College Year in Athens, Greece

Fall Semester and/or Spring Semester

Program:

College Year in Athens is a nonprofit educational institution based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and controlled by a Board of Trustees. Through the agency of the International Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies (D.I.K.E.ME.S.) it conducts a study abroad program in Greece enrolling approximately 80 students each semester and providing university-level education focused on Greece and East Mediterranean world. Greece is a country situated at the confluence of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa; a country partaking of the culture of its neighbors to the north, east and south, and one bound to them by the bonds of history and geography. As such it is a privileged place for Balkan and East Mediterranean studies as well as for studies of ancient Greek civilization, and a good base and starting point for travel in the area.

Course offerings:

To help students plan an academically integrated and coherent program of study, the offerings are organized in two tracks: Ancient Greek Civilization and East Mediterranean Area Studies. This division cuts across the disciplines and encourages the selection of cluster of related courses; students are asked, therefore, to consider choosing their courses within a single track. It is nevertheless possible to cross tracks to the extent of taking one or even two courses from the other track, if the academic objectives of students warrant their doing so.

In every case, however, students must choose a track of concentration as this determines the itineraries of the field trips. Courses in Modern Greek language are offered in both tracks because they aid students in their adaptation to, and appreciation of Greece. Ancient Greek Civilization field trips lean more heavily toward ancient sites and monuments; their East Mediterranean Area Studies equivalents have a bias which favors more recent periods of history. To make sure, however, that the student gains a full and rounded picture of the history of Greece, the trip itineraries of both tracks include elements of the ancient as well as of the more recent. Destinations include sites in Attica, Crete, the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and Northern Greece/Macedonia

Cost ('07-'08 academic year):

*Note: The above costs do not include additional meals, personal expenses (estimated $200-250 per week), or a $125 administration fee. Students who attend the program for two consecutive semesters receive a substantial discount on tuition and lodging for the second semester. The cost for a full year is $28,300.

Contact:

For further information, contact K. Bratt (526-6296), Classical Languages Department, the Off-Campus Programs Office at Calvin College or the College Year in Athens homepage.