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The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (often referred to in English as Aristotelian University), named after the philosopher Aristotle, is the largest university of Greece. Its campus covers 429 metric acres close to the center of the city of Thessaloniki. Some educational and administrative facilities are located off campus for practical and operational reasons.
More than 95,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students study at the Aristotle University, 86,000 in undergraduate programmes and 9,000 in postgraduate programmes. Furthermore, the Teaching and Research Staff number 2,332 people (671 professors, 638 associate professors, 503 assistant professors, and 520 lecturers), the Scientific Teaching Staff number 103 and the Special Laboratory Teaching Staff 307 people. This is further supported by the 414 members of the Special Technical Laboratory Staff for teaching services end the 957 members of administrative staff.
The university includes 42 Departments (τμήματα) which are organized in nine Faculties (σχολές):
Independent Departments:
The establishment of the University of Thessaloniki as the second Greek university was legislated under Law 3341/14-6-25 during the premiership of Alexandros Papanastassiou, during the period of the first Greek Democracy. At first, according to Eleftherios Venizelos' plans, right after the end of the First World War, Smyrni was intended to be the seat of the second Greek university, while the third was to be established in Thessaloniki. However, these plans fell through because of the developments in Asia Minor (1922).
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 twenty-five years.
During the first stage of its operation (1926-1950), the development focused on those Schools which have been generally accepted as constituting one 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. Only the Departments of Pharmacy (1955), Dentistry (part of Medical School since 1959, and an independent School since 1971) as well as the Institutes of Foreign Languages within the Faculty of Philosophy were established and became operational after this time (1950). The first stage of the development of the Aristotle University ended with the foundation of the Veterinary Medicine Faculty in 1950, which was the only faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Greece for many years. Today, it is part of the Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences.
During the second stage (1951-1975) the focal point of development was the Polytechnic School, which in fact constituted an independent institute also called the Polytechnic or Technical University. So, for the first fifty years of its operation the Aristotle University consisted of two institutes, the University and the Polytechnic, which operated independently.
During the third stage of its development, the Aristotle University has acquired Departments and Faculties which were founded and operated, at first, as independent Institutes of higher Education. These were the Faculty of Art, Music Academies, the Theatrical School, the Gymnastic Academy, etc. The third stage of development of the Aristotle University is characterized not only by the fact that some former faculties have become departments but also by the foundation of some new faculties, such as the Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences and the Faculty of Health Sciences, as well as of some independent departments which do not yet belong to any faculty.
The Aristotle University today consists of 41 Departments as well as many other units, such as laboratories, study rooms, libraries, clinics etc., which make it the largest university in the country in terms of the staff, the number of students and the facilities offered. At the same time, due to the research work and the activities undertaken by the teaching and scientific staff, the University has gained international recognition .
The Aristotle University is one of Greece's public Universities and therefore is a legal entity with full self governance. The administration of the university consists of collective bodies who take decisions within the framework of the Greek laws. Main objective of the administration's efforts is to ensure the proper function of the university and pursuit the benefit of the academic community as a whole.
In Greece every University (Higher Education Institution) implements the hierarchy shown in the image.
Every Greek public University comprises the faculties and the faculties comprise the schools. A school covers a basic scientific area and thus is considered to be the basic academic unit. Every school is subdivided into departments, which are responsible for the teaching of a specific part of the school's scientific area. Finally, clinics, reading rooms and laboratories are smaller units that belong to a department.
The highest administrative authority is the University Senate. It consists of the following members (senators):
The second highest administrative authority is the Rector's Council, which comprises the Rector, the tree Vicerectors, one representative of the students and one representative of the administration staff. Each member of the Rector's Council is elected every 3 years.
Every Faculty, School and Department has its own administrative body, the members of which are democratically elected on the basis of collective processes.
The campus of the Aristotle University covers 429 metric acres and is located near the center of the city of Thessaloniki. The majority of the univerisity units is found inside the campus, but there are also various institutions, laboratories and facilities of the university which are located outside the campus (Center of Byzantine Researches, Veterinary clinics, University farm and forest reserves etc). The following are some of the most important university units of the Aristotle University:
The Aristotle University Library was founded in 1927 and is constituted of two main elements: The Central Library, which is housed in a separate building at the center of the university campus and the departmental libraries, every one of which is owned by a university department. These two elements comprise the A.U.Th. library system, where more than 800,000 book titles and 300,000 volumes of periodicals can be found. The A.U.Th. library subscribes also to 3,500 periodical titles from all over the world.
The Central Library has a reading room for students and a reading room for university researchers and teaching personnel. The students' reading room has a capacity of approximately 1300 students and can be used by any student who brings and reads his own books.
Every department of the university has its own departmental library, where students can find books, periodicals and information concerning the specific subjects their department deals with. Every departmental library has a reading room whose opening hours are determined according to the needs of the department's students and staff.
The Aristotle University Library is nowadays the second greatest library in Greece, right after the National Library, and the largest library in Northern Greece. Since 1976 the Library has been a member of IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) which enables it to lend and borrow books from libraries all over the world.
The University Student Club is housed in a private building located on the eastern side of the campus and plays a very important role in student life. Inside the Student Club is a restaurant, a reading room, a medical service, a snack bar and a hairdresser's shop. There is also a musical department and a photography club.
The Student Club is responsible for the catering and medical care of the students of A.U.Th. and University of Macedonia. Every day it caters for approximately 12.000 students. Among its other responsibilities, it also organizes artistic, cultural and athletic events and maintains a chorus and a musical department.
The University gym is located on the eastern side of the university campus, next to the Student Club. It covers an area of approximately 22 hectares and was initially founded in 1925, the same year as the University. Since then it has been transferred several times until 1978 when it was finally settled at its present position.
Inside the university Sports Center there is a football field, basketball and tennis courts, handball courts and many more facilities for dancing, weight lifting, ping pong and so on. The National and Poseidonion swimming pools are used for water sports such as swimming, water polo, water aerobics and synchronized swimming.
The students participating in the sports programs of the center can take part in the internal championships organized by the Sports Center or in the inter-university national championships organized by the Sports Committee of the Higher Education in Greece. The A.U.Th. has always participated in these national championships with great success.
The Aristotle University Seismological Station was founded in 1978 and is used since then for the detection and measurement of earthquakes that occur nationwide and worldwide. It is mainly used by researchers of the Sector of Geophysics, which is a part of the Department of Geology of A.U.Th.
The Station's main objective is to monitor Greece's seismic activity, record and analyze the earthquakes that occur in 24-hour base, informing the state and the public when it is necessary. This is a very important task given the fact that Greece is a country with a very powerful seismic activity. The personnel of the station is constituted of professors and specialized scientists with a great deal of experience concerning seismological matters.
One of the Station's primary roles is to conduct tours for the public and familiarize it with the earthquake phenomenon and how it can be dealt with. This helps to achieve better protection of the public against earthquakes.
Finally, the Seismological station promotes collaboration on issues of seismological interest with a lot of other Greek and European institutions. It is also a source of information for international seismological centers concerning the seismic activity of the Mediterranean region, but also of the entire world.
The University Camp was initially founded in 1960. It is now is located in Poseidi, Chalkidiki, in a very beautiful place by the sea, full of pine trees. It opens its gates every year during the summer period for the students and the staff of the A.U.Th. The camp consists of a restaurant, a small grocery store, a bar in the beach, basketball and beach volley courts and many more sport and entertainment facilities.
The School of Modern Greek Language functions under the supervision of the Department of Philosophy since 1970. It offers courses of Modern Greek Language and Greek Culture to foreign students who wish to learn the Greek language and/or intend to study in a Greek University. The main objective of the School is to familiarize its students with the greek culture, tradition and customs.
The A.U.Th. Orchestra was established in February 1999 and since then it has participated in a lot of concerts held all over Greece. Since its establishment the interest of the students in it has rapidly increased. The orchestra gives regular concerts for the public of Thessaloniki during the national holidays (25 March, 26 October, etc) and participates in international festivals and events.
The official name of the Aristotle University Chorus is "J. Mandakas Chorus", named after its founder, John Mandakas, who created it in 1953. Nowadays the chorus plays a very important role in the musical and cultural life of the city of Thessaloniki and Greece generally. It also has a constant presence in musical events held all over the world, gaining not only national but also international recognition. For more than 50 years, the A.U.Th. Chorus has given the opportunity to more than 4000 students and other members of the academic community to cultivate their musical talent and to develop strong bonds of friendship and collaboration.
The chorus participates regularly in concerts held during national holidays, various events and festivals (Dimetria, Athens Festival etc). It also organizes and participates in a lot of meetings of Greek and foreign choruses and orchestras. Finally it has published numerous CDs and DVDs and made a lot of recordings for the Greek national television and radio.
The chorus has contributed decisively in the development of choral music in Greece and in the familiarization of the Greek public with it through the presentation of hundreds of musical works. Furthermore it has presented many Greek compositions for the first time to the public, helping the Greek composers to achieve international recognition for their compositions.
Since 1964, the Aristotle University Chorus is a member of Europa Cantat, the European Federation of Choruses for young people. The rehearsals take place inside the Student club with the participation of the university Orchestra.
The Student Week is an cultural event organized annually inside the university campus. It actually lasts for three or four weeks and is organized by more than 60 student groups, whose interests include dance, music, theater, cinema, sports, poetry, comics, etc. This event is open not only to all the members of the academic community of A.U.Th., but also to all the citizens of Thessaloniki.
Its main objective is to promote students' talents in art and culture and to encourage the free artistic expression of the students as individuals or as a group. It also aims at strengthening the human relations between the students and the personnel of the university. The interest of the students in the Student Week has been rapidly increasing since its establishment in 1999.
The Teloglion Foundation of Art was founded in 1972 with the donation of the entire fortune, along with a very rich art collection, of Nestor and Aliki Teloglou to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. This art collection is now exhibited in a separate building located in the northern side of the university campus. The Foundation is a non-profit organization supervised by the Aristotle University and directed by a board of Trustees composed mainly of university professors.
The art collection included mainly works of Greek artists during the 19th and 20th century and has now been enriched thanks to further donations made by famous persons and artists. At present, the collection includes works from various ancient civilizations, such as statuettes and pottery from the Hellenistic period, Corinthian and Roman pottery, Persian miniatures, Arabic and Chinese vases and dishes, etc. It also includes pieces from modern artists such as the monumental work of art "The World of Cyprus" by Diamandis.
The Foundation's mission is to support all art related studies and research and help the public familiarize itself with art and culture. This is achieved through the organization of numerous conferences, seminars and exhibitions of the museum's artworks.
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