Agricultural university of Athens Additional information

Conditions of enrolment for Exchange students

The Agricultural University of Athens has established a protocol for the enrolment of students in exchange programmes. This covers the following items.

Students must originate from Canada, or from one of the EU member states, or from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, or from the 10 candidate countries.
Students must successfully have completed the first year of their university studies
Students must register with Faculties which have signed a mutual agreement for the exchange of a specific number of students for the duration of each academic year.
The duration of the exchange must not be less than three months and must not be more than 12 months.
Visiting students have the same rights and obligations as the students of the host university.

For students who wish to apply to the Department of Applied Hydrobiology, students wishing to follow course units within the undergraduate programme should apply at least ONE MONTH prior to the commencement of the term, i.e., by 20th August for the Autumn Semester and 20th December for the Spring Semester. Students wishing to carry out a project as part of their degree requirements must apply at least one month before the intended starting date.

The application must contain the following:

a completed application form approved by the home university
a passport size photograph
proof of previous study ( e.g., photocopy of the student card)
a certified record of courses taken and grades obtained prior to the exchange
copies of certificates indicating knowledge of foreign languages.

All courses are taught in Greek, apart from project work, which can be undertaken in English. However, some knowledge of the Greek language is useful, though a language test is not required.

A brief overview of the student's previous higher education and a short CV (along the lines of the European CV) should be attached.

Completed application forms should be sent to
EU/CANADA Admissions Section
Career Services
European Programmes
Agricultural University of Athens, 75, Iera Odos
11855 Athens
Greece
Fax: + 30 210 529 4884
Tel: + 30 210 5294814

Student Identity Card

Receipt of an application will be acknowledged and, if the application is accepted, the student will receive a letter of acceptance which will enable s/he to apply for a visa, if this is necessary.

The student must enrol/register in person at the Career Services Office. The following documents are needed.

Valid passport
Letter of acceptance
Proof of student health insurance. Students coming from countries outside the EU must make arrangements for health insurance before arriving in Greece. It is the responsibility of the university of origin (or this can be done privately) to provide insurance cover to students for the period of their stay with the AUA. After enrolment/registration, students will receive a card for use at the university restaurant and all means of transportation.

There are no student fees, either for undergraduate courses or for students services. However, students must buy a card in order to make photocopies.

Accommodation

The AUA does not have a Hall of residence. Students usually stay at a student hotel or rent a room in Athens, frequently sharing as this is more economical. The University assists students to find accommodation, but since this is in considerable demand, students should inform the University of their needs as early as possible.

A short historical note concerning the University.

The Agricultural University of Athens (A.U.A.) has its origin in the Triantafillidion Agricultural School of Athens. Its history as a University dates from 14/1/1920, when by act of parliament, the School was raised to University status under the title of the Athens College of Agriculture. The College was established on the National Rouf Land in Votanikos where there had been one of the three, three-year study, Agricultural Schools since 1888. The University still continues to occupy this site today.

With the establishment of the College, Greece gained its first Institution of Tertiary Education (I.T.E.) in the field of the Agricultural Science, and the third I.H.E., in order of establishment, after the National Capodistrian University and the National Technical University of Athens.

The main targets of this Institution were the teaching of the Agricultural Science, the professional training of scientific members and research-study of relevant issues to enable the formation of a Greek Agricultural Science. There was at that time no doubt that research in the agricultural science could no longer be transferred as a whole from other countries and that experimentation and research under the local circumstances in Greece was needed.

There was a real need to improve and develop Greek agriculture at that time and a huge scientific and technological development occurred in the inter-war period. This continued to be the case to an even greater extent after World War II. These needs were addressed largely through the establishment of new Laboratories, the construction of new buildings and the purchase of modern laboratory equipment. Despite these changes in the programme of study and management, the College continued to provide the same courses for all the students of the first four years of study. However, since 1948, in the fifth year there is a separation into special department-courses (five at first and later on seven).

In 1972, a new educational series of basic courses in the first three years was established, followed by two years of specialization courses into basic sectors of the Agricultural Science.

In 1989 the Agricultural School of Athens changed its title to the Athens University of Agriculture, while at the same time seven independent Departments were established, six supplying a degree, with the Department of Science providing compulsory preparation courses for all the other Departments during the first year of study. By the law 1892/90, the title of the degree awarded by the University was changed from, Degree in Agricultural Studies to Agronomist Diploma. On 20/6/95 the Athens University of Agriculture changed its title to the Agricultural University of Athens to indicate the wider scope of studies it now encompassed, beyond the strict confines of agriculture.

During its more than seventy years of existence this of tertiary Agricultural Education Institution has far exceeded the hopes that the State placed on it at its inception for Greek Agricultural Science. It has functioned as the major catalyst for the updating and development of Greek Agriculture in all its forms. The rise in the standard of living of the farming population as well as the self-sufficiency in food and other basic agricultural products has been a direct result of the scientific and technological self-reliance of the country.

Thus the Greek State has managed, despite the limited means at its disposal, to confront the enormous problems of the country during the period of the existence of the University. For instance, the Greek State has been involved in several wars ( the First and Second World Wars and the Civil War 1945-48), the huge influx of the dispossessed Greek refugees from Asia Minor after the Catastrophe of 1922, which doubled the population of the struggling country. Greek agriculture has been transformed despite these factors into the invaluable resource to the National Economy of the Greek State. Presently when so much effort is concentrated on the improvement of quality and the ecological impact of agricultural production on the countryside, Agricultural Education and Research continue to fulfill a crucial role in the economy and the environment of the country.

Description of the Hydrobiology course

While on the one hand its 5-year course is described as a first degree, the two final years with specialised aquaculture courses and 4-month research project are now recognised as an M.Sc. Animal Science specialisations (Physiology, Anatomy, Genetics and Breeding, Nutrition, Pathology, etc) do not include aquaculture components until the 7th semester, when three consecutive series of courses under the umbrella title of "Applied Hydrology" are given, covering Applied Hydrobiology, Limnology, Oceanography, Principles of Aquaculture, Production Systems, Engineering Principles, Cage selection and operation, Farm management (plant: phytoplankton to seaweeds; and animal: zooplankton to farmed fish, shellfish and crustacean species) and Fish Diseases. Course and laboratory work in later semesters include fish and shellfish physiology and anatomy, genetics, reproduction, and biotechnology, with a compulsory 4 - month research techniques (closed systems) component. The whole of the final semester is spent on a research project and thesis. A 4-month practical training or work placement is an obligatory part of the course. Performance is assessed by means of written examination, accounting for 80%, laboratory work (15%) and final project/thesis (which must be defended orally before a panel of three professors and is worth 5% of the overall mark). Final award is expressed on a numerical scale from 10 - 0.

Disclaimer