Greece getting its first English undergrad program
Higher education in Greece is entering a new era with the introduction of the country’s first English-taught four-year undergraduate program at a state university, which will be organized by the University of Athens and the International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.
The program will be dedicated to the study of the country’s greatest assets – archaeology, history, the Greek language and literature – and the aim is to attract students from beyond the European Union.
The BA Program in the Archaeology, History and Literature of Ancient Greece will be offered as of the next academic year at Athens University’s School of Philosophy. It will run for eight semesters over four years and be equal to all other bachelor’s degrees in Greece and elsewhere. Classes will be specially designed, while the professors will include Philosophy School educators, as well as distinguished academics from other institutions. The curriculum will also include seminars, educational activities and fields trips to archaeological sites and other locations of interest, as well as student participation in excavations.
The program will take up to 100 students a year, with annual tuition fees set at 8,000 euros.
The participation of the International Hellenic University is also considered significant as it is the first time this institution will branch into an English-taught bachelor’s degree; it currently offers master’s degrees in English.
“Archaeology and Greek culture is the most important scientific field where we need an English-language program addressed to foreign students,” Athens University Rector Thanos Dimopoulos told Kathimerini.
“The program is a very important and innovative educational, scientific and cultural initiative for this country,” adds Athens School of Philosophy Dean Eleni Karamalengou. “The core of the program was designed by exceptional scientists from our school… and we look forward to a constructive collaboration with the International Hellenic University.”
The program will soon be presented to the embassies of China, the United States and India, among others, while it is also expected to attract interest from other universities in Greece with a view to designing similar degrees.
