AACP Aspiring Academics Program

AACP Aspiring Academics Program applications are due by May 15, 2023, at 11:59 pm Hawaii Standard Time (HST).  

Applications will be collected electronically here.

The application will require the following information to be considered complete:

• Current Address *
• Email *
• Preferred Phone Number *
• Gender *
• Citizenship Status *
• College or School of Pharmacy *
• Academic Status *
  • Eligible student statuses during the the program period (2023-2024 Academic Year):
    • A P3 Pharm.D. student in a 4-year program,
    • A P2 Pharm.D. student in an accelerated 3-year program, OR
    • A P5 (out of P6) student in a 0-6 program.
• Educational or Environmental Disadvantaged Status 
  • Check if any of the following apply to you. By designating any of the items below, you are considered to be educationally and/or environmentally disadvantaged. If none of these items apply to you or you do not wish to answer, skip this question. 
    • I graduated from a high school from which a low percentage of seniors receive a high school diploma. 
    • I graduated from a high school at which many of the enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. 
    • I am from a family that receives public assistance (e.g., Aid to Families with Dependent Children, food stamps, Medicaid, public housing) or I receive public assistance. 
    • I am from a family that lives in an area that is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area or a Medically Underserved Area. 
    • I participated in an academic enrichment program funded in whole or in part by the Health Careers Opportunity Program. 
    • I am from a school district where 50% or less of graduates go to college or where college education is not encouraged. 
    • I am the first generation in my family to attend college (neither parent attended college). 
    • English is not my primary language. 
• Economic Disadvantaged Status *
  • Were you raised in an economically disadvantaged household? 
    • View the low-income level table on the PharmCAS fee waiver page to determine if you or your parents may be considered economically disadvantaged. 
    • Select Yes to this item if you believe you were raised at an economic disadvantage.  
    • Select No to this item if you believe you were not raised at an economic disadvantage. 
    • Select Decline to State if you do not wish to respond to this item. 
• Race and Ethnicity *
  • AACP seeks to identify Aspiring Academics from diverse backgrounds. Please identify the groups in which you consider yourself to be a member.

Please respond to the questions below about your previous experiences. All of your related experiences in teaching and scholarship should also be reflected in your resume, including the organization name, your position or role, and dates.

If you respond YES to an item, please provide additional details, such as date and organization.

NOTE: You are responsible for staying within the 50-word limit for each item on this screen. Do NOT exceed.

• Have you participated in any scholarship or research activities, including as an undergraduate student? Include any research conducted jointly or individually. Research may include laboratory-based research, social and administrative research, health sciences research, practice-based research, clinical research, and/or scholarship of teaching and learning. * 
• Have you served as a tutor in college, a professional program, and/or other setting? * 
• Have you served as a research assistant, teaching assistant, and/or lab facilitator? * 
• Have you led an instructional session or lead a didactic or lab session for a course? * 
• Have you delivered professional presentations to audiences outside of the institution (e.g., conference or elementary school)? * 
• Have you served in a leadership role in a student organization? * 
• Have you served on a faculty committee (e.g., admissions committee)? * 
• Have you completed a teaching certificate in pharmacy or other area? * 
• Do you have other experience as a paid educator (e.g., teacher, coach)? * 
• Do you have other educator experiences (e.g., education concentration or electives)? * 

Your resume is a very important part of your application. It will be used to help differentiate your application from others and allow you to showcase your academic and extracurricular involvement. Your resume does not need to be exhaustive and should focus on relevant areas of experience. Review the requirements below before you upload your resume.

• Save and upload your resume as a PDF. 
• Limit resume to no more than 3 pages. 
• If you use any acronyms, also provide the full name. 
• Use headers and/or section titles to organize your resume. 
• Briefly describe any leadership roles and/or involvement. 
• Include the length of time spent in organizations and/or leadership roles. 

You are strongly encouraged to compose your essay in a separate word processor, then copy and paste it into the appropriate text box below. Use line breaks (the return key) to separate paragraphs.

You must compose your essay using your own words and without assistance from other individuals or an artificial intelligence (AI) essay generator (e.g., ChatGPT). You are permitted to use tools to check your spelling and grammar. The minimum word count is 200 and the maximum word count is 750.

Student’s Statement of Experience & Future Career Goals
Describe your reasons for wanting to participate in the Program, your career goals, and other academic and personal attributes you would like the reviewers to consider. What do you hope to gain by participating in the Aspiring Academics Program?

The deans’ office within your current college or school of pharmacy must agree in advance to fund your travel to the 2024 AACP Annual Meeting and Teachers’ Seminar if you are accepted. To affirm the institution’s support, you must download the Dean's Form and arrange for the dean of your college or school of pharmacy, or another individual designated by the dean‘s office (e.g., associate dean of academic affairs), to sign the form to affirm the institution’s willingness and ability to support your participation in the program. Once received, upload the signed form to your Aspiring Academics application.  

One letter of support (recommendation) is required from your pharmacy faculty (home) mentor. The degree to which the faculty mentor believes you will benefit from participating in the AACP Aspiring Academics (AAA) Program is considered in the review process. The faculty mentor at your home institution must meet the following requirements:

1. be an AACP member,
2. agree to fulfill the requirements as described in the AAA Mentor Guide, and
3. submit a letter of support via the AAA application.

The faculty mentor should address the following items in the letter of support.

1. Describe the current mentoring relationship, including how long and how well you have known the student and in what capacity.
2. Describe a specific plan for mentoring the student over the length of the AAA program (e.g., timeframe and frequency) as required in the Mentor Guide.
3. Use specific examples or evidence to describe the student’s attributes and goals, and how they will contribute to a successful career in academia.

AACP staff will determine that all applications are complete and eligibility requirements have been met. Once eligibility requirements are verified, the application will be moved through the evaluation process.

AACP leaders will use the following criteria by which all applications will be judged. The evaluation team will look for well thought out, organized, articulate, and complete applications, with evidence that both parties have a strong interest in enhancing the student’s preparation for a career in academic pharmacy.

Credentials of the Student 

The Teaching and Scholarship Experience (task 2), applicant resume (task 3), and The Statement of Experience & Future Career Goals essay (task 4), are used for this criterion. The degree to which the student is motivated to pursue an academic career is evaluated. Evaluation involves an assessment of how closely the personal and academic credentials of the student match with the goal of the Program.

• Statement of Experience & Future Career Goals
  • Scholarship Experience
  • Teaching Experience
  • Future Career Goals
  • Spelling and Grammar
  • Student Description of Mentor Relationship

Faculty Mentor’s Support of Student

The faculty mentor’s description of the student’s qualifications and capacity to succeed in this type of Program is used for this criterion. The degree to which the faculty mentor describes a plan of mentorship and believes the student will benefit from participating in the Program is evaluated.

1. Mentor Engagement - Degree of current mentor engagement and specific plan (e.g., timeframe, frequency) for mentoring the applicant for the duration of the Program.  

2. Evidence of Applicant’s Attributes - How well the mentor describes the applicant’s attributes and goals as they relate to a potential for a successful career in academic pharmacy. 

3. Potential for Success in Academic Pharmacy - The applicant’s potential for success in an academic pharmacy career based on the mentor’s letter.