Cong Li is a first-year graduate student in Temple University’s Dual Bachelor’s Master’s Degree (DBMD) Program, who plans to graduate in May 2013. Pharmacy was her undergraduate major at Nankai University. In graduate school, she chose to study Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy. “Through a combination of my pharmacy knowledge and research practices, I hope to possess the marketable skills pharmaceutical companies are looking for when selecting their work force,” reflects Cong.

“The DBMD program has many benefits,” Cong explains “one of which is to saving time.” “When course content overlaps between undergraduate and graduate levels, it makes sense to count courses towards both degrees. Also through DBMD, I am able to forego the GRE and spend that valuable preparation time studying for courses that apply to my major.”

Cong is taking classes in pharmaceutical analysis, advanced gene and drug delivery and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Most of her classes are in Ft. Washington, so she takes a free shuttle provided by Temple University outside of the city to a suburban area for some of her classes. Due to a strong student interest in of Cong and others, the Pharmaceutics major was added to the DBMD program this fall 2011. Cong is currently finishing her undergraduate thesis for Nankai University and is performing her research for the thesis at Temple University.

“The professors are very kind at Temple,” says Cong. “Sometimes I listen to part of the lecture and don’t understand, so I show a confused face; the instructors recognize my confusion immediately and are very willing to rephrase and explain the concept again.” “Asking lots of questions is encouraged because then all the students in the classroom can benefit from further explanation and clarification.”

Temple University has an organization called TemPALS which is managed by Temple’s alumni relations office. The program matches international students together with Temple alumni as a way for international students to better experience American culture. “I am matched up with a friendly woman named Deborah Glass, whom I have plans with to attend a concert and the Philadelphia Art Museum. The TemPALS program is a great way to see Philadelphia beyond just the tourist attractions.”

After Cong graduates she is planning to stay in the United States for two years and work for a pharmaceutical company. Philadelphia is the largest hub for the pharmaceutical field with companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Teva, Merck, and branches of Pfizer.