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Office of Student Affairs

Choosing an Advisor

Guidelines for choosing an advisor:

  • Review the Advisor Directory to find out basic information about advisors.
  • Talk with P-4, P-3 and P-2 students about their experiences with their advisors.
  • Think about the areas of pharmacy that you are most interested in and/or would like to learn more about; seek out advisors in those areas.
  • Consider your career goals; choose an advisor in a career that you are interested in.
  • Recall professors, guest lecturers or discussion leaders who you enjoyed learning from.
  • If you can't think of anyone, make an appointment with Charese Jackson or Dr. Agard in the Office of Student Affairs and they can assist you with your selection.

Contacting a possible advisor

  • Use the Advisor Directory to obtain contact information
  • If you contact an advisor initially by e-mail and they do not respond, you may want to follow up with a note to their department mailbox.  It may be that they do not access their e-mail account often.
  • Be careful when paging advisors from on-campus phones.  Some on-campus phones do not allowing incoming calls.  If your advisor does not answer a page, put a note in his or her departmental mailbox.
  • To page from an on-campus phone, dial 136 first and then wait for instructions.
  • To page from an off-campus phone, dial (312) 996-2133 and wait for instructions.
  • If you initially contact an advisor who may have too many advisees, they may direct you to a faculty advisor who has fewer advisees.
  • Do not just drop the Advisor Choice form in your potential advisor's mailbox.  You need to meet with your potential advisor in person

Questions you may want to ask your advisor

  • What are your expectations of me as an advisee?
  • Why did you go into your current career?
  • In what direction do you see the field of pharmacy headed?
  • What do you think of the curriculum?
  • Have you always worked in academia; what other environments have you worked in?
  • How often do you expect us to meet during the semester?

Changing advisors

Pick up an Advisor Choice form from the Office of Student Affairs and choose a different advisor.

Deadline for choosing your advisor

  • Spring break of each Spring.
  • If you don't choose an advisor by the above date, you will not be allowed to register for the following Fall courses.