The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the fifth oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessaloniki, it is the largest university in Greece and its campus covers in the centre of Thessaloniki, with additional educational and administrative facilities elsewhere.
As of 2023, it has approximately 88,283 active students enrolled at the university (77,198 at the undergraduate level and 6,588 in postgraduate programmes of which 3,952 at doctoral level) and 2,366 faculty members. There are additionally 248 members of the Laboratory Teaching Staff and 213 members of the Special Technical Laboratory Staff. The administrative staff consists of 400 permanent employees and 528 subcontractor employees that are contracted by the university.
The language of instruction is Greek, although there are programs in foreign languages and courses for international students, which are carried out in English, French, German and Italian.
History
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki was founded in 1925 during the premiership of Alexandros Papanastassiou and was legislated under Law 3341/14-6-25. It was the first Greek university to be founded outside of Athens. The university was built on top of the remains of what had once been the Jewish cemetery in Thessaloniki, until the cemetery's destruction during the Nazi occupation. Gravestones from the Jewish cemetery were used as building materials in the construction of the university.Devin Naar, "Memory and Desecration in Salonica," Jewish Review of Books (Winter 2017). https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/2417/memory-and-desecration-in-salonica. Last accessed 24 April 2019
According to Eleftherios Venizelos' plans following the end of the World War I, Smyrna was intended to be the seat of the second Greek university, while the third university was to be established in Thessaloniki. However, Smyrna was not part of Greece at the time and the plans fell through after the outcome of the Greco-Turkish War in Asia Minor. Nevertheless, in 1924, Alexandros Papanastassiou decided to found a university in Thessaloniki in order to boost the local economy and culture.
The chronological development of the university, which was renamed the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1954, can be divided into three stages, each covering a period of approximately 25 years.
First stage (1926–1950) During the first stage of its operation (1926–1950), the development focused on those schools which were generally accepted as constituting one educational institute, namely the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, the Faculty of Law and Economics, the School of Theology and the Medical School. The first stage of development ended with the foundation of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1950, which was the only faculty of veterinary medicine in Greece for many years. After this period, some of the aforementioned faculties were extended by integrating more departments. In more detail, the Departments of Pharmacy and Dentistry were founded in 1955 and 1959 respectively and they were incorporated into the Medical School. Moreover, the Faculty of Philosophy was expanded by integrating the Institutes of Foreign Languages (English, French, German and Italian).
Second stage (1951–1975) During the second stage (1951–1975) the focal point of development was the Faculty of Engineering, also known as the Polytechnic Faculty. At the beginning, this faculty constituted an independent institute also called the Polytechnic or Technical University. Therefore, for the first fifty years of its operation the Aristotle University consisted of two distinct institutes which operated independently. Subsequently, these two educational institutes were unified. The various schools within the Faculty of Engineering were founded in the following order: School of Civil Engineering (1955–56), School of Architecture (1956–57), School of Rural and Surveying Engineering (1962–63), School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (1972–73), School of Chemical Engineering (1972–73), School of Mathematics, Physics and Computational Sciences (1982–83) and School of Urban-Regional Planning and Development Engineering (2004). The School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering was split in two independent schools (School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering) in 1976.
Third stage (1975–present) Finally, during the third stage of its development (1975-today), new schools and departments were founded along with the aforementioned engineering schools. Moreover, the university acquired a small number of departments which operated in the past as independent institutes of higher education. During this period, the Faculty of Fine Arts was established, along with all its constituent schools (Drama, Film Studies, Music Studies, Visual and Applied Arts). Additionally, the School of Journalism and Mass Media Studies and the School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences were created as independent schools. Overall, the third stage of development of the Aristotle University is characterized not only by the establishment of new faculties, schools and departments, but also by many major changes in the structure of the university itself. These changes include the downgrade of some former faculties into schools or departments and the upgrade of others.
Today, the Aristotle University comprises 12 faculties, 36 schools, and numerous other units (e.g. laboratories, study rooms, libraries, clinics and research centres), which make it the largest university in Greece and southeastern Europe in terms of number of staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students and the facilities offered. According to the significant Jewish past and present of Thessaloniki the Aristotle University planned together with the Jewish community of Thessaloniki in 2014, the reopening of the Faculty of Jewish Studies. A former Jewish faculty was abolished 80 years before by the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas. This new faculty took in October 2015, her work on with leading professor Georgios Antoniou.
On the university campus a monument commemorating the old Jewish cemetery was unveiled in 2014. The monument consists of grave stones in a bed of grass alongside a broken Jewish menorah. The campus was built partially on this old cemetery. The memorial has been vandalized several times.
Emblem The emblem of the Aristotle University is St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki.
Departments and faculties
The university consists of eleven faculties, consisting of 41 schools.
Schools Departments Faculty of Sciences (founded 1925) School of Mathematics (founded 1928) School of Physics (founded 1928) School of Biology (founded 1973) School of Chemistry (founded 1943) School of Geology (founded 1973) School of Informatics (1992) Faculty of Engineering (Polytechneio) School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (founded 1976) School of Mechanical Engineering founded (1976) School of Architecture (founded 1956) School of Civil Engineering (founded 1955) School of Chemical Engineering (founded 1972) School of Rural and Surveying Engineering (founded 1962) School of Spatial Planning and Development (founded 2004) Faculty of Health Sciences School of Medicine (founded 1942) School of Pharmacy (founded 1955) School of Dentistry (founded 1959) School of Veterinary Medicine (founded 1950) Faculty of Philosophy School of Philology (founded 1984) School of History and Archaeology (founded 1926) School of Philosophy and Education (founded 1984) School of English Language and Literature (founded 1951) School of French Language and Literature (founded 1954) School of German Language and Literature (founded 1960) School of Italian Language and Literature (founded 1960) School of Psychology (1993) Faculty of Law School of Law (founded 1930) Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment School of Agriculture (founded 1927) School of Forestry and Natural Environment (founded 1927) School of Education School of Early Childhood Education (founded 1984) School of Primary Education (founded 1986) Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences School of Physical Education and Sports Science (founded 1983) School of Physical Education and Sports Science (Serres) (founded 1985) Faculty of Fine Arts (founded 1984) School of Drama (founded 1992) School of Film (founded 2004) School of Music Studies (founded 1985) School of Visual and Applied Arts (founded 1984) Faculty of Social and Economics Sciences School of Economics (founded 1928) School of Political Sciences (founded 1999) School of Journalism, Media and Communications (founded 1991) Faculty of Theology School of Theology (founded 1941) School of Social Theology and Christian culture (founded 1982)
History and affiliations of schools The School of Urban-Regional Planning and Development Engineering is located in Veria. Part of the School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences is located in Serres. The School of Medicine is strongly associated with the AHEPA University Hospital. Philosophy is typically taught in conjunction with Pedagogy on Greek Universities, unlike foreign counterparts.
Research The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki performs a great deal of research in a variety of scientific fields. It is in constant and close cooperation with universities, organizations and research centres both in Greece and abroad. The large number of its faculties and its approximately 250 laboratories enable scientists of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki to carry out a variety of research projects with great success. During the past 12 years, 4500 research programs were undertaken and realized with the participation of more than 10,000 members of the academic community and several external collaborators.
During the past three years, 985 researchers – distinguished scientists – have provided educational and research services in collaboration with a total of 7,263 external scientific associates for the implementation of 3,151 International, European and National Research and Technological Development (RTD) projects. 1,436 of these partners were universities, research centers and organizations, while 405 were businesses.
Based on recent data from international ranking lists, of 20,372 higher institutions in the world, AUTh moved from the 407th position in 2011 to the 158th in 2012, ranking first among 23 Greek universities. As of 2011, Greece ranks first in the lists for the expenditure per publication per capita as a percentage of GNP, and second (following Ireland) in regard to the amount invested in scientific publications per country (Nature "Top Countries 2011: Scientific Publications").
In terms of promoting innovation, 32 Patents have been granted during the last 3 years on a national, European and international level.
Finally, AUTh is currently involved in establishing new infrastructure, setting up technology transfer systems, and creating an Interdisciplinary Research Center, in order to facilitate the selection process, as well as the implementation, placement and financing of research projects.
The A.U.TH. Research Committee is a university body which coordinates the research done at the university. It was established in order to satisfy the special needs of research activity and to administer the "Special Account of Research Funds", allocating funding resources to different research programs.
Rankings and academic evaluation
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is among the most prestigious universities in Greece.
An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA), giving it the "Worthy of merit" final overall evaluation.