Pharmacy vs Biotechnology

Q: Pharmacy or Biotechnology? Or both?

Our faculty is registered as the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology and that makes it special as it’s the only university that has this unique combination unlike other universities who offer either Pharmacy or Biotechnology as separate courses, in addition a major in biotechnology as a separate field is also offered at the GUC.

(Please check the diagram that shows the study plan)

Q: So what is the difference?

If you choose the Pharmacy and Biotechnology track you study the Egyptian and German equivalent (Approbationsordung) pharmacy curriculum together with the Biotechnology courses. In Biotechnology part you study courses that are related to the medicinal and pharmaceutical field. But, in the Biotechnology track you are introduced into a wider variety of Biotechnology courses.

Q: Can I obtain two bachelors of Pharmacy & Biotechnology and Biotechnology?

According to the Egyptian law you can not obtain more than one bachelor degree so that makes it a “no”, but if you are a Pharmacy student you can take biotechnology elective courses and vice versa and that all counts for your future studies and career.

Accreditation

Q: So, where do we get our accreditation from?

Pharmacy and Biotechnology graduates are accredited from the Egyptian Ministry of higher education and upon graduation they will be able to get their licensing from the syndicate of Pharmacists.

Due to the fact that the students follow the German Approbationsordung, this allows them to continue their graduate studies in Germany. As for the Pahramcy practice, they need Professional State Exam in any country they go.

Q: Are students able to work in Germany or the EU after graduation?

Yes, but of course it requires a Professional State Exam. It goes only after getting the license for the country you will work in.

Q: Accreditation is not the same as licensing?

No it is not because drug dispensing rules and regulations for narcotics or so could differ from a state to another (in USA for example) so you need to get different licenses for different states.

Q: What about the countries requiring the PharmD. Degree?

Those countries still accept people working with bachelors and you can take few extra courses to upgrade your bachelor degree to a pharmD. Degree.

Future Opportunities

Q: Are we more like Retail, Hospital or Industrial pharmacists?

our study program is comprehensive and covers all the knowledge and skills you need to work in any of these fields. For example: community & hospital pharmacies, academic fields, research organizations, pharmaceutical industries, clinical settings, governmental regulatory agencies, forensic institutions, rug and poison centres and pharmaceutical sales and marketing.

Q: how about working as TA’s in the GUC?

The GUC graduates are the most suitable to work as TA’s in the GUC as they have the advantage of the research oriented education, the biotechnological approach and the German system (Approbationsordung) that has been followed. Accordingly, the GUC has started a junior TA program, we started with the 9th semester students and later on students from the 5th and 7th semesters will also have the chance to be junior TA’s.

Next year onwards the GUC will only employ TA’s from the GUC top ranked graduates. In Biotechnology workshops and during the summer internships in Germany the employers and organisers were so impressed with the solid background of the theory and practical knowledge of our students.

Q: What are the opportunities available for the students who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology have?

They have joined universities in Germany to do their Bachelor projects; and one of them is here in the GUC working on her project as well.

Q: Will there be any scholarships for our students to complete their studies?

Yes that’s true and some of students may have the opportunity do their post-graduate studies in Germany by scholarships offered by the DAAD.

A general advice from our Dean:

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