University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy

University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Advancing Health, Transforming Communities, Creating Leaders

Starting something new comes with a lot of feelings (we know, we've all been where you are!). You're probably feeling so...
08/31/2026

Starting something new comes with a lot of feelings (we know, we've all been where you are!). You're probably feeling some excitement, but also nerves and maybe even a little uncertainty about where you’ll fit in. If you’re feeling any of that, we want you to know something before you even walk through the doors: you already have a community waiting for you.

If you've been following us for a while, you've probably seen us talk about the Pharmily. That's our fun nickname for our College of Pharmacy family, but if you ask anyone in the program, you'll quickly hear that the Pharmily is more than a name. It’s that feeling of community you have when classmates save you a seat because you're running late, or when the upperclassmen remember exactly what it felt like to be new, so they go out of their way to make you feel seen and welcome. It's knowing that on the weekend, you have a community of people who are excited to see you and hear how your week went.

Throughout the next few years, you’ll spend a lot of time learning together, and some of the most meaningful parts of pharmacy school will happen outside the classroom with these people. You’ll celebrate each other’s wins, help each other through the tough weeks, and make the kinds of memories that stay with you long after graduation.

So if you’re walking into your first week wondering, “Will I fit in?” take a breath. You don’t have to have everything figured out yet. You don’t have to know everyone yet. Just show up and be yourself. The rest will come. We can't wait to meet you!

Think you know what pharmacy school is like? You might want to rethink a few things.There are so many assumptions about ...
08/26/2026

Think you know what pharmacy school is like? You might want to rethink a few things.

There are so many assumptions about what it means to go to pharmacy school or what it will be like. Some people think you'll have no time for a social life or that everyone is competing against each other. Others believe you need to know exactly what you want to do before you start or that your professors will be impossible to reach.

But we're here to tell assure you that's not the experience students have at URI College of Pharmacy.

Pharmacy school is challenging, we're not denying that, but that doesn't mean you have to put your life outside the classroom on hold. Our students are involved in countless organizations, build lifelong friendships, spend time doing hobbies, and make time for the parts of college that matter to them.

We also can't emphasize enough: it's not a competition here. Students learn alongside one another and support their classmates through a demanding program. We cultivate a collaborative environment from day 1.

When it comes to your career, you definitely don't need your entire path figured out on day one. Through coursework, research, experiential learning, student organizations, and conversations with faculty, students have plenty of opportunities to explore different areas of pharmacy and discover what interests them. And as you're figuring that out, if you need guidance, our faculty are there to help. They're mentors who can help students navigate their education, explore career options, and make the most of the opportunities available to them.

Pharmacy school is already hard. Let's not make it harder by perpetuating these myths.

A special visit to Camp Surefire! 🏕️Dr. Erica Estus stopped by during camp week for a special visit with alumnus Nick Le...
08/26/2026

A special visit to Camp Surefire! 🏕️

Dr. Erica Estus stopped by during camp week for a special visit with alumnus Nick Leso, Pharm.D., Camp Co-Director, and had the opportunity to see Camp Surefire in action!

Camp Surefire is an overnight camp designed specifically for children and teens with type 1 diabetes, creating a supportive environment where campers can build confidence, form lasting connections, and enjoy all that summer camp has to offer.

URI Pharmacy has a strong presence at Camp Surefire each year, with several of our students completing rotations at camp and many alumni returning to participate and support the program. It’s always great to see our students, alumni, and faculty coming together and making an impact beyond the classroom! 💙🐏

08/25/2026

Looking at colleges can be an incredibly overwhelming process. There are so many things to consider and it's hard to know exactly what to look at when comparing colleges.

One tip we like to give families is to start by looking at outcomes. They can give you a better sense of how students are doing and what their experience can lead to after graduation. Here's a few of ours:

💙 98% of students are employed at graduation
Getting a degree is only part of the goal. We ensure students graduate ready to take what they've learned into the workforce.

💙 7.8:1 student-to-faculty ratio
A smaller student-to-faculty ratio means students can build relationships with faculty who know and support them. This low ratio also means many faculty help students navigate their education and career goals long after they've taken their class.

💙 300+ experiential learning and employment partners
Students have opportunities to take what they're learning beyond the classroom and gain real-world experience as they prepare for their careers.

💙 100+ potential career paths
We say this all the time: pharmacy isn't just one career path. From patient care to research, industry, public health, and more, students can explore where their interests might take them.

💙 98% of alumni would choose URI again
After all is said and done, almost all of our students would do it all again. This is such a strong reflection of the experience our graduates had here and the community they became part of.

💙 95% of students graduate on time.
College is a big investment, and students should have the support they need to stay on track. We ensure students have the guidance, resources, and support they need to keep making progress toward their degree and ultimately reach the career goals they came to URI to pursue.

If you're looking for a college experience like this, join a Shadow Day or Info Session and meet the students who were once standing exactly where you are now. Click the link in our bio to learn more!


It's time to introduce the final student of our new student feature series! Meet Michael Babinchak, an incoming Pharm.D....
08/24/2026

It's time to introduce the final student of our new student feature series!

Meet Michael Babinchak, an incoming Pharm.D. freshman from Lansdale, PA. Like many of our students, Michael knew URI was the right fit the moment he walked in the door. He felt the community right away, and that feeling remained with him as he went through the application process. We hope every prospective student experiences that feeling when they visit and are thrilled it was so impactful for him.

Michael is heading into his Pharm.D. with a passion for pharmacotherapy driven by his lifelong interest in how medicine works. For him, it's about understanding what happens when science and health intersect, and how that knowledge can be used to take better care of patients.

Outside the classroom, Michael is ready to hit the ground running. He's planning to get involved in club tennis, Greek life, and leadership programs. He'll fit in well with the rest of our busy pharmacy students!

The fall semester kicks off next week and we finally get to welcome everyone we've highlighted over the summer (as well as the rest of you!) in person. We can't wait!

08/19/2026

Curious what you’ll actually study in URI’s BPS program?

In your first two years at URI College of Pharmacy, you'll build a strong foundation in the sciences through prerequisite courses like biology, chemistry, and microbiology. Then, as you move into your junior and senior years, your coursework becomes more personalized. You can begin exploring areas that align with your interests and career goals, whether that's something like protein development and modeling, regulatory affairs, or another area of biomedical and pharmaceutical science.

As your coursework becomes more specialized, you'll also have opportunities to put what you're learning into practice. That can include working in research or simulation labs or working closely with faculty to develop skills that can prepare you for your future career.

There's also an opportunity to continue your education through URI's 4+1 program. Eligible BPS students can begin taking master's-level courses during their senior year, allowing them to build on the knowledge and skills they've developed throughout their undergraduate studies. They can then complete their master's degree in just one additional year, giving them another opportunity to deepen their expertise and prepare for their next step after graduation.

Want to learn more about what you can study in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at URI? Join our upcoming student chat on Tuesday, August 25th! You can drop in via zoom to talk to students in the program so you can get a better feel for the program. See you there!

A tiny change in DNA can have major consequences for human health.At URI College of Pharmacy, Professors Bongsup Cho, Ph...
08/18/2026

A tiny change in DNA can have major consequences for human health.

At URI College of Pharmacy, Professors Bongsup Cho, Ph.D., and Deyu Li, Ph.D., are studying what happens when DNA is damaged and how those changes can contribute to cancer. Their research brings together chemistry and biology to understand how DNA is affected by environmental carcinogens, therapeutic drugs, and molecules naturally produced in the body, with a particular focus in why certain types of DNA damage are more likely to lead to specific mutations.

Dr. Cho’s research has helped reveal how the three-dimensional structure of damaged DNA can influence how effectively it's repaired. Dr. Li’s lab uses chemical and biological tools to create and study specific DNA lesions, helping researchers understand how damaged DNA is processed inside cells. Together, their laboratories are uncovering how DNA structure and epigenetic changes can influence whether damaged DNA is repaired or becomes a mutation. Their work offers new insight into the connection between environmental exposures, DNA damage, and cancer development.

This research is also a great example of the interdisciplinary work happening at URI College of Pharmacy, where faculty are bringing different areas of science together to better understand complex health challenges while training the next generation of scientists.

To read more about Dr. Cho and Dr. Li’s research and their work to understand the connection between DNA damage and cancer, click here: https://web.uri.edu/pharmacy/2026/06/12/understanding-cancer-through-dna-damage-and-repair

08/17/2026

Fall semester is getting closer, so many of you are probably starting to think about the best ways to make the most of your college experience. We have two words for you: Get involved.

It can be easy to stick with what feels familiar, especially when you're adjusting to a new campus and a new routine. But some of the most rewarding parts of college can come from challenging yourself to try something new and getting involved in the community around you.

That might mean joining an organization within the College of Pharmacy, getting involved elsewhere at URI, taking on a leadership role, or simply saying yes to an opportunity you wouldn't have considered before.

Staying busy isn't just about filling your schedule. Yes, that can be a benefit, but it's also about giving yourself opportunities to meet new people, discover new interests, build confidence, and find experiences that become an important part of your college journey.

So as you start this next chapter, challenge yourself to get involved, stay open to new experiences, and make the most of your time at URI. You never know where saying yes might take you!

When you start college, it's easy to think your professors are just the people who teach your classes. That's largely ho...
08/13/2026

When you start college, it's easy to think your professors are just the people who teach your classes. That's largely how it was in high school, so why would this be any different?

But over time, many of them become so much more than that.

Your professors become mentors who challenge you to think differently, encourage you when you're doubting yourself, write letters of recommendation, connect you with research and career opportunities, and help you discover possibilities you may never have considered on your own. Those connections often continue long after graduation, becoming a lasting source of guidance throughout your career.

At URI College of Pharmacy, those relationships are one of the things graduates talk about most. Long after the exams are over, many alumni still remember the faculty members who celebrated their successes and helped shape the careers they went on to build.

As alumna Marissa Salvo shared, the support she found at URI, along with the hands-on experiences she gained during her APPE rotations, helped guide her path from pharmacy student to Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice. In other words, those relationships directly impacted where she's working today.

So whether you're just arriving on campus or you're already settling into the semester, don't be afraid to introduce yourself after class. Your professors want you to ask questions and seek out guidance, so please don't hesitate! You never know which conversation could help shape your future.


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