National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Established	May 3, 1837
Type	Public
Rector	Theodosis Pelegrinis
Undergraduates	>50,000
Location	Athens, Greece
Campus	Urban, Suburban
Newspaper	"To Kapodistriako"
Affiliations	C.U.M., UNIMED, UNICA, EUA, ΕΑΙΕ, Atomium Culture
Website	www.uoa.gr

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greek: Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιον Αθηνών), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837 and is the oldest institution of higher learning in the modern Greek state.

History

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was founded on May 3, 1837, and was housed in the residence of architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert, on the north slope of the Acropolis. It was the first University not only in the newly established Greek State but in all the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general.

Before it was renamed to honour Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first chief of state of independent modern Greece, the university was known as the Othonian University after King Otto and consisted of four faculties; theology, law, medicine and arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics). It had 33 professors, 52 students and 75 non-matriculated “auditors”. In November 1841, classes began in a new building designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen. The Propylaea (37°58′51″N 23°44′02″E) was designed by Hansen's younger brother, Theophil Hansen in 1859 but the building project was not completed until 1885.

A major change in the structure of the University came about in 1904, when the faculty of Arts was divided into two separate faculties: that of Arts and that of Sciences, the latter consisting of the departments of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Pharmacy. In 1919, a department of chemistry was added, and in 1922 the School of Pharmacy was renamed a Department. A further change came about when the School of Dentistry was added to the faculty of medicine.

Between 1895 and 1911, an average of one thousand new students matriculated each year, a number which increased to two thousand at the end of World War I. This resulted in the decision to introduce entrance examinations for all the faculties, beginning for the academic year 1927-28. Since 1954 the number of students admitted each year has been fixed by the Ministry of Education and Religion, by proposal of the faculties.

During the 1960s construction work began on the University Campus in the suburb of Ilissia. The Ilissia campus now houses the Schools of Philosophy, Theology and Sciences.

Faculties and departments

The University of Athens is divided into schools, faculties and departments as follows. The naming is nοt consistent in English for historical reasons, but in Greek the largest divisions are generally named “σχολές” (schools) and are divided in “τμήματα” (faculties), furthermore subdivided in “τομείς” (departments).

The Propylaea, part of the “Trilogy” of Theofil Hansen, was once the main University building and now serves as the ceremony hall and rectory.

The Faculty of Law. The building was initially built about 1930. A second branch was added in the 1960s. Extensive renovation started in 2002 and was completed by 2006.

• School of Theology
  • Faculty of Social Theology
  • Faculty of Theology
• School of Philosophy
  • Faculty of Philology
  • Faculty of History and Archaeology
  • Faculty of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology
  • Faculty of English Language and Literature
  • Faculty of French Language and Literature
  • Faculty of German Language and Literature
  • Faculty of Italian Language and Literature
  • Faculty of Spanish Language and Literature
  • Faculty of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies
  • Faculty of Slavic Studies
  • Faculty of Music Studies
  • Faculty of Theatre Studies
• School of Law, Economics and Political Sciences
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Economic Studies
  • Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration
• School of Sciences
  • Faculty of Physics
  • Faculty of Biology
  • Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment
  • Faculty of Chemistry
  • Faculty of Mathematics
  • Faculty of Informatics and Telecommunications
• Schools of Health Sciences
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Dentistry
  • Faculty of Pharmacy
  • Faculty of Nursing
• Independent faculties
  • Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science
  • Faculty of Primary Education
  • Faculty of Early Childhood Education
  • Faculty of Communication and Mass Media Studies
  • Faculty of Philosophy & History of Science

Campuses

University campus at the Ilissia campus

The Physics department building at the Ilissia campus

The main campus is at Ilissia (Zografou). There the faculties of Science, Theology and Philosophy are situated. The faculty of Life Sciences is located at Goudi and the faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science is located at Daphne. The faculties of Media, Education, Economics, Law and Public Administration are housed in various buildings near the centre of Athens, along with various administration facilities. University administration was housed initially in a historical neoclassical building near the center of Athens on Panepistimiou Street, but was relocated at the main university campus later.

Campus Location	Schools	Independent Faculties
Ilissia	School of Science
	School of Theology
	School of Philosophy
		Faculty of the Philosophy and History of Science
Goudi	School of Health Sciences
Centre of Athens	School of Law, Economics and Political Sciences
		Faculty of Communication and Mass Media Studies
		Faculty of Primary Education
		Faculty of Early Childhood Education
	Faculty of Slavic Studies
	Faculty of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies
Daphne		Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science

Research

Research in the University of Athens includes almost all research interests. Such research in the university is associated with that conducted by the hospitals and research institutes of the metropolitan area, including the National Research Center for Physical Sciences Demokritos, the National Research Foundation (EIE), the National Observatory of Athens, the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, the Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center, the Athens High Performance Computing Laboratory, the National Centre for Marine Research (NCMR) and the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA). Research conducted in the institutes of the metropolitan area of Athens accounted for more than 50% of the ISI-indexed scientific publications coming from Greece in 2004. The Department of Informatics and Telecommunications has been ranked continuously among the 100 most important research institutes in the field of Computer Science, according to Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Notable alumni

See also: List of University of Athens alumni

The University Club building, founded in 1927. The building houses the Health Services Office, the Meals Department, the University Club reading rooms, and the Students' Cultural Society (POFPA).

Politicians

• Eleftherios Venizelos.
• King Constantine II of the Hellenes.
• George Papandreou, senior.
• Konstantinos Karamanlis.
• Panayotis Kanellopoulos.
• Karolos Papoulias.

Scientists

• Gerasimos Danilatos, physicist, inventor of the ESEM.
• Fotis Kafatos, biologist.
• Michael N. Katehakis, applied mathematics and operations research.
• Evangelos Moudrianakis, biologist.
• Dimitri Nanopoulos, physicist.
• Georgios Papanikolaou, doctor, inventor of the Pap test.
• Panayotis Varotsos, physicist.
• Sophia Frangou, psychiatrist.

Poets/writers

• Giorgios Seferis, Nobel laureate (1963), poet.
• Odysseas Elytis, Nobel laureate (1979), poet.

Philosophers/Philologists

• Cornelius Castoriadis.
• Nikos Kazantzakis.
• Emmanuel Kriaras.
• Helene Ahrweiler.
• Christos Kalpakidis.

Other

• Saint Nectarios of Aegina.
• Apostolos Santas.
• George Lucas Adamopoulos, founder of the only school in the Philippines founded by Greeks, Adamson University in Manila.
• Panagiotis Pikrammenos, judge and caretaker prime minister.

See also

• Athens University Museum
• Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment (University of Athens)
• List of University of Athens alumni
• Education in Greece
• List of universities in Greece
• List of research institutes in Greece
• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
• THES - QS World University Rankings (From 2010 two separate rankings will be produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings)

External links

• University of Athens Website
• University of Athens - Maps
• Athens University Museum
• The Historical Archive of the University of Athens
• Integrated website for the History of Athens University
• 170 years of service to Greek academic and cultural life of University of Athens

• Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQAA) (Greek) (English)
  • Department of Mathematics, HQAA Final Report, 2012 (English)
  • Department of Chemistry, HQAA Final Report, 2011 (English)
  • Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, HQAA Final Report, 2011 (English)
  • Department of Geology and Geoenviromment, HQAA Final Report, 2011 (English)
  • Department of Philosophy and History of Science, HQAA Final Report, 2010 (English)
  • Department of History and Archaeology, HQAA Final Report, 2010 (English)
  • Department of French Language & Literature, HQAA Final Report, 2010 (French)
  • Department of English Language and Literature, HQAA Final Report, 2011 (English)
  • School of Dentistry, HQAA Final Report, 2010 (English)
  • Department of Nursing, HQAA Final Report, 2011 (English)

• Greek Research & Technology Network (GRNET) (Greek) (English)
• okeanos (GRNET's cloud service) (Greek) (English)

• Hellenic Universities Rectors' Synod (English) (Greek)
• Hellenic Universities Faculty Association (Greek)
• The official newspaper of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greek)