Study aim: To evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with petrichor aroma containing geosmin on exam anxiety and academic performance in pharmacy students Design: A double blinded randomized controlled clinical trial with parallel groups. Participants are allocated to intervention or control groups using block randomization based on a computer generated sequence and sealed opaque envelopes. The sample size is 64 patients in each groups. Settings and conduct: The trial will be conducted at the School of Pharmacy of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences during the pharmacotherapy course examination. After eligibility screening and informed consent, participants are randomly assigned to the study groups. Aromatherapy or placebo is administered before the exam. Exam anxiety questionnaires are completed and exam scores are obtained from the education office. Participants and outcome assessors are blinded. Participants/Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Participants are pharmacy students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences; age 20 to 40 years; scheduled to take the pharmacotherapy course exam in the current semester. Non inclusion criteria include recent use of anxiolytics, acute respiratory illness, severe fragrance allergy, unstable medical conditions, or unwillingness to participate. Intervention groups: Participants in the intervention group receive an aromatherapy solution containing petrichor aroma with geosmin through inhalation shortly before the exam. The control group receives a placebo solution consisting of sterile distilled water without geosmin using the same procedure and duration. The containers and procedures are identical in both groups. Main outcome variables: Change in exam anxiety severity based on a standardized anxiety questionnaire score before and immediately prior to the exam; pharmacotherapy course exam score as a measure of academic performance.