National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens was founded on 3 May 1837, and was housed in the residence of architect Stamatis Kleanthes, on the north east side of the Acropolis.

It was the first University not only in the newly- established Greek State but in all the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general.

The “Othonian University”, as it was called before taking its present name, “National and Kapodistrian University of Athens”, consisted of four Faculties, Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics).

It had 33 professors, 52 students and 75 non-matriculated “auditors”.New classes began in a new building, which designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen, in November 1841.

A major change in the structure of the National and Kapodistrian University came about in 1904, when the Faculty of Arts was split into two separate Faculties: that of Arts and that of Sciences, 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..

In this first and “heroic” period for Greek education, the University faculty made great efforts to fill the gap between their newly founded institution and older ones in other countries.

Between 1895 and 1911, an average of one thousand new students entered the Faculties each year, a figure which rose to two thousand at the end of World War I. This led to the decision to introduce entrance examinations for all the Faculties, beginning in the academic year 1927-28. Since 1954 the number of students admitted each year has been fixed by the Ministry of Education and Religion, on the proposal of the Faculties.

Nowdays the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens is divided into schools, faculties and departments. There are five schools as follows and 5 indepentant faculties:

  • Theology School( 2 faculties)
  • Law Economics & Political ( 3 faculties)
  • Sciences School ( 6 faculties )
  • Philosophy School( 10 faculties )
  • Health Sciences School ( 4 faculties )

Independent faculties

  • Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science
  • Faculty of Primary Education
  • Faculty of Early Childhood Education
  • Faculty of Communication and Mass Media Studies
  • Faculty of Philosophy & History of Science

The main campus of National and Kapodistrian University is in Ilissia (Zografou) in Athens, where the schools of Science, Theology and Philosophy are located. Other smaller campuses are at Goudi, where the faculty of Health Sciences is located, and at Daphne, where the faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science is located. The faculties of Media, Education, Economics, Law and Public Administration are housed in buildings in the centre of Athens, along with various administration facilities. The historical administration building is also located there, on Panepistimiou avenue.

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