestigious journals and are engaged in active, ongoing research studies. For several generations, the Southern California College of Optometry has been among the nation’s leading providers of practical and professional optometrists' continuing education coursework. In compliance with guidelines established by the state boards of optometry, our courses provide in-depth coverage of the latest advances in research, technology, and clinical practice, and boast highly skilled lecturers focused on keeping you updated with the best in optometric vision care.
Our beautiful Fullerton campus provides the perfect backdrop for indoor and outdoor activities. Favorite spaces to gather and relax on campus include the lawn of the Patricia Hopping Commons, the Essilor Student Center, and the centrally-located outdoor amphitheater. Members of the MBKU Student Association and the Office of Student Affairs staff host a variety of social events that bring our optometry, PA, and pharmacy students together.
The mission of the Office of Student Affairs is to advance the University’s mission by providing programs and services in a caring and supportive environment for all students that foster student success, create engagement in a diverse interprofessional experience, and develop a life-long relationship with Ketchum University.
The Office of Student Affairs is every student’s one-stop-shop for all student services, including academic support, financial aid, pre-orientation requirements, student activities, student counseling services, and disability services.
MBKU welcomes applicants with disabilities to apply to our health profession programs. As part of University Student Affairs, Disability Services strives to provide accommodations, awareness, and advocacy to ensure equal access for all qualified students with disabilities. We individually review each student’s request and consider the functional impact of the disability and program standards to establish appropriate and meaningful accommodations.
There are unique aspects of MBKU educational programs that are different from the typical undergraduate experience student should consider when planning their transition to this new environment or determining what types of accommodations they may need to request.
Whether you are still considering applying to MBKU or you have already been accepted, Disability Services would like to provide you with some information to help you with your decision and transition to professional study at MBKU.
In 1904, Marshall Bidwell Ketchum, MD, founded what has grown to become Ketchum University, an independent, private, non-profit, accredited educational institution located in Fullerton, CA. Today, we are proud to recognize Dr. Ketchum’s many contributions to optometric education's early development as the namesake of Marshall B. Ketchum University.
In order to meet the expectations being set by collaborative practice models for our students and future health care providers, President Kevin Alexander, OD, PhD, moved forward with deliberate plans to transition the Southern California College of Optometry from a single-discipline, independent college into a leader among small health care educational institutions.
Today, the Southern California College of Optometry, The School of PA Studies (College of Health Sciences), and College of Pharmacy are partners in a challenging new approach to health care education, designed for and with the nation’s future primary care providers in mind. The future is expecting us.
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