National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

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National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens logo.png
Seal of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Latin: Universitas Atheniensis
TypePublic
Higher education institution
Established3 May 1837
RectorMeletios–Athanassios Dimopoulos
Academic staff
1,964
Administrative staff
1,316
Students105,000 (2015)[1]
Location
Zografou
,
Greece

37°58′06″N 23°46′43″E / 37.968198°N 23.778684°E / 37.968198; 23.778684Coordinates: 37°58′06″N 23°46′43″E / 37.968198°N 23.778684°E / 37.968198; 23.778684
CampusUrban, suburban
NewspaperTo Kapodistriako
ColoursBlue and White         
WebsiteOfficial website ‹See Tfd›(in English)
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens new logo.svg

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; Greek: Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón),[a] usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Zografou, Athens, Greece.[1][2]

It has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837 and is the oldest higher education institution of the modern Greek state and the first contemporary university in the Eastern Mediterranean. Today it is one of the largest universities by enrollment in Europe, with over 100,000 registered students.[2][3]

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is an integral part of the modern Greek academic and intellectual tradition.[4][5][6]

History[edit]

Founding and expansion[edit]

The 19th-century University of Athens historic building designed by Christian Hansen, as seen in 2014. It was once the only University building but now serves as a ceremony hall and rectory.
King Otto of Greece (Όθων) was the founder of the University of Athens.

The University of Athens was founded on May 3, 1837, by King Otto of Greece (in Greek, Othon) and was named in his honour Othonian University (Οθώνειον Πανεπιστήμιον). It was the first university in the liberated Greek state and in the surrounding area of Southeast Europe as well, it was also the second academic institution after the Ionian Academy. This fledgling university consisted of four faculties; Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics). During its first year of operation, the institution was staffed by 33 professors, while courses were attended by 52 students and 75 non-matriculated "auditors".

It was first housed in the residence of architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert, on the north slope of the Acropolis, in Plaka, which now houses the Museum of the University. In November 1841 the university relocated on the Central Building of the University of Athens, a building designed by Danish architect Christian Hansen, he followed a neoclassical approach, "combining the monument's magnificence with a human scale simplicity" and gave the building its H-shape.[7] The building was decorated by painter Carl Rahl, forming the famous "architectural trilogy of Athens", together with the building of the National Library of Greece (left of the university) and the building of the Athens Academy (right of the university). Construction began in 1839 in a location to the north of the Acropolis, its front wing, also known as the Propylaea, was completed in 1842–1843. The rest of the wings' construction, that was supervised at first by Greek architect Lysandros Kaftantzoglou and later by his colleague Anastasios Theofilas, was completed in 1864; the building is nowadays part of what is called the "Athenian Neoclassical Trilogy".[7]

The historian and professor Konstantinos Paparrigopoulos, founder of the modern greek historiography, was elected Rector of the University in 1872.

The Othonian University was renamed to National University (Εθνικόν Πανεπιστήμιον) in 1862, following events that forced King Otto to leave the country. It was later renamed to "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens" to honour Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of the independent modern Greek state.

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 (Σχολή Τεχνών) and that of Sciences (Σχολή Επιστημών), 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.

Statue of the first Governor of Greece, Conte Ioannis Kapodistrias, whose name has been given to the University in 1932, after the unification of the Kapodistrias University (theoretical schools) and the National University (scientific schools).

Between 1895 and 1911, an average of 1,000 new students matriculated each year, a number which increased to 2,000 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.

Modern history[edit]

From 1911 until 1932 the university was separated into the Kapodistrian University (the humanities departments; named after Ioannis Kapodistrias) and the National University (the science departments). In 1932, the two separate legal entities were merged into the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

During the 1960s construction work began on the University Campus in the suburb of Ilissia, which houses the Schools of Philosophy, Theology and Sciences.[8]

In 2013, the University Senate made the decision to suspend all operations in the wake of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs cutting 1,655 administrative jobs from universities around the country. In a statement, the University Senate said that "any educational, research and administrative operation of the University of Athens is objectively impossible".[9][10]

Faculties and departments[edit]

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" (departments), furthermore subdivided in "τομείς" (faculties).[11]

The Faculty of Law. The building was initially built about 1930. A second branch was added in the 1960s. Extensive renovation began in 2002 and was completed by 2006.[12]
Schools Departments
School of Philosophy[13]
School of Economics and Political Sciences
School of Health Sciences
School of Science[14]
School of Education
School of Law
  • Department of Law
School of Theology
School of Physical Education and Sport Science

Academic evaluation[edit]

In 2015 the external evaluation of the institution cited University of Athens as Worthy of merit.[15]

An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities will be conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQAA) in the following years.[16]

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).[17][18]
  • School of Theology
    • Department of Theology (2013)[19]
    • Department of Social Theology (2013)[20]
  • School of Philosophy
    • Department of History and Archaeology (2010)[21]
    • Department of Philology (2013)[22]
    • Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology (2013)[23]
    • Department of English Language and Literature (2011)[24]
    • Department of French Language and Literature (2010)[25]
    • Department of German Language and Literature (2014)[26]
    • Department of Spanish Language and Literature (2013)[27]
    • Department of Italian Language and Literature (2014)[28]
    • Department of Theatre Studies (2014)[29]
    • The reading rooms in the University Club, Ippokratous Street.
      Department of Music Studies (2014)[30]
  • School of Law
    • Department of Law (2013)[31]
  • School of Sciences
    • Department of Mathematics (2012)[32]
    • Department of Physics (2013)[33]
    • Department of Chemistry (2012)[34]
    • Department of Biology (2013)[35]
    • Department of Geology and Geoenvironment (2012)[36]
    • Department of Informatics and Telecommunications (2011)[37]
    • The Athens University Museum in Plaka.
      Department of Methodology, History and Theory of Science (2010)[38]
  • School of Health Sciences
    • Department of Medicine (2014)[39]
    • Department of Medicine – Postgraduate Programmes (2014)[40]
    • Department of Pharmacy (2013)[41]
    • Department of Dentistry (2010)[42]
    • Department of Nursing (2011)[43]
  • School of Economics and Political Sciences
    • Department of Economics (2014)[44]
    • Department of Political Science and Public Administration (2014)[45]
    • Department of Communication and Mass Media (2014)[46]
    • Department of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies (2014)[47]
  • School of Education
    • Department of Primary Education (2013)[48]
    • Department of Early Childhood Education (2013)[49]
    • Department of Physical Education and Sports Science (2013)[50]


Rankings[edit]

The University of Athens is considered one of the leading universities of Greece, a leading european regional university and is present in the top universities annual lists.

In 2019 the University was situated in the 26th place worldwide in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities by citations in Top Google Scholar Profiles.[51] Generally it is listed from that annual list in the 217th place;[52] the USNWR lists it 279th in the world and 1st in Greece.[53] It is ranked 501st-600th in The Times Higher Education (THE) annual list.[4] Furthermore, according to the QS World University Rankings annual list it is listed 651st-700th with very high research output;[54] the Shanghai Ranking (Academic Ranking of World Universities) ranked in 2018 the University 301st-400th globally.[55] In 2018 it was listed by the CWTS Leiden Ranking in the 232nd place globally with great publication output in the Biomedical and Health Sciences field.[56]

In the field of Pharmacy and Pharmacology it is listed 101st-150th in the world by QS and 94th by USNWR;[57][58] the last situates the University 114th in Immunology and 166th in Clinical Medicine.[59][60]

Campuses[edit]

Ano Ilisia University campus
The Physics department building at the Ano Ilisia campus

The main campus is at Ano Ilisia (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 Dafni. 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
Ano Ilisia School of Science
School of Theology
School of Philosophy
Faculty of Methodology, History and Theory 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
Dafni Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science

Research[edit]

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.[61][62][63] 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).[6]

Notable alumni[edit]

See also: List of University of Athens alumni

Throughout its history, a sizeable number of University of Athens alumni have become notable in many varied fields, both academic and otherwise. Moreover, 2 Nobel prize-winners have studied or taught at Athens, with both their prizes being in Literature.

Politics[edit]

Fifteen Greek prime ministers and three Greek presidents (Konstantinos Karamanlis served as both) have studied at the University of Athens, including Charilaos Trikoupis, Eleftherios Venizelos, Georgios Papandreou, Andreas Papandreou, Konstantinos Karamanlis, Karolos Papoulias, and most recently interim prime minister Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou. Also, Constantine II, the last monarch of Greece, and Nicos Anastasiades, the current president of Cyprus, attended the university.

The University of Athens has also been home to a large number of other politicians, who were primarily Greek or Cypriot, such as Dora Bakoyannis, Kyriakos Mavronikolas, Georgios Alogoskoufis and Fofi Gennimata.

Science[edit]

Literature and philosophy[edit]

Religion[edit]

Other[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Labelled and stylized in new logos as National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Internal Evaluation Report 2015" (PDF). modip.uoa.gr. 2015-06-01.
  2. ^ a b "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Internal Evaluation Report 2015" (in Greek). modip.uoa.gr. 2015-06-01.
  3. ^ "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Facts and Figures (A Self-Portrait)" (PDF). NKUA.
  4. ^ a b "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - THE World University Rankings-2019". Times Higher Education (THE). 2019-03-04.
  5. ^ "QS World University Rankings - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens". QS World University Rankings. 2017-09-01.
  6. ^ a b "Academic Ranking of World Universities - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens". ARWU Rankings. 2017-09-01.
  7. ^ a b "University of Athens – Archaeology of the City of Athens". National Hellenic Research Foundation (In Greek). Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ "History and Perspectives". uoa.gr. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  9. ^ Korologou, Maria (September 23, 2013). "University of Athens, NTUA Suspend Operations". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  10. ^ Helena Smith (September 25, 2013). "Austerity measures push Greek universities to point of collapse". The Guardian.
  11. ^ "Schools and Faculties". www.uoa.gr. Archived from the original on 2018-01-12.
  12. ^ "Tο υπερσύγχρονο κτήριο της Nομικής Σχολής" (in Greek). kapodistriako.uoa.gr. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  13. ^ "University of Athens, School of Philosophy". University of Athens.
  14. ^ "University of Athens, School of Science". University of Athens.
  15. ^ "University of Athens - External Evaluation Report" (PDF). www.adip.gr. 2015."The EEC’s assessment is that UOA is worthy of merit. We conclude by pointing out that the recommendations indicated in our report are intended as ways to improve an already excellent Institution; the culture of excellence in research and teaching that the Institution has established for itself was appreciated by every member of the EEC."
  16. ^ "Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency". Adip.gr. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  17. ^ Πανεπιστημιακή Λέσχη 80 χρόνια προσφοράς στους φοιτητές. To Kapodistriako (in Greek). kapodistriako.uoa.gr. 2002-04-15. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  18. ^ "Facilities & Student Life". Uoa.gr. Archived from the original on 2010-02-24. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  19. ^ "Final Report – Department of Theology, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  20. ^ "Final Report – Department of Social Theology, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  21. ^ "Final Report – Department of History and Archaeology, NKUA, 2010" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  22. ^ "Final Report – Department of Philology, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  23. ^ "Final Report – Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  24. ^ "Final Report – Department of English Language and Literature, NKUA, 2011" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  25. ^ "Final Report – Department of French Language and Literature, NKUA, 2010" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  26. ^ "Final Report – Department of German Language and Literature, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  27. ^ "Final Report – Department of Spanish Language and Literature, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  28. ^ "Final Report – Department of Italian Language and Literature, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  29. ^ "Final Report – Department of Theatre Studies, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  30. ^ "Final Report – Department of Music Studies, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  31. ^ "Final Report – Department of Law, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  32. ^ "Final Report – Department of Mathematics, NKUA, 2012" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  33. ^ "Final Report – Department of Physics, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  34. ^ "Final Report – Department of Chemistry, NKUA, 2012" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  35. ^ "Final Report – Department of Biology, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  36. ^ "Final Report – Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, NKUA, 2012" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  37. ^ "Final Report – Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, NKUA, 2011" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  38. ^ "Final Report – Department of Methodology, History and Theory of Science, NKUA, 2010" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  39. ^ "Final Report – Department of Medicine, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  40. ^ "Final Report – Department of Medicine – Postgraduate Programmes, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  41. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Pharmacy, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  42. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Dentistry, NKUA, 2010" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  43. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Nursing, NKUA, 2011" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  44. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Economics, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  45. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Political Science and Public Administration, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  46. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Communication and Mass Media, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  47. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies, NKUA, 2014" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  48. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Primary Education, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  49. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Early Childhood Education, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  50. ^ "HQAA Final Report – Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, NKUA, 2013" (PDF). Adip.gr. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  51. ^ "TRANSPARENT RANKING: Top Universities by Citations in Top Google Scholar profiles | Ranking Web of Universities: More than 28000 institutions ranked". www.webometrics.info. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  52. ^ "World | Ranking Web of Universities: More than 28000 institutions ranked". www.webometrics.info. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  53. ^ "Best Global Universities in Greece". Retrieved 04-03-2019. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  54. ^ "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens". Top Universities. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  55. ^ "ARWU World University Rankings 2018 | Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018 | Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2018". www.shanghairanking.com. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  56. ^ Studies (CWTS), Centre for Science and Technology. "CWTS Leiden Ranking". CWTS Leiden Ranking. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  57. ^ "National and Kapodistrian University of Athens". Top Universities. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  58. ^ "National and Kapodistrias University-Pharmacology and Toxicology World Excellence List".
  59. ^ "Immunology annual list".
  60. ^ "Clinical Medicine Ranking".
  61. ^ "Greek Scientific Publications 2000-2014 (Web of Science)" (in Greek). Ekt.gr.
  62. ^ "Greek Scientific Publications 1998-2012 (Web of Science)". www.ekt.gr.
  63. ^ "Greek Scientific Publications 2000-2012 (Scopus)" (in Greek). www.ekt.gr.
  64. ^ "Home | John Ioannidis | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health". Hsph.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  65. ^ "Nobelprize.org". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  66. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1979". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2015-01-29.

External links[edit]
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