State examination in pharmacy

How is the examination structured?

§ 1 of the Pharmacists' Licensing Regulations divides the training into four components: four years of university study, eight weeks of Famulatur, twelve months of practical training, and the pharmacy state examination in three sections. The First Section concludes the basic study period after at least two years and consists of four written multiple-choice papers. The Second Section follows after at least four years of study and is examined orally in five subjects. The Third Section follows the pre-registration period and comprises two oral subjects. The competent authorities are the state examination offices (§ 5 AAppO); the written questions are set nationwide by the Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examination Questions in Mainz.

What deadlines and hurdles apply?

Registration is submitted to the state examination office of the state in which the candidate is studying at the time of registration; the application deadlines under § 6 AAppO end on 10 January and 10 June. Anyone who misses the deadline typically loses half a year, because the written sittings are held only twice a year. Under § 15 AAppO each subject examination may be retaken twice. If the second resit also fails, the examination section and with it the entire pharmacy state examination is permanently failed. This bar applies nationwide and explicitly also after a further period of pharmacy study. That is the most severe rule in the whole set of regulations.

What does this mean for graduates from EU countries?

Anyone who completes their pharmacy degree in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, or the Baltic states sits the respective national qualifying examination there, not the German pharmacy state examination. For authorisation to practise in Germany the route is then via Article 21 and Annex V no. 5.6.2 of Directive 2005/36/EC, not the German state examination. Anyone who transfers to Germany during their studies, however, needs credit recognition under § 22 AAppO: the state examination office may recognise periods of study and examinations taken abroad if they are equivalent. The Third Section examination is excluded from this. How generously credit is granted is decided by the authority on a case-by-case basis.

Common misconceptions

The pharmacy state examination is not a university examination but a state examination before a committee appointed by the state. The university awards the certificates, not the certificate. Passed subject examinations may not be retaken to improve the grade. And the examination alone does not confer authorisation to practise: the licence to practise as a pharmacist is a separate administrative act that must be applied for in addition.