The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (simply University of Athens) is the oldest university in Southeast Europe founded in 1837. The University of Athens is the largest institution of higher learning in Greece and among the largest universities in Europe with about 80,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Departments of the University are grouped in 6 large acedemic units, the Schools, though some Departments for historical or practical reasons are not part of any School.
International students
International students are welcome in the University of Athens and, in recent years, the number of non-Greek nationals studying in the various Faculties has increased. Some of them are enrolled as full-time students in undergraduate or postgraduate programmes, while others are exchange students, studying at the University of Athens for one or two semesters.
ERASMUS Programme
The University of Athens has established approximately 550 bilateral agreements with more than 320 European Higher Education Institutions, with which it exchanges annually an increasing number of students. Indicatively, the number of the incoming students is more than 3.200 and the number of the outgoing students is more than 7.000, up to now.
Requirements for participation
* Exchange students are being accepted only from partner Universities with which there are signed bilateral agreements in specific subject areas for the academic year. This information can be obtained by contacting the International Relations/Erasmus Office of the partner University.
* Courses at the University of Athens are normally taught in Greek. However, there are courses in other languages too, especially at the Foreign Language Faculties and the Faculty of Law which offers a specialized programme in English, French and/or German. Some postgraduate courses are also taught in other languages (mainly in English). In all other cases there are special arrangements for LLP/Erasmus students, mainly the assignment of essays in English with the use of English bibliography.
As not all incoming students have a sufficient knowledge of Greek at the beginning of their study, the University of Athens requires a good knowledge of English in order to communicate and function in an academic context.
Greek language courses
Greek language courses, which will enable exchange students to understand and read the Greek language, are offered free to Erasmus students who are registered at the University of Athens, by the Modern Greek Language Teaching Centre.
Information concerning courses and other academic matters can be obtained by the web site of the University Faculties or by contacting the academic responsible of the bilateral agreement or the responsible Professors for the Erasmus students in the Faculties.
Scholarships
The State Scholarships Foundation (I.K.Y.) grants scholarships for postgraduate or postdoctoral studies in Greece to all foreigners as well as scholarships for the attendance of the Modern Greek Language and Culture.
The programmes for postgraduate/postdoctoral studies are announced around January / February of each year and the scholarships are offered to nationals (foreigners or of Greek origin) from:
a) THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES, ICELAND, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, U.S.A., CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and JAPAN,
b) BALKANS, CENTRAL or EASTERN EUROPE (NON MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION), ASIA, AFRICA and LATIN AMERICA.
Address
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
European and International Relations Department
Erasmus Office
30 Panepistimiou (El. Venizelou) street GR-
106 79 Athens
Fax No: +30-210-3689720
E-mail address: socrates@interel.uoa.gr
Official website
