History
Two years after the Faculty of Philosophy started receiving students (1926), the Faculty of Agriculture opened within the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. In 1937 the Faculty was split and two of its Faculties, Agriculture and Forestry, became a separate Faculty and were incorporated into the Agricultural University of Athens, which closed down in that year.
In 1981, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry was split up and the two FACULTYs became separate Faculties. In 1982, under the Law no. 1268/82, the Faculties of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Science became Departments under the Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
In 2005 the Faculty of Geotechnical Sciences was split up in three Faculties : The Faculty aof Agriculture, the Faculty of Forestry and the Faculty of Veterinary Science.
The School of Agriculture at present has 61 Teaching and Research Staff members, 5 Degree Law 407/80, 31 Laboratory Teaching Staff (E.DI.P.), 14 Administrative and Technical Staff and 1 Farm Staff. Currently the Faculty has nearly 3600 registered undergraduate students, 221 Master of Science students, and 138 Doctoral degree candidates.
Until now, the School has awarded nearly 14.000 degrees, 1.544 MSc degrees and 395 Doctoral degrees. Its graduates have gone on to work for the Ministry of Agriculture and other public services and organizations, making a great contribution to the rapid progress of Greek agriculture in the postwar period. At the same time, an ever-increasing number of graduates are offering their services in the private sector, while many others are making remarkable contribution in educational and research institutions abroad.
Facilities
The premises of the SCHOOL of Agriculture are on the university campus in the center of the city. Teaching and training take place in the four lecture theatres, in the laboratories and classrooms, while fieldwork is done mainly in the university farm. The farm is about fourteen kilometers south-east from the University campus. It covers 220 ha and at present has two buildings for students, containing two classrooms equipped with teaching aids, a library, two computer rooms, a general activities room, and twenty smaller rooms which are used as offices and storerooms. Other buildings accommodate the SCHOOL’s laboratories, modern livestock facilities, and laboratories for processing plant and animal products.
Library
The School of Agriculture has its own library, on its premises in the main campus. At the moment, about 16,000 books, 215 periodicals, and other related material covering almost all subjects of agricultural sciences are available in the library. Other printed material is available in the various laboratories of the School. All these materials may be located via the university’ s on-line general catalogue. Library books are available for loan. It is also possible to borrow books, articles, doctoral theses, and so on from the British Library, and to place on-line orders for articles and periodicals, not available in the Aristotle University, from libraries elsewhere in Greece.
The library has a reading room; two photocopiers operated by magnetic cards which students can buy on the spot and computers with access to on-line data bases and internet. Laser and inkjet printers can be used in a reasonable cost for students.
Electronic Support
Apart from the computers in various laboratories, which students may use for working on their assignments, the School also has three special computer rooms, one in the Agriculture Lab Informatics on campus and two in the farm. All the computers in these rooms are connected to the university network and provide free access to the Internet. They are available to students both for their educational needs and for research.
Academic Calendar
The academic year consists of two semesters; it begins on September 1st and ends 31st of August.
The autumn semester begins in the last third of September and has a duration of 19 weeks. The spring semester begins in the first third of February and has a duration of 18 weeks.
Lectures in the autumn semester start in the first week of October, while those in the spring semester in the second week of February. Examinations (oral, practical, written) are administered at the end of each semester (January for the autumn semester and June for the spring semester). Re-take exams are also arranged for courses of both semesters during the first three weeks of September. The duration of each examination period is three weeks.
The University is closed during the summer vacations (1 July – 31 August), for Christmas and New Year vacations (23 December – 7 January), and for the Easter vacation (one week prior to and one week after Easter).
Degrees in Agriculture
The School of Agriculture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki offers the following three degrees:
Undergraduate Degree (B.S.Ag.) in seven specializations of Agricultural Sciences to students who have successfully completed compulsory and optional coursework equal to a minimum of 300 ECTS. It has a duration of five years (10 semesters).
Master of Science (MSc) degree with seven (7) programs of postgraute education (1. Food Science and Nutrition, 2. Legislation of Food, 3. Sustainable agricultural systems and climate change, 4. Genetics, Breeding and production of propagation materials, 5. Current plant protection and biotechnological applications, 6. Agricultural economics and development, 7. Management of soil, water, energy resources and agricultural environment) to those who have successfully completed their course and research work. It lasts no less than three and no more than six semesters.
Doctoral degree (Dr) in Agricultural Sciences to those who have successfully completed their courses and research work. It lasts no less than six and no more than ten semesters.