EDUCATING LEADERS IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SINCE 1886
PharmD Advisement and Mentorship Program
The SPPS Advisement and Mentorship Program is an intentionally designed, developmental model that supports PharmD students’ integration into the program while preparing them to engage in meaningful professional mentorship throughout pharmacy school and their careers.
On this page:
Four-Year Program Overview
Discover how the PharmD Advisement and Mentorship Program guides professional growth and development across each year of the PharmD curriculum.
P2 Year Advising: Professional Identity and Career Development
Focus: Clarifying Professional Direction and Transitioning to Faculty Mentorship
During the P2 year, students continue participating in collective advisement through the Professional Development and Leadership course while remaining actively engaged in their Learning Experience Communities (LECs) with P3 student leaders. Programming during this phase emphasizes:
- Career exploration and direction
- Professional engagement
- Preparation for experiential learning
Students are encouraged to take increasing ownership of their professional growth through development of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Plan and ongoing professional reflection. LEC student advisors provide advisement and feedback as students establish their CPD Plan and later revisit their progress through the Meaningful Reflection process.
As students refine their professional interests and career goals, they submit preferences for faculty mentorship. In the late spring semester, students transition from peer-supported advisement within their LECs to individualized faculty mentorship. Faculty mentor assignments are based on student interests and career goals, faculty expertise, and mentor availability.
This transition marks the beginning of a longitudinal mentoring relationship. Students meet with their assigned faculty mentor to discuss career goals and professional trajectory. This structure supports students' continued development of professional identity while fostering meaningful faculty mentorship as they prepare for advanced experiential and career planning.
Advisement and Mentorship: What's the Difference?
Read on to get familiar with our SPPS lingo and how these two forms of support work together across your time in the PharmD program.
In short, advisement supports your success in the program right now, through guidance, information, and connection to resources. Mentorship is an individualized, forward-looking relationship focused on your career planning or research direction as you grow into the profession.
Each is offered in two ways: some support is built into your program, and some is optional.
| Advisement Success, support and resources in the program now | Mentorship Individualized career and research direction ahead |
|---|---|---|
Built into your program |
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Optional supports |
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Advisement provides consultative support, information, and referrals to the services, resources, and opportunities connected to the PharmD program. It functions as your foundational layer of support, covering a wide range of topics tied to your personal and academic success as a PharmD student.
Collective Advisement
Advisement is delivered primarily through structured, cohort-based sessions within the Professional Development and Leadership course, where students review shared topics, build community, and prepare for each stage of the program.
LEC Student Leader Advisement
Every student belongs to one of six Learning and Engagement Communities (LECs), small groups led by P3 student leaders. Your LEC is a space for peer connection, resource sharing, and general program questions, and a place to feel part of the wider SPPS community.
Student Success Coaching
Each P1 student is paired with the Student Success Coach and encouraged to meet for individualized support in building strong habits early in the program.
Student Support
Private, one-to-one support for student services questions, concerns, conflicts, and decisions as they arise. Available to all students, and a resource many lean on across the P2 through P4 years.
Rho Chi Consultations
Rho Chi is a national pharmacy honor society that provides academic support. On the basis of their academic standing (top 20 percent of their class), students are invited to membership in their second year of study.
Mentorship centers on more focused, individualized conversations about your career development. Each student is paired with a faculty mentor, and you are encouraged to keep expanding your network of mentors for feedback and insight on career pathways, professional direction, and current or future research and projects.
Faculty Mentors
Students are paired with a faculty mentor based on their interests and career goals. All UB SPPS faculty are also available to students for mentorship, research, and independent studies. You can make appointments to meet with faculty based on your research or career interests in EAB.
OPTIONAL SUPPORTS
Dean's Alumni Ambassador Career Development Mentor
We pair interested students with an alumni guide called a Dean's Alumni Ambassador (DAA) Mentor, chosen for you based on your interests. DAA Mentors introduce students to career opportunities and help them build relationships with practicing pharmacy professionals.
Advisement and Registration Tools
Key Services and Resources
Important Links
Request an Appointment with OSSE
For help with program as well as personal matters, contact:
Jennifer Rosenberg, PhD
Associate Dean for Student Success and Engagement
274 Pharmacy Building
716-645-2858
For academic or program concerns and collective advisement contact:
Nicole Albanese, PharmD
Assistant Dean for Student Success and Engagement
282 Pharmacy Building
716-645-3915
For general program questions, personal or professional support issues, contact:
Nicole Pizzutelli
Director for Student Success and Engagement
281 Pharmacy Building
716-645-2491
For scheduling and registration, contact:
Christine Stumm
Director of Registrar and Enrollment Services
279 Pharmacy Building
716-645-2776
Network for Enriched Academic Relationships (NEAR)
The Network for Enriched Academic Relationships (NEAR) is a UB-wide interdisciplinary mentoring network for graduate students. Through NEAR, students can find mentors regarding issues that lie beyond coursework, comps and dissertations.