History
Introduction & General Principles of the MSc Program
The National Technical University of Athens
It was founded in its original form as the “School of Arts” in 1836, almost simultaneously with the state of modern Greece. By royal decree “on education in architecture,” the technical school was established, initially operating only on Sundays and holidays, offering courses to those who wished to train as master craftsmen in architecture. The influx of prospective students was so great, despite the remoteness of the area, that in the spring of 1840 a school offering daily classes was added to the Sunday school, while the number and range of courses increased. At that time, the “Polytechnic” moved into its own building on Piraeus Street. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the students and teachers, the school continued to develop and raise its standards.
Soon, the school is upgraded to meet the broader needs of domestic reconstruction and industry. The duration of studies was extended, the curriculum was enriched with new courses, and administration was exercised by the “Committee for the Promotion of National Industry.” However, the limited capacity of the G. Vlachoutsis house on Piraeus Street (where the Athens Conservatory was later housed) did not allow the school to fulfill its ambitious goals. Thus, in 1871, the School began to move to new buildings on Patission Street. These buildings were first envisioned by Nikolaos Stournaris (“with the rest of my money,” he wrote in his will in 1852, “to build a magnificent Polytechnic in Athens…”), leading his relatives and fellow citizens from Metsovo, Michael Tochitsa, Eleni Tositsa, and Georgios Averoff, to embrace his idea and follow his example.
Soon, the school is upgraded to meet the broader needs of domestic reconstruction and industry. The duration of studies was extended, the curriculum was enriched with new courses, and administration was exercised by the “Committee for the Promotion of National Industry.” However, the limited capacity of the G. Vlachoutsis house on Piraeus Street (where the Athens Conservatory was later housed) did not allow the school to fulfill its ambitious goals. Thus, in 1871, the School began to move to new buildings on Patission Street. These buildings were first envisioned by Nikolaos Stournaris (“with the rest of my money,” he wrote in his will in 1852, “to build a magnificent Polytechnic in Athens…”), leading his relatives and fellow citizens from Metsovo, Michael Tochitsa, Eleni Tositsa, and Georgios Averoff, to embrace his idea and follow his example.
The last radical reform in the organization and administration of the Foundation took place in 1917 with a special law. The NTUA acquired five Higher Schools: Civil Engineering, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Surveying Engineering. The transition from 1917 to the current organization of studies is the result of successive adjustments to the changing needs of the Greek economy, combined with the evolving scope and depth of the various subjects taught.
The last radical reform in the organization and administration of the Foundation took place in 1917 with a special law. The NTUA acquired five Higher Schools: Civil Engineering, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Surveying Engineering. The transition from 1917 to the current organization of studies is the result of successive adjustments to the changing needs of the Greek economy, combined with the evolving scope and depth of the various subjects taught.
Today, due to its institutional structure, the NTUA is a a Higher Education Institution (HEI), operating under the supervision of the state as a legal entity under public law for the exclusive service of the public interest, and is fully self-governing. The highest elected administrative body is the Senate, which is chaired by the Rector and includes the Vice-Rectors, the Deans of the Schools, representatives of the Teaching and Research Staff and students from each School, and representatives of other bodies of the Foundation. Within the framework of Article 16 of the current Constitution, Article 1 of Law 1268/82, its tradition, structure, and human and material infrastructure, NTUA, through the unbroken unity of studies and research, has as its primary institutional component of its mission the free provision of public higher education of distinguished quality and the promotion of science and technology.
With the general mobilization of all its human resources, the NTUA is undergoing a new qualitative upgrade: The general reorganization of studies and research is being prioritized, with a modern vision, enrichment with new scientific and technical-economic directions, and radical improvement and enhancement of infrastructure and the surrounding area. At the same time, the obvious need for any serious university institution to operate and offer educational and research work through a well-organized and absolutely clear system of principles, objectives, procedures, duties, and rights led, during the three-year period 1998–2000, to the composition, approval, and institutionalization of a pioneering Internal Operating Regulation (Government Gazette 1098/B/05.09.2000) for Greek and European universities. Internal Regulations (Government Gazette 1098/B/05.09.2000). The dominant strategic choice of the NTUA in the new millennium, as explicitly stated in its Internal Regulations, is not only to maintain its position as a distinguished and internationally recognized a reputable public university institution of science and technology, but also to continuously strengthen this position, both in terms of its mission and all its fundamental functions. All other strategies, objectives, and actions must be compatible with this clearly dominant strategic choice.
With Prometheus-Pyrphoros as its emblem, man as its measure, and quality of life and the protection of democratic rights and achievements as its main parameters, the NTUA fulfills its mission through the realization of the valuable social role of the historical “Universitas.” . Consequently, it develops the broader personal and social virtues of its teachers, researchers, and students.
- Cultivating skills for self-reliant access to knowledge, synthesis, research, communication, collaboration, and personnel and project management.
- Developing well-rounded personalities who not only possess renewable scientific and technological knowledge, but also know how to “stand” as scientists and “exist” as conscious, responsible citizens.
- Offering an impartial and effective contribution to meeting the scientific, technological, social, cultural, and other broader development needs of the country as a priority, but also of the international community.
It goes without saying that the educational and research results of the Postgraduate Studies Programs aim to connect with production, stimulate the labor market, and maximize their utilization by the national economy.
Framework and diagram of principles, structure, and flow of postgraduate studies at NTUA
Applying the Foundation’s dominant strategic choice and creating rich sources of Science and Technology production, with the consequent goal of awarding high-level and internationally recognized Postgraduate Degrees, the Special Composition Senate, following a recommendation by the Senate Committee on Postgraduate Studies, (S.E.-M.S.), with its decision of 17-10-1997, established the uniform principles for the structure, flow, organization, and operation of the M.S. with the following specific objectives:
1. To maintain and enhance the quality of professional training and the international prestige of the degrees awarded by our Foundation five-year study cycle, in light of the recent upgrade not only of the substance but also of the type of diploma in Greek (Advanced Studies Diploma) and English (Master of Engineering).
2. Control and objective evaluation of all postgraduate courses in terms of the undisputed postgraduate level of both the syllabus and the examination topics, to avoid any possible substitution or downgrading of the regular undergraduate programs of the Institution’s Departments.
3. Consistency and scientific depth.
4. Response to current and future development needs, as well as to documented research choices.
5. Adjustment of duration to minimum legal durations.
6. Attractiveness to students from other equivalent universities.
With its decision of 17.10.97 (item 3), the Senate set as its main objective the immediate promotion of high-level systematic Pre-doctoral Postgraduate Study Programs (P.P.M.S.).
As early as June 12, 1992, and June 25, 1993, the Senate had approved the establishment of Interdisciplinary – Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programs, leading to the award of a Master’s Degree (M.D.). Subsequently, at its meetings on June 30, 1995, July 7, 1995, and July 14, 1995, the Senate approved and submitted various IDPP to the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs for approval and funding. During the winter semester of the 1997-98 academic year, all previous and newer M.S.P.S. programs were redrafted and resubmitted to the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs based on the uniform principles and specifications of the Senate’s decision of October 17, 1997.
All of the final proposals submitted in December 1997 were approved in terms of their structure and operation as well as their detailed technical content (Technical Data Sheets), the funding contracts (E.P.E.A.E.K.) for the first two years of their operation were signed, and the corresponding Ministerial Decisions were published in the Government Gazette in early 1998.
Both types of Postgraduate Studies have parallel related flows and a common goal, as shown in the attached Structure and Flow Chart of the Postgraduate Studies Network at the NTUA: They offer postgraduate-level courses, provide the possibility of transition from the IDPP to the P.P.M.S. and lead, with or without the acquisition of an M.D.E., to the completion of a Doctoral Dissertation (D.D.), within the total minimum period of three (3) academic years, as provided for by law.
Furthermore, the NTUA’s position on maintaining the traditional process of preparing doctoral dissertations is firm, as it is the only one that ensures substantive advancement in science and the quality of research. By their very nature, doctoral dissertations can and should be prepared by the research cells, departments, and natural bodies of the the Departments, in accordance with the procedure described in all post-1981 legislation on the structure and operation of Higher Education Institutions and specified in all relevant decisions of the NTUA Senate.
From a legislative point of view, Law 2083/92 and Article 2 of Law 2327/1995 currently apply to M.S. Postgraduate programs provide for two levels of study, the Master’s Degree and the Doctorate, are proposed by members or collective bodies of the Department, and are approved in the first instance by the Special Composition General Assembly (SCGA). The minimum duration for obtaining an M.D.E. is one academic year, and for obtaining a D.D. it is three years, unless an M.D.E. has been obtained previously, in which case it is limited to two years. The P.M.S. are approved in the second instance by the Senate and finally by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.
The Senate, with its decision dated 02.04.1999, completed and codified in a General Guide to Postgraduate Studies at the Institution the framework, principles, structure, and flow of the P.P.M.S. and IDPP in accordance with the above applicable legislation and the experiences and opinions of the G.S.E.S. of the Departments, the E.D.E., and the S.E.-M.S. This issue refers to and codifies the Interdisciplinary – Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programs at the NTUA.
In this context, the NTUA invites Greek and foreign scientists who have the qualifications and willingness to express their interest in enrolling in high-level organized P.M.S. in the scientific and technological subjects of all the individual Departments and Divisions of the Institution and in Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Programs for interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, or trans-university areas.
Objectives of Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programs at NTUA
The purpose of Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programs (IDPP) is:
- the specialization of graduates of the National Technical University of Athens or other equivalent universities in the modern methods and techniques of interdisciplinary cooperation and research, capable of adequately meeting the growing needs of the public and private sectors in Greece and other countries within and outside the European Union in the scientific areas covered by the Postgraduate Program.
- the in-depth training of scientists so that they become capable of producing new knowledge.
It goes without saying that the educational and research results of the MSc programs aim to connect with production, stimulate the labor market, and maximize their utilization by the national economy.
Administrative support for postgraduate studies at NTUA
The upgrade of the Postgraduate Studies Programs and the launch of the Doctoral Studies Programs at the National Technical University of Athens were supported by the University Administration, with a corresponding upgrade of their administrative support. With the decisions of the Senate dated 30.10.98 (item 3) and 15.1.99 (item 5), the respective Secretariats of the Departments were upgraded operationally and administratively, promoted to sub-directorates and given the new title “Departmental Administrative Services,” they include a Central Secretariat Unit and four (4) offices supporting the various functions of the Department, one (1) of which is the “Postgraduate Studies Office.” At the same time, in accordance with the new Administrative Services Organisation of the NTUA, the Department of Studies was upgraded to the Directorate of Studies and includes a special Department for Postgraduate Studies of the Institution.
With document no. 23421/14.12.98 of the Rector, which was announced at the Senate Meeting of 23.12.98 and approved, the staff of the Administrative Services (Secretariats) of each Department is reinforced by staff recruited through E.P.E.A.E.K. for the respective IDPP.
The support provided by the Postgraduate Studies Office of each Department covers, indicatively, the following actions:
- Announcement procedure for Master’s Degree Student positions
- Collection of Master’s Degree candidate documents
- Enrollment (after completion of the selection process) of M.F. candidates and updating at the beginning of each teaching period.
- Compilation of a list of enrolled M.F. students per program and course.
- Maintaining a file for each enrolled student and updating it during their studies.
- Issuing grade reports for M.F. students.
- Compiling the P.P.M.S. and IDPP (Timetables and Exams).
- Issuing all types of certificates and attestations upon request by interested parties, signed by the Department Secretary.
- Procedures for granting loans and scholarships.
- Maintaining a computerized file of the Department.
- Supporting the General Assembly of the Departments.
- Supporting the Executive Committee of the Departments.
- Provision of all kinds of information and data relating to the Department’s M.S. programs.
- Procedures for awarding titles and conferring M.D.E. and D.D. degrees.
- Updating the book of M.Sc. and Doctoral degrees.