Greece

Country in Europe

Capital: Athens
Dialing code: +30
Currency: Euro
Prime minister: Alexis Tsipras
Official language: Greek

Greece is a country in southeastern Europe with thousands of islands throughout the Aegean and Ionian seas. Influential in ancient times, it's often called the cradle of Western civilization. Athens, its capital, retains landmarks including the 5th-century B.C. Acropolis citadel with the Parthenon temple. Greece is also known for its beaches, from the black sands of Santorini to the party resorts of Mykonos.
Greece is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula in South East Europe; its territory also includes several hundred islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Around 20% of the total land area is comprised of islands. Mountains and hills dominate the landscape accounting for nearly 80% of the total land area. The capital of the country is Athens. Greece has a population of 10.7 million. The official language is Greek with 98% of the population speaking it, although English and French are also widely understood.

Higher Education System

---

Greece has 18 university institutions (AEI) and 14 institutions of technological education (TEI). Technological Educational Institutions (TEI) form part of the higher education system just as the universities, but belong to the non-university sector. There are also Military Academies.

University level first stage: Proptychiakes Spoudes (undergraduate level studies) Undergraduate degree programs at universities normally last four years (eight semesters) and lead to a Ptychio (Bachelor) in the relevant field.

University level second stage: Metaptychiakes Spoudes (postgraduate studies) The first level of postgraduate studies lasts a minimum of two years (four semesters) and leads to a Metaptychiako Díploma Exidíkefsis (Postgraduate Diploma of Specialization, equivalent to Master’s degree). This study program may be taken and completed in a University or research institute outside Greece. The degree, however, is awarded in Greece.

University level third stage: Didaktorikes Metaptychiakes Spoudes (doctoral studies) The doctoral degree (Didaktoriko) is conferred after public defense of a thesis. The research must be original and show advances in research and science. A Master’s degree is required by most universities for attending doctoral studies. A doctoral thesis requires at least three years’ study from the time the student enrolled in the doctoral study course.

National Technical University of Athens

---

The National Technical University of Athens is Greece’s highest-ranked institution, ranked joint 395th in 2016/17. Established in 1837, the National Technical University of Athens (or NTUA) is one of the oldest universities in Greece. Today it has around 10,000 students, most studying five-year programs that lead to a diploma equivalent to a Master in Engineering or Science. Its nine academic schools (faculties) cover a range of engineering disciplines, as well as architecture and applied mathematics and physics. Teaching is in Greek, but students attending as part of the Erasmus exchange program complete projects in English. NTUA has several campuses, all located in the lively and historic Greek capital, Athens.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

---

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest university in Greece, and one of the largest in southeast Europe. Its large main campus is located in the center of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, and a popular destination for visitors to the country. Established in 1925, the institution is named for the famed philosopher Aristotle, who was born close to the city, and is variously referred to as Aristotle University, the University of Thessaloniki or AUTH. It offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level across a broad spectrum of subjects, with most courses taught in Greek. In the QS World University Rankings 2016/17, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is ranked 491-500 in the world.

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

---

Also ranked among the world’s top 700 universities is the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Usually shortened just to “the University of Athens”, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was established in 1837, making it the oldest among universities in Greece. It has around 65,000 students enrolled, offering programs across a diverse range of subjects, including law, languages, health sciences, philosophy, political science and natural sciences. The university has four main campuses, each in a different neighborhood of Athens.

University of Crete

---

The fourth Greek representative in the QS World University Rankings is the University of Crete, ranked 651-700 in the world. The university’s two campuses are both on the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, Crete: one is in Heraklion, the administrative capital of Crete, and one in Rethymno, which is an ancient town dating back to the Minoan civilization. Established in 1973, the University of Crete has developed quickly, and has around 18,500 students enrolled across its five faculties. It participates in various educational and exchange programs, including Erasmus, Lingua, Tempus and others, and has numerous partner universities across the world.

The other two universities in Greece currently included in the QS World University Rankings are the University of Patras and Athens University of Economics and Business.