The curriculum of the Department of Animal Science consists of 47 required and 27 elective courses. From the electives, the students of the Department are allowed to choose a maximum of 12 courses, in order to complete the necessary ECTS for obtaining the degree. The course categories of the curriculum of the Department of Animal Science are:

I. General Knowledge Courses

There are 9 General Knowledge courses including English. The English language course is taught two (2) hours per week in a progressive series of four semesters corresponding to grades I, II, III, IV, V and VI. English I, III and V levels are offered in the winter semester while levels II, IV and VI in the spring semester

ΙI. General Background Courses

There are 7 Background courses in the Department of Animal Science, which are compulsory.

III. Field of Science Courses

There are 53 Field of Science courses, of which 11 relate to basic agricultural knowledge and the remaining 42 to animal science. Of the 53 Field of Science courses, 36 are compulsory and 17 are elective.

IV. Skills Development Courses

There are 10 Skills Development courses, of which 4 are compulsory and the remaining 6 are elective.

V. Diploma Dissertation

The diploma dissertation can be carried out in one of the 4 laboratories of the Department of Animal Science or another Department of the Agricultural University of Athens, in a subject area related to the study program the student attends

In the first six semesters, the English language course is taught as a compulsory subject (for those who do not have a recognized qualification in a foreign language). The Rector’s Council of the University of Athens (Meeting: 13/9/94), taking into account the decisions of the Senate (152/28.5.92 and 166/13.7.93) regarding the establishment of the English language course as a compulsory subject, decided that the English course, although it is a compulsory subject included in the first six semesters, should not be graded with the established grading scale, but with the classification “sufficient” or “insufficient” for each examination period. A degree is not awarded to final-year students if the proficiency in the foreign language course has not been notified to the Secretariat of the Institution. For the English language, proficiency is granted upon presentation of a qualification of at least Lower (First Certificate) level, while for the French, German and Italian languages, a qualification of proficiency is required by a committee consisting of the Institute’s Foreign Language Professors and Faculty members of the Institute with postgraduate studies of at least 3 years duration in a country with an official language of one of the above. This committee is appointed at the beginning of each academic year by decision of the Rector’s Council.

Educational trips, organized by the Department, are part of the training process and are, thus, obligatory. The trips are approved by the Senate, following the proposals of the Department, and take place typically after the end of ‘spring’ semester teaching classes and prior to the June examination period. In exceptional circumstances, educational trips can also be scheduled on particular dates to meet special educational purposes. The cost of the student trip is covered in part by the University.

Three examination periods: January – February, June and September. Exams are conducted after the end of each semester in all taught courses. To take the exams, students should have previously filled-in an ‘exam entry form’ (either electronically or through the Secretariat office). Students must indicate the n + 3 exams they intend to participate (n is the number of current semester courses and 3 the courses from previous semesters).

In the September exam period, students may participate in all course exams (theory and laboratory classes) of the last two semesters and, furthermore, up to six theory course exams and six laboratory class exams, from previous semesters. According to the number of successfully concluded theory and laboratory exams, students can take exams for up to twelve theory courses and twelve laboratory classes from previous semesters.

Provisions only for 10th semester and ‘on degree’ students:

• ‘January – February’ examination period: students can participate in all theory course exams and lab class exams of the ‘winter’ semester and additionally in 12 courses (theory and lab class) of the ‘spring’ semester.
• ‘June’ examination period: students can participate in all theory course exams and lab class exams of the ‘spring’ semester and additionally in 12 classes (theory and lab class) of the ‘winter’ semesters.
• ‘September’ examination period: students can sit for exams of all courses (theory and lab class) of the ‘spring’ and the ‘winter’ semester. The theory courses exams and the corresponding lab class exams and tutorials are independently treated and the student’s performance is evaluated separately. The final grade indicates the average performance in theory and in laboratory or tutorial exams. The grade range falls within 0-10, with ‘five’ (5) as the passing mark.

The practical training aims to inform students about the problems of agriculture in various regions of the country. It is carried out in the laboratories of the Institute, in laboratories of state institutions, in services and institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture or other Ministries with a relevant subject, in agricultural cooperatives or in private enterprises and laboratories that, at the discretion of the Institute, have the ability to provide systematic experience and knowledge. The practical training is four months and is carried out by students of the 6th, 8th and 10th semesters during the summer holidays of the courses, that is, in the periods July-end of September. The entire process of student internships is the responsibility of the Department, which determines the internship locations and the distribution of students to them, depending on their interests.

By decision of the Senate (session 316/23.3.04), the following applies:

i) The General Assemblies of the Departments will decide whether the internship can be carried out after the completion of the 6th semester of studies by the students.

ii) Part of the internship, up to two (2) months, can be carried out during the 10th semester of studies. The relevant decision will be taken by the General Assembly of the relevant Department based on specific requests from students and criteria that will be determined in accordance with applicable legislation.

iii) Students who have completed the 10th semester and have not completed their internship may carry it out throughout the year.

Also, with regard to postgraduate students who, according to their curriculum, carry out an internship, the Senate decided that the Institution will cover the relevant expense required for students to be covered by insurance for the risk of accidents during their internship.
At the end of each two-month internship, each student is required to submit to the Department Secretariat a Certificate of Internship, a Work Diary certified by the director of the institution where the internship took place, as well as a Report on the experience and knowledge acquired during the two-month internship.

The Work Diary and the Report are evaluated by the supervising scientific advisor. This evaluation is reported in the detailed certificate of studies. If the student’s internship is not considered satisfactory, then the student is required to complete it without additional financial support.

More details about the internship can be found HERE

The diploma dissertation is a special research work that each student is required to carry out and submit in electronic form and in three hard copies in the form of a typed document for examination.

To determine the topic of the dissertation, the student applies first to the Laboratories of his Department. If special scientific reasons exist, the student may apply to other Laboratories of the Institution to determine the topic of the dissertation. The topic of the study, the main advisor Professor and the three-member advisory and examination committee are approved by the General Assembly of the Sector to which the main advisor Professor belongs and are notified to the Department Secretariat.

The assignment of a dissertation topic is made on the condition that the student has successfully fulfilled all the examination obligations of the first eight semesters. An exception is made only in the case where the student has failed a maximum of three courses after the eight semesters have elapsed.

The examination of the dissertation is only carried out if the student has successfully fulfilled all the examination obligations of the curriculum. The examination is held publicly by the three-member advisory and examination committee, chaired by the main advisor, at a time determined by the committee. During the examination, the student orally develops his work and answers questions from the committee members. Each member of the committee grades separately and the final grade of the thesis is determined by the average of the grades of the three examiners. The dissertation is considered successful if the final grade is greater than or equal to five (5) and the grades of at least two examiners are greater than or equal to five (5). In case of failure, the student is submitted to a second examination, after completing and correcting his dissertation according to the recommendations of the committee. In case of a new failure, the student is obliged to prepare another degree study with the same or a different topic.

More details about the degree study can be found HERE

The diploma (‘ptichion’) final grade, after having successfully completed the five-year undergraduate curriculum, results as the average of two grades: four fifths (4/5) of all course grades and one fifth (1/5) of the final year ‘Diploma Dissertation’. The student’s performance is regarded as one of ‘Distinction’ (grades 9 and 10), ‘Very Good’ (grades 7 and 8) and ‘Pass’ (grades 5 and 6)

A public ceremony of Oath Taking and Degree Awarding is held for those students having fulfilled all their obligations of the curriculum followed (i.e. course examinations, practical training and diploma dissertation). The ceremony takes place in the Hall of Ceremonies of the University. Oath taking is followed by degree awarding by the University Rector and the Chairman of the Department.

Upon successful completion of the study program students will acquire a range of knowledge, skills and abilities. The learning outcomes are measurable. In detail, the graduates of the Department will be able to:

• Know the fields that concern the whole range of animal science (reproduction, nutrition, hygiene, production systems, processing, distribution of products)

• Understand the challenges and current trends, as well as the complexity and interdisciplinarity of issues related to animal science

• Assess specialized knowledge and scientific methodology so as to develop know-how on the production, processing and distribution of products of animal origin

• Apply the acquired knowledge and skills in the development of innovative products and services in the field of animal science

• Analyze information, ideas, problems and solutions in a way that meets the ever-increasing demands of the industry, taking into account the current challenges of the livestock industry such as climate change, environmental protection, etc.

• Combine knowledge, critical thinking and skills, in order to be able to adapt to the continuously evolving needs of the market

• Interpret research results, in order to continue their studies in an autonomous way at postgraduate and doctoral level

The graduates of the Department of Animal Production Science can:

• Be employed in public services (Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Public Organizations, Local Government, Banks, Technical High Schools, etc.),

• Work in the private sector (livestock and fish farming enterprises, food industries, feed manufacturing plants, pharmaceutical companies, etc.)

• Be active as freelancers in the market

• Be employed as researchers in various Research Centers or Institutes, or in Higher Education Institutions