Consider a Master of Science in Pharmacology

At St. John’s University, our programs leading to the Master of Science degree are designed to equip individuals to contribute to advances in the areas of pharmacy, allied health, and the biosciences. 

Students studying for the Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences can look to specialize in Pharmacology, Medicinal Chemistry, Industrial Pharmacy, or Pharmacotherapeutics and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

Wondering why you should choose St. John’s University's MS Pharmacology program? Or perhaps you are interested in what students currently enrolled are working on. Get up close with Shruthi Gobbooru and see what she has to say in this #GradSJU presents:

The graduate schools at St. John’s University in New York City offer more than 60 graduate degree and professional certificate programs in five acclaimed colleges, a School of Law, and institute dedicated solely to the growing field of biotechnology. Our highly competitive advanced degree programs will challenge you to become the very best you can possibly be!

5 Job Interview Tips

By now you probably know the importance of arriving to an interview promptly, dressing appropriately, and bringing hard copies of your resume. However aside from these run-of-the-mill preparation tips, there are a few things that not everyone may be conscious of.

See below for some important job interview tips to utilize while on the job hunt:

Clean Up Your Social Sites - About 91% of employers will screen a candidate’s social platforms for any red flags - think “suspicious” images or profanity. As such, you’ll want to make sure you are proud of the image you’ve put out on social media. Nervous some of your skeletons may be found? Let Social Sweepster clean up your pages for you.

Craft Your Story Statement - Most interviews start with the same prompt, “Tell me about yourself,” or “Walk me through your resume.” Instead of simply reciting your resume and cover letter, talk about hobbies you have in addition to “real” experience that relates to the position. A Story Statement shows you are a person, not only a professional.

Do Your Research - Make sure you have a thorough understanding of the company and position you are applying for. Review the employer’s website, social channels, and set Google alerts. This way anytime a new story appears online regarding your intended company, you can receive an email alert to stay in the know.

Don’t Disguise Your Weaknesses - When asked about strengths and weaknesses, the interviewer is expecting a real response. But keep in mind, explaining your weaknesses isn’t really what the question is asking - rather showing the steps you’ve taken to overcome them.

Ask Smart Questions - Smart questions do not include anything about paid time off or salary, but rather questions that show your desire to be part of the company (“What have you enjoyed most about working here?” or “How would you describe the ideal candidate?”). These questions can be genuine while still conveying something new about you, like for example: “I was fortunate to work with Habitat for Humanity in college, as a full time employee are there company-wide community service events I could take part in?

For more tips to help before, during, and after your interview - check out this Forbes article.

The graduate schools at St. John’s University in New York City offer more than 60 graduate degree and professional certificate programs in five acclaimed colleges, a School of Law, and institute dedicated solely to the growing field of biotechnology. Our highly competitive advanced degree programs will challenge you to become the very best you can possibly be!

Tips for Enhancing Your Resume This Summer

Short-Term Programs @ SJU

To our recent graduates - congratulations! To those with a job lined up, an even bigger job well done. For others, now may either be a time of self reflection prior to entering into the career world or simply a break until the Fall semester begins. 

Regardless of where you stand and your future plans as of late, it's always a good time to work on making your resume stand out among the rest in a competitive job market. See below for a few tips that we put together to help you enhance yours this summer:

Travel - If you haven’t had the chance and have always wanted to - travel the world! If still enrolled here at SJU - look into one of our study abroad programs. At St. John’s, we provide students with a global campus that allows a seamless experience from location to location. Ask your adviser about opportunities at our Rome, Italy campus or the wide variety of other study abroad programs.

The benefits? Not only does exploring new cultures enhance communication skills, but it reassures an employer that their prospect is open minded and willingly adapts to new environments. 

Volunteer - Whether in your local community or abroad, there are countless volunteer opportunities at your finger tips. This can be something outside of your career field and focus on a hobby or passion you’ve wanted to pursue. You’ll learn to work with different types of people as well as open the door to learning a new skill or trade.

The benefits? Volunteering can help improve your leadership and project management skills, as well as shows you are a socially responsible person, willing to help.

Learn a new language - If you are one of our International Students, you may already have the advantage (the ability to speak both English as well as your native tongue fluently). Why not look to add another language to your repertoire? Additionally, if you only speak English, now may be the time to get to know the basics of another language.

The benefits? Being bi-lingual or multilingual can open a lot more doors and opportunities in the future. Especially in the communications, diplomacy, business, or economics fields.

Develop a skill - Whether it’s improving upon a skill you already have or developing new skills you think employers would find beneficial, the sky’s the limit. You can sign up for free courses or workshops within your community as well as take advantage of free online classes or tutorials. Technology skills are becoming more and more beneficial in the workplace and thus may be something you look into.

The benefits? Possessing a variety of skills (especially those that are in demand) can not only open the door to different opportunities but also highlight your expertise in field related tasks - not to mention, it may mean less training on your part!

The graduate schools at St. John’s University in New York City offer more than 60 graduate degree and professional certificate programs in five acclaimed colleges, a School of Law, and institute dedicated solely to the growing field of biotechnology. Our highly competitive advanced degree programs will challenge you to become the very best you can possibly be!

Tips for Paying Off Student Loans

College loans are one of the most common financial obstacles that people face in life. Whether you’re just graduating or have already begun repaying your student loans, you know how much of a burden they can be.

To help make the experience less stressful, see below for some tips to help keep your student loan debt under control:

Know your loans: First and foremost, it’s important to know and understand your loans. Meaning keeping track of the lender, balance, and repayment status of each. It’s also important to remember that different loans have different grace periods - meaning the amount of time you can wait after leaving school before needing to make your first payment.

Pick the right repayment option: When your federal loans come due, they’ll automatically be spread over a 10-year repayment plan. If this is going to be hard for you to cover, you can select a different method of repayment. Keep in mind that lowering your monthly payments will extend your repayment period beyond 10 years - this means you’ll end up paying more interest over the life of the loan.

Pay the most expensive loans first: If possible, look to pay off your loans with the highest interest rates first. Even if this loan isn’t the largest dollar amount, eliminating the highest interest rates will help you pay less in additional charges over time.

Don’t panic! Life happens and sometimes due to unemployment, health problems, or other unexpected financial challenges, managing your loans can become difficult. There are legitimate ways to temporarily postpone your loan payments, such as deferments and forbearance.

For more tips and information related to repaying student loans, click here »

The graduate schools at St. John’s University in New York City offer more than 60 graduate degree and professional certificate programs in five acclaimed colleges, a School of Law, and institute dedicated solely to the growing field of biotechnology. Our highly competitive advanced degree programs will challenge you to become the very best you can possibly be!

Upcoming Payment Deadlines For Summer 2015 Classes

While for many May marks the end of the academic year, for others it is a transition period between the spring and summer semesters. And although there is still some time in between to breathe and enjoy the summer sun, we'd like to take this opportunity to remind all returning students about next semester's tuition due dates.

Please see below for the payment deadlines for upcoming Summer Sessions, as a reminder, all are due in FULL on the following dates:

Pre-Session - May 11, 2015                                           LAW Pre-Session - May 11, 2015

Summer I - May 18, 2015                                               LAW Summer - May 18, 2015

Summer II – May 18, 2015                                             LAW Summer Rome - May 18, 2015

Post-Session - August 10, 2015

Remember - even if you are registered for multiple sessions, your entire summer tuition must be paid by the due date of the FIRST SESSION for which you are registered. Otherwise, a late fee of $100 will be applied at the end of business for each of the above dates.

If you can't pay your balance in full, take advantage of St. John's University's Summer Payment Plan. The plan includes a down payment of 50% of your balance at time of enrollment, plus a $75 enrollment fee. From there, you'll have on remaining installment paid by Auto Pay payment due June 16th. Enrollment for this plan closes on May 18th, so log in to UIS and click the "Enroll in Payment Plan" link at the bottom of View/Confirm Term Bill. Watch the Payment Plan Tutorial with step by step instructions on how to enroll into a payment plan. If you have any questions concerning your account, please contact Student Financial Services at 718-990-2000 or via email: studentfinancialserv@stjohns.edu.

IMPORTANT

• If you owe nothing or have a credit, you MUST confirm your attendance through UIS. Login UIS, click Student, click Registration, click View/Confirm Term Bill. Choose Summer 2015 from the drop down menu and click on the Confirm Enrollment button.
• If you add another summer class after you have paid/confirmed for one class, you must review your new charges on UIS-View Term Bill as you would be already listed as confirmed for the whole summer term and will be subject to the liability of the additional class if proper withdrawal procedures are not done.
• When you register for a class, St. John's University considers your registration to be a clear indication of your intention to attend that class. If you change your mind about attending class or if circumstances prevent you from attending, you must process your withdrawal online on UIS immediately within the online deadline or notify us officially of your change in status. Please refer to the Registrar webpage for information on withdrawals.

Study Tips for Final Exams

Photo via St. John's University

Final exams are underway and while hopefully you’ve already been preparing for testing, there are still some last minute things that can be done to help your body(and mind) get the test preparation it needs:

SLEEP: One of the single most important things you can do to prepare for any test. Studies have shown that being well rested directly effects how much information you retain and how well you perform. Make sure you get several good night’s of sleep leading up to your exam.

Go somewhere else: Studying in your apartment or home can be distracting. Change up the location and head somewhere new to set up shop to get your last minute review in. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean the library, though St. John’s does offer such great amenities, but perhaps even your local coffee shop or bookstore.

Rewrite: Step away from the electronics! Studies have shown the the simple act of putting pen to paper can help you to retain information. Rewrite only the important information into smaller pieces, keeping only what’s necessary and eliminating any fluff. This will help to trim down your reading and review time.

Focus on the major points: Devote some time to reviewing the major concepts. Look at the syllabus, skim through notes for common topics, and develop a study guide to help you hammer home the basics. This will help you learn more about the connections between topics, as well as be able to answer more questions intelligently.

The graduate schools at St. John’s University in New York City offer more than 60 graduate degree and professional certificate programs in five acclaimed colleges, a School of Law, and institute dedicated solely to the growing field of biotechnology. Our highly competitive advanced degree programs will challenge you to become the very best you can possibly be!