industrial pharmacy) is a six-year academic program. europe belgium the education of pharmacists in belgium requires a minimum of five years of university study. eu-harmonisation has led to division into three bachelor and two master years. a bachelor title is, however, not used at all professionally. belgium considers the educational level of their current (m.sc.) degree in pharmacy to be comparable to the pharm.d. title used in the united states. to become a hospital pharmacist, a three-year residency program has to be completed after obtaining the m.sc. in pharmaceutical sciences. czech republic and slovakia in both countries, the pharmdr (pharmaciae doctor) diploma can be obtained by pharmacists who have previously graduated in pharmacy (magister, mgr) (the undergraduate study of pharmacy takes five years). applicants must defend a research or experimental thesis, and pass a rigorous examination. the pharmdr title is highly prestigious and written in front of the name. it is different from the postgraduate ph.d. degree. in france, pharm.d studies can only be accessed through a competitive examination ("concours", with numerus apertus) happening at the end of the first year of health studies. most candidates hold a scientific baccalaureate from the equivalent to high schools (lycée). yearly success rate depends on the university's current numerus clausus and the number or registered students, ranging from 10 to 30% bearing in mind that second-time participants are three to four times more likely to succeed than students trying for the first time. in order to obtain the state diploma of "doctor of pharmacy", the studies last a minimum of six years, or nine years for students choosing residency (hospital pharmacy or medical biology). it is accessible through another competitive exam, even more selective. it lasts four years and gives another diploma of specialist like in medicine (des for "diplôme d'études spécialisées" ). students must specialise when entering the 5th year, and choose between dispensing pharmacy, pharmaceutical industry or hospital residency. in any case, a 12-month part-time hospital externship is mandatory during the fifth year, although some flexibility is possible for students choosing industry. sixth year for industry is generally dedicated to further specialisation with a former professional master's degree or a former research master's degree including internship. in france, since the harmonization of european union in september 2005, the student who chooses the industry/research orientation have a six-month period of part-time hospital externship, and 3 to 6 months of full-time training in a pharmaceutical industry or a research lab. hungary in hungary, pharmacists obtain their master's degree, after five years of study. in the fifth year, students must undergo a professional training, that lasts for two+two months (autumn and spring) in a public pharmacy and one month in a hospital. at the end of this period, the student must pass a nationwide exam to be legally entitled for practicing the profession of pharmacy, after acquiring the pharmacist work license. according to the new law in 2008, which is valid from 2009, all pharmacists, who have acquired the master's degree of pharmacy, are entitled to the doctor of pharmacy. italy in order to obtain the state diploma of "doctor of pharmacy", the studies last a minimum of 5 years, or 9 years for students choosing residency (hospital pharmacy, medical biology) or pharmacology. in italy the professional degree in pharmacy lasts 5 years, which includes a 6-month professional training in a public pharmacy or hospital. at the end of this period, the student must pass a nationwide exam to be legally entitled to practise as a pharmacist. the subscription to "pharmacist's order", or in italian "ordine dei farmacisti", is required for working in private and public pharmacies or hospitals. it is not required if the pharmacist is working at a pharmaceutical company. besides the professional degree in pharmacy, the title of doctor of pharmacy can be achieved in italy by obtaining a msc in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical technology (chimica e tecnologia farmaceutiche, ctf) and then subscribing to the "pharmacist's order". malta in malta, the warrant to practice as a pharmacist is given after the master of pharmacy course is completed successfully. the university of malta, however, offers a level 8 postgraduate degree known as the doctorate in pharmacy (pharmd) which expands the pharmacist's knowledge on clinical, pharmacoeconomic, and regulatory aspects. the doctorate in pharmacy course is offered in collaboration with the university of illinois in chicago and uses a mixed-approach learning programme including theory and practical experience. netherlands the education of pharmacists in the netherlands requires a minimum of six years of university study. eu-harmonisation has led to division into three bachelor and three master years. a bachelor title is, however, not used at all professionally. the dutch consider the educational level of their current (m.sc.) degree in pharmacy to be comparable to the pharmd-title in use in the united states. before the harmonization a four-year master of science was superseded by two more years of university education preparing for pharmacy practice. to become a hospital pharmacist, a four-year residency program has to be completed after that. portugal in portugal, pharmacy studies consists of four years of basic school, five years of preparatory school, and three years of high school, where afterward the student is submitted to nationwide exams. the process is the same for every degree the student chooses, from medicine to engineering. the student takes the master's degree in pharmaceutical sciences (equivalent to the pharmd program) in one of the nine pharmacy faculties with their own respective numerous clausus which comprises a six-year rigorous study (5 with the uniformities in eu teaching). finished the degree, the academic title of doctor of pharmacy is issued. the graduate can then enroll in the regulatory institution for the pharmacist profession in portugal called, "portuguese pharmaceutical society" or, in portuguese, "ordem dos farmacêuticos". after the enrollment, the title of pharmacist is issued. afterwards, pharmacists can start their career in a limitless number of professional areas that range from community pharmacies, drug development, fundamental or applied research, biotechnology to areas such as forensic sciences, toxicology, regulatory affairs, clinical analysis, law enforcement (scientific police), bromatology, drug marketing, regulatory authorities, university teachers, etc. the pharmacists can also choose to become a specialist in one of following areas of activity: pharmaceutical industry, regulatory affairs, hospital pharmacy, and clinical analysis. each specialization requires an additional 5-year professional study program guided by a tutor in the respective area of knowledge. this training includes regular evaluations by the professional competent authority ("ordem dos farmacêuticos"), which also requires an exam at the end of the 5-year training. after the success at the exam, the pharmacist then becomes a specialist in its area of expertise. slovenia faculty of pharmacy in ljubljana provides reformed or new bologna study programme. for the study of pharmacy the 5+0 uniform master's studies lasts 5 years - first and second cycles combined. students have 5 months of pharmacy practice in their last yeat at the university. after completing master's studies it is possible to contitune and finish one of specialist study programmes. those are intended for the candidates who have finished the university pharmacy programme and passed the professional examination or uniform master's study programme pharmacy. those programmes are: medicinals design, medicinals testing, clinical pharmacy, pharmacognosy, community pharmacy or clinical chemistry (medical biochemistry). all specialist study programmes, except for clinical chemistry, include training which lasts 36 months and theoretical part (1st year) in form of lectures and exams within the bologna third cycle studies, and experimental part in suitable departments of pharmaceutical industry, pharmacies, institutions and faculties. after successful completion of the programme, the student must write the specialist thesis and pass the specialist exam in order to be granted the academic title for the appropriate field. specialist study programme clinical chemistry includes training which lasts 48 months in form of lectures within the bologna third cycle studies, and professional part in the laboratories of specialization institutions authorized by the ministry of health. it is concluded by the specialist (theoretical and practical) exam. the gained title specialist of medicinal biochemistry is equivalent to (and formally and legally acknowledged as) the title european specialist of clinical chemistry and laboratory diagnostics. spain in spain, pharmacy studies can be accessed after completing five and a half years of university college (with at least 6 months of initiation to pharmacy practice). the licenciado en farmacia or grado en farmacia (equivalent to the pharmd-program) english degree is the only title that allows holders to practice the profession of pharmacy in spain. to become a hospital pharmacist a person with a degree in pharmacy must enter a selection process (national selection process called fir) to initiate a pharmacy residency period of professional training during 4 additional years (including one full year of advanced clinical practice in different medical wards). apart from the professional degrees, like with any other university studies, pharmacy degree allows holders to pursue an academic career by enrolling master's and doctorates programs (msc and phd) in several scientific fields (pharmaceutical technology, pharmacokinetics and biopharmaceutics, biomedical sciences, cosmetics & pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and organic chemistry, physical chemistry, food sciences, pharmacology, toxicology, public health, etc.). master's usually lasts 1–2 years and phd no less than 4 years. in summary, in spain an entry-level pharmacy degree lasts 5 years and a hospital pharmacy specialist needs 9.5 years of education and/or training. hospital pharmacy residents are paid during their residency period. there are other residencies available to pharmacists such as medical biology, clinical biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, radiopharmacy, pharmaceutical analysis, and industrial pharmacy lasting from 2 to 4 years. pharmacists usually work as retail pharmacists (private practice), hospital pharmacists, primary care pharmacists, medical biologists, scientists (private and public biomedical research institutions), as university professors (pharmacy, medicine, biology, food sciences, biochemistry, veterinary, nursing, etc.), and as technicians and executive managers (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and governmental institutions). sweden in sweden, pharmacy doctors could be considered equal to those who have earned a master's degree in pharmacy and are actively licensed to work as a pharmacist. the master's program typically takes students 5 years to complete, which prepares students for careers in pharmacies, the pharmaceutical industry, and, more recently, clinical pharmacy. students who have earned their master's degree in pharmacy can also choose to further specialize themselves with a wide range of ph.d programs, which are offered at universities in uppsala, gothenburg, and umeå a special license which is issued by socialstyrelsen is required in order to work in healthcare as a pharmacist (i.e. as a pharmacy clerk or a clinical pharmacist), sweden does not refer to licensed and practicing pharmacists as pharmacy doctors. instead, pharmacists refer to themselves as apotekare or farmaceuter, which is an informal academic title referring to their master's degree in pharmacy. there is a severe shortage of pharmacists in sweden. in 2018, the shortage was the highest ever. switzerland the education of pharmacists in switzerland also follows the eu-harmonisation with three bachelor and two master years. a bachelor title is, however, not used at all professionally. a federal exam is required in addition to the master's degree in order to practice. switzerland considers the educational level of their current (m.sc.) degree in pharmacy and the federal degree to be equivalent to the pharm.d. title used in the united states. the pharmacists have indeed a research and a clinical experience during their degree. middle east iraq founded in 1936, the college of pharmacy at the university of baghdad, had a graduating class of 12 students. by 1993, the number of disciplines offered in the college expanded to the chemistry pharmaceuticals, pharmacists, drugs and medicinal plants, and drugs and toxins, and the laboratory sciences, clinical, and clinical pharmacy. the period of study at the college is 5 years. the college follows the seasonal semester system where the academic year is made up of 2 independent semester courses. this system is accredited by the mohe for all pharmacy colleges in iraq. a ministry of higher education decree established the faculty of pharmacy at knowledge university in 2020 in erbil city of kurdistan region of iraq. it is five years under-graduate program that is designed according to the bologna system which includes updated courses in pharmaceutics, clinical pharmacy, clinical pharmacokinetics, therapeutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacology, pharmacoeconomic, toxicology, pharmacognosy, clinical microbiology, clinical biochemistry, physiology, pathology, histology, human biology, genetics, immunology, anatomy, hospital training, and quality control,