Lesson 87: The Road to Master Beekeeper

Where to go from here: certification programs, clubs, and a lifetime of learning

You've reached the end of the Course Book, but not the end of learning. Beekeepers like to say that every time they open a hive, they learn something new. Many states and universities offer Master Beekeeper programs: structured, step-by-step certification that tests your knowledge and skills, recognizes your experience, and trains you to teach others. This lesson explains how these programs usually work and how to get started.

How Master Beekeeper programs work

Most programs are run by a state university's Extension or bee lab, often with the state beekeepers association. They usually have several levels, each building on the one before:

1. An entry level (often called "Certified" or "Apprentice"): the basic knowledge and skills of a competent hobby beekeeper. Usually requires about a year of beekeeping and a written and practical exam.
2. Middle levels (such as "Journeyman"): more depth, disease and pest identification, reading pesticide labels, and public service such as teaching, mentoring or helping at swarm calls.
3. "Master": able to run a sideline or commercial operation, knowledge of specialty areas, and a strong record of public service as an ambassador for bees.
4. Some programs have a highest level (such as "Master Craftsman"), comparable to graduate-level study, with research and an oral exam.

Typical requirements include years of experience, time at the previous level, written and practical exams, and a portfolio documenting public service (talks, club leadership, mentoring, youth projects, swarm and colony removals, pollinator gardens) and special skills (queen rearing, honey shows, IPM, sting first-aid training, and more).

Why take part

• Learn more, faster, with a clear path and study materials.
• Test yourself: practical exams show whether you can really light a smoker, work a hive, and recognize brood, diseases and pests.
• Become a resource: certified beekeepers are often asked to teach classes, mentor new beekeepers, and answer questions in their communities.
• Meet other beekeepers at exams, meetings and workshops.

Other ways to keep learning

• Join a local beekeeping club. Clubs hold meetings, field days, mentoring programs, and often lend equipment (like extractors). Mentoring from an experienced local beekeeper is one of the best ways to learn.
• Attend state and regional beekeeping meetings, short courses and bee schools.
• Read: Extension publications, bee journals, and classic books.
• Keep records (lesson 41). Your own notes become your best teacher.
• Share: teach a neighbor, speak at a school, help a new beekeeper through their first season.

📍 Georgia

This insert is shown to customers in Georgia.

The Georgia Master Beekeeper Program, run by the UGA Bee Program (UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), has four levels:

Level	Who it's for	Key requirements
Certified Beekeeper	A competent hobby beekeeper	At least 1 year of beekeeping; written and practical exam
Journeyman Beekeeper	Ready to move into sideline beekeeping	2 years of beekeeping, Certified for at least 1 year; written exam with an essay question and practical exam; 5 public service credits
Master Beekeeper	Able to run a sideline or commercial operation	3 years of beekeeping, Journeyman for at least 1 year; written exam (including reading research articles) and portfolio; 10 public service credits and 5 subspecialty credits
Master Craftsman Beekeeper	Comparable to graduate study in apiculture	At least 2 years as Master; research participation, communication requirements, 7 practical subspecialties, oral exam

The Certified practical exam (about 15 minutes outdoors and 15 indoors) covers skills this Course Book teaches: - parts of a beehive (lesson 17); lighting and using a smoker (lessons 21, 32) and working a hive (lesson 33); - brood stages, castes, and finding or describing the queen (lessons 6, 7, 34, 36); - telling brood, pollen and capped honey apart, and the brood nest layout (lessons 9, 10, 35); - common diseases and disorders (lessons 54–67); - common insects: honey bee worker, drone and queen, bumble bee, carpenter bee, cicada killer, European hornet and flower fly (lessons 6, 69) (flower fly new for 2026); - propolis and its functions (lesson 76); - basics of pollinator conservation (lesson 82) (new for 2026); - identifying beekeeping tools and equipment (lessons 17–22).

The official text is First Lessons in Beekeeping (2007 edition, Dadant & Sons), and the program publishes a free online study guide. UGA warns that a paid "beekeeper exam" study website is a scam not connected with the program. All official study material is free on the UGA Bee Program site.

Where to test: the Young Harris Beekeeping Institute has closed, but the program continues. Several local clubs host Certified testing, and the Georgia Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting offers Certified, Journeyman and Master testing. Check the UGA Bee Program and GBA websites for current dates and locations.

As of 2024, more than 1,000 Georgians had reached the Certified level, 45 Journeyman, 45 Master, and 5 Master Craftsman.

Our Practice Exam (after lesson 69) is built from the published Certified topics. It's a study aid, not the real exam.

What to remember

• Master Beekeeper programs have levels (Certified → Journeyman → Master → Master Craftsman or similar), each needing experience, exams, and often public service.
• They build skills, confidence and community, and turn you into a resource for others.
• Join a club, find a mentor, keep records, keep learning, and share what you know.

Quick check

1. What does the entry level of most Master Beekeeper programs usually require?
2. Name two kinds of public service that count toward higher levels.
3. What's one of the best ways for a new beekeeper to learn, besides reading?

Adapted from: UGA Bee Program, Georgia Master Beekeeper Program and Certification Levels and Related Requirements (2026); UGA Cooperative Extension, Master Beekeeper; Purdue Extension, Understanding the Honey Bee (4-H-571).

Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.