For the first time in the country’s history, a state-run tertiary institution will offer an undergraduate course taught entirely in the English language.

Set to be offered by the University of Athens, the first course of the rank is a four-year honours degree in the field of Archaeology, History and Literature of Ancient Greece.

Expected to be open for enrolments from September of this year, the degree is being offered in association with Thessaloniki’s International Hellenic University, which currently offers master’s degrees taught in English.

Costing €8,000 (AUD$12,750) annually, the course is aimed at international students, and is expected to make Greece an increasingly appealing and accessible destination to study.

The dean of Athens’ School of Philosophy, Eleni Karamalengou praised the new programme, dubbing it a “very important and innovative educational, scientific and cultural initiative” for Greece, a sentiment shared by rector of the University of Athens, Thanos Dimopoulos.

“Archaeology and Greek culture is the most important scientific field where we need an English-language program addressed to foreign students,” he said.

Mr Dimopoulos revealed the new curriculum will include seminars, educational activities and fields trips to locations of interest such as archaeological sites, along with opportunities for students to participate in excavations.

Greece joins a number of countries in Europe to offer undergraduate studies in English at its public universities, particularly common in the Netherlands, and Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Source: neoskosmos