Athens Program
GREEK ANTIQUITY AND ITS LEGACY

Please note: Study abroad programs sponsored by the undergraduate College of the University of Chicago are open to University of Chicago students only. Applications from outside the University are not accepted.

  


Athens Program Participants, Spring 2008
Photo contributed by Frank Zonars '09
General Description:
The University of Chicago's spring-quarter Athens Program provides students in the College with an opportunity to
study the history and culture of ancient and modern Greece in Athens, the celebrated center of that culture, now the lively and cosmopolitan capital of contemporary Greece. The core of the Athens Program is the three-course sequence "Greek Antiquity and Its Legacy," taught in compressed form during the ten-week quarter. This sequence, which meets the College's civilization requirement, treats ancient Greece from prehistory to the present day and pays particular attention to the role the classical past has played - and continues to play - in the more recent history of Greece. Classroom discussions of selected texts are supplemented by a series of excursions to historical sites both within Athens and at other Greek locations (for example: Mycenae, Delphi, Olympia and Thessaloniki). In addition to the civilization sequence participants take a fourth course in "practical" modern Greek language. Students with sufficient knowledge of ancient Greek may substitute a text-based course in the ancient language in place of the modern.

The headquarters of the Athens Program is the Athens Centre, an institution devoted to the promotion of Greek language and culture and located in Mets, a residential area in the center of the city. Visit http://athens.arounder.com/ to view many of Athens' ancient monuments and works of art.

Housing:
Students occupy shared apartments in the vicinity of the Athens Centre.

Credits:
Students in the Athens Program receive three credits for the Greek Civilization sequence. If students have already met the civilization requirement these courses are usable as free electives. Students also receive a fourth credit for the Greek language (modern or ancient) course. This program and its courses are conceived as an integral unit. It is not therefore possible for a student to take a partial course-load.

Course titles, units of credit and grades for these courses will be placed on each student's Chicago transcript at the end of the program. The normal quality grades in use at Chicago (A, B, C, D and F with or without pluses and minuses) will be used for all courses. Neither Pass/Fail grading nor is the grade of I available for these courses. Students are expected to hand in assignments as they come due, abiding by all course deadlines.


View of Athens
Frank Zonars '09

   
Registration and Tuition:
Students in the program remain registered as full-time students in the College during spring-quarter.

Students pay regular College tuition, the Athens program fee and the non-refundable study abroad administrative fee required of all participants in Chicago's programs abroad. For precise figures, see Study Abroad Program Fees.

Financial Aid:
Students retain their financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses--the study abroad administrative fee and the round-trip air fare to Athens--are not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since students cannot be expected to work part-time while in Athens, the self-help component of their financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.

Eligibility:
Participants in the Athens program must be in good academic standing in the College. Students should be beyond their first year in the College, though first-year students may be eligible for the program in exceptional cases. This program is not open to non-Chicago students.

While the program stipulates no minimum grade-point average, an applicant’s transcript should demonstrate that they are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity. Because the Greek Civilization sequence is taught in English, there is no language prerequisite, although students with some knowledge of Greek (either ancient or modern) before the beginning of the program may have an advantage in the admissions process (and will be in a position to gain more from their experience in Athens).
Please note: Because of the considerable demand on the Chicago civilization programs abroad, no student may participate in more than one of these programs.

   


A Lecture at Delphi

Application:
Students submit the general study abroad application electronically and download the program specific application. The program specific application should be submitted on paper to the Study Abroad Office by the application deadline.

Each application is examined on the basis of the student's scholastic record, personal statement and academic recommendation. In preparing the application and especially in composing the required personal statement, students should keep in mind that admission to the civilization programs is competitive and that the number of places available is insufficient to meet the considerable demand. An offer of admission is, in all cases, a conditional offer, contingent upon the student's continued good work in the College. A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a non-refundable study abroad administrative fee. (To begin the application process, click on the Study Abroad General Application.)

Further Information:
If you would like to discuss the Athens Program and the possibility of participating in it, please contact Erika Mercer (Harper 216; 834-5424).

Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.