The launch of the Cyprus Branch of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens marks the most significant step towards internationalisation in the history of Greece’s public universities. The country’s oldest and largest university, with two centuries of history, is now extending its academic reach to Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider international community, opening up new horizons for academic excellence.
Hundreds of applicants compete for places, with one in five admitted to the School of Medicine
The scale of the initiative is already evident in the response to the School of Medicine. Hundreds of applications were received, with just one in five candidates securing a place. Following a thorough and demanding assessment process, the admission rate was 20%. Competition for a place was intense, with candidates assessed against rigorous academic and quality criteria. Ultimately, the highest-achieving applicants secured places at the highly regarded School of Medicine.
For the University of Athens, excellence is not a slogan; it is a prerequisite.
The same approach is being followed across all academic units, which have attracted strong interest from prospective students and received hundreds of applications. The Department of Paedagogy and Primary Education, the Department of Business Administration, the Department of Economics, the Department of Psychology, the Department of Nursing, and the English-taught programme in the Archaeology, History and Literature of Ancient Greece (Department of Classics) are now completing the final stages of a highly selective assessment process.
The same academic identity
The people behind the new academic community are equally important. The faculty at the Cyprus Branch are the same academics who teach in the corresponding Schools and Departments at the parent university. At the same time, recruitment processes are already underway to attract leading academics who will be based exclusively at the Branch.
The Branch is now fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories and is located in the heart of Nicosia’s Old City, bringing new energy to a historic part of the Cypriot capital.
The University has also worked closely with local organisations and Nicosia Municipality to ensure that students have the support they need in their day-to-day lives. Access to newly built halls of residence has been secured on particularly favourable terms, helping to ensure that finding somewhere to live does not become an additional burden for students and their families. Arrangements have likewise been made to provide students with meals on similarly favourable terms, strengthening the overall support available to the student community.
Academic excellence is not simply about the quality of education. It is also about creating the conditions in which students can devote themselves fully to their studies and to building their future.
From Greece to Cyprus, the University of Athens is opening a new path. A path where history meets the future, academic excellence meets international engagement, and Greek education gains a new global horizon.
The Cyprus Branch marks the beginning of a new era for universities – one of greater global engagement, broader access to knowledge, a stronger international presence and an even more ambitious vision for the future.
