One of the most famous British universities, that of York, is expected to apply to have a tertiary education branch in Greece, the university’s rector and president, Charlie Jeffery, has announced.

“I welcome the Greek government’s decision to support the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Greece. I am pleased to announce that the University of York will apply for the establishment of its European branch, CITY, in Thessaloniki and Athens, with the aim of contributing to the further development of higher education and the establishment of Greece as an international centre of education,” said Mr Jeffery.

As is well known, the public British University of York is consistently ranked among the top universities in the UK, Europe and the world, which is confirmed by the most recent Times Higher Education 2025 rankings, ranking York 146th in the world. It is also a member of the Russell Group’s most distinguished network of 24 top UK research universities, and has been recognised for quality in research (Top 10, REF 2021) and awarded the Gold TEF (Gold TEF, 2023) for quality in teaching by UK official bodies.

With this decision, York will upgrade its current partnership in Greece with CITY College, based in Thessaloniki, Greece, which already has students and graduates from more than 60 countries. Specifically, CITY will become the European Branch of York with the name “University of York Europe Campus, CITY U.L.E”, and will operate as a Legal Entity of University Education with headquarters and facilities in Thessaloniki, but also with a new branch in Athens.

In its initial phase, according to an announcement, York will offer undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Thessaloniki with three schools, namely the School of Business (Business – Business Studies), School of Science (Science – Departments of Computer Science and Psychology) and School of Law and Humanities (Law & Humanities – Departments of Law and Humanities), while in the context of its strategic expansion in Athens it will offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Computer Science.

It should be noted that in view of this collaboration, preparatory work has already been done so that from the next academic year York will also be housed in new facilities designed to support a dynamic academic environment. In Thessaloniki, it will operate in two buildings in the city center, but also in an integrated university campus in Oraeokastro Thessaloniki, covering an area of 14,000 sqm with an auditorium, laboratories, conference centre, and indoor and outdoor sports facilities, while in Athens it will create a pioneering hub for IT studies, incorporating modern facilities specifically designed for education and innovation in technology.