Α. Structure of the Curriculum

The Programme starts in the autumn semester of each academic year.

A total of one hundred and twenty (120) academic credits of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) are required to obtain the DPS.

During their studies, postgraduate students are required to attend and pass the postgraduate courses, attend lectures of invited scientists and seminars, engage in research, and write scientific papers where required.

The courses are taught face-to-face. Courses are organised in semesters, are held on a weekly basis, and are conducted in Greek or English. In special cases (e.g., temporary illness of the lecturer, force majeure) a small number of lectures may be held online.

The award of the Diploma of Postgraduate Studies requires the successful completion of sixteen courses, four per semester, according to the curriculum.

Eleven courses are compulsory, while the remaining five are electives.

Each course, whether compulsory or elective, corresponds to 7,5 academic credits (ECTS). Thus, each semester corresponds to 30 academic credits, while a total of at least one hundred and twenty (120) academic credits (ECTS) are required for the award of the Diploma of Postgraduate Studies. The minimum number of teaching hours for each course is three per week.

During the first and second semester each student attends four compulsory courses: “Macroeconomic Theory I”, “Microeconomic Theory I”, “Mathematics I”, “Econometrics I” in the first semester and “Macroeconomic Theory II”, “Microeconomic Theory II”, “Mathematics II”, “Econometrics II” in the second semester.

In the third semester students attend two compulsory courses, “History of Economic Thought” and “Economics as a Social Science I”, and two elective courses, while in the fourth semester each student attends one compulsory course, “Economics as a Social Science II”, and three electives.

The main objective of the curriculum is for students to acquire a solid background in economics and at the same time specialise in specific areas. The compulsory courses of the programme aim to provide students with the necessary knowledge with which they will be able to tackle specialised research topics. In the second year of study, students have the opportunity to take from the many elective courses offered, those that fall within the research fields they wish to pursue. The elective courses are determined at the beginning of each academic year, with the aim of creating a comprehensive curriculum, based on the availability of lecturers.  The offer of elective courses depends on the availability of the lecturer in a given semester and the number of students enrolled. The Departmental Assembly, upon the recommendation of the Steering Committee, decides which elective courses will be offered each semester.

Students may, if they wish, take more elective courses than the five required to complete their studies. They may attend them either as listeners or by being graded in them. Any additional electives in which students are graded do not count towards their degree.

Β. Courses and Attendance

Each academic year is divided into two semesters – autumn and spring, each of which comprises at least 13 weeks of teaching and four weeks of examinations.  Resit examinations for both semesters of an academic year are held in September.

If a lecture of a course is not delivered for whatever reason, it will be offered on another date. The time and date of this lecture is the responsibility of the lecturer who informs the students by posting the date and time of the extra lecture in the course’s e-class platform or by e-mail to the registered students.

Attendance of the courses is compulsory.

Each student is considered to have attended a course (and is therefore entitled to participate in the examinations) only if he/she has attended 70% of the teaching hours of the course. Otherwise, the student is obliged to attend the course again in the following academic year.

The maximum time allowed for the completion of studies is set at six academic semesters. Students must complete their studies in the Programme within three years from the date of admission.

Students may request in writing a suspension of their studies for one semester or one year (for reasons of force majeure, special circumstances, etc.). Each student may be granted only one suspension. Semesters during the suspension do not count towards the maximum period of regular study.

The granting and duration of suspension or extension of study is decided by the Assembly of the Department, following the recommendation of the Steering Committee. In exceptional cases, the Assembly may grant further extension or suspension of the studies.

C. Student Assessment

The assessment of students for their performance in the courses is carried out at the end of each semester by means of written examinations or written assignments or a combination both. There may also be examinations (progress tests) during the semester. Grading shall be on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the top grade and 5 the minimum pass grade.

The use of half a point is also adopted in this scale. Failure to attend the course examination is equivalent to failure. The marks of the courses shall be submitted by the lecturers to the Programme Secretariat within 30 days of the end of the examination period. The examination is repeated in September in case of failure. Students who do not pass a course in September may sit again for the exams in the corresponding examination periods of the following academic year.

In order to obtain the postgraduate diploma, it is necessary, within the maximum permitted limit of six (6) academic semesters, to successfully complete all 16 courses of the Programme in order to accumulate 120 ECTS credits.

D. Degree Grade

The degree grade is obtained by taking the unweighted average of the marks obtained by students in the sixteen courses they are required to take.

Ε. Obligations and Rights of Students

1. Postgraduate students have all the rights and benefits provided for undergraduate students, except for the right to free textbooks. The institution is obliged to ensure that students with disabilities and/or special needs have access to the proposed texts and teaching (Article 3, paragraph 5, subparagraph 8 (η) of Law 4957/2022).
   The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens operates an Accessibility Unit for Students with Disabilities (MoProFmeA). Specifically, these students are guaranteed access to interpersonal communication with members of the academic community, to the university buildings, to educational material (printed and electronic), to the blackboard and to classroom projections, to the writing of notes, assignments, and written examinations, to information, internet content and IT applications.
2. Postgraduate students are invited to participate and attend seminars of research groups, literature review discussions, laboratory visits, conferences/meetings with a subject related to their studies or other scientific events.
3. The Assembly of the Department, following the recommendation of the Steering Committee, may decide to remove postgraduate students from the programme if:
   1. they exceed the maximum duration of study in the Programme, as defined in the Regulation of Studies and in the present Study Guide,
   2. have violated the applicable provisions regarding the treatment of disciplinary offences by the competent disciplinary bodies,
   3. automatically upon request of the student,
   4. have committed an offence that falls under the law on intellectual property (Law 2121/1993) during the writing of their assignments.
4. At the end of each semester an evaluation of each course and each lecturer is carried out by the postgraduate students (para. 1., Art. 87, Law 4957/2022). A specific questionnaire with evaluation questions is distributed using a structured questionnaire to the students of the Programme who, within a certain period of time, have the right to evaluate the programme anonymously. The results of the evaluation of each lecturer are communicated to him/her after the end of the evaluation period and to the Steering Committee and are taken into account for the improvement of the programme.
5. The commencement takes place during a session of the Departmental Assembly and in the presence of the Programme Director, the Chair of the Department or his/her deputy and, if possible, a representative of the Rector.
6. A Degree of Graduate Studies shall not be awarded to a student whose undergraduate degree from a foreign institution has not been recognized by HNARIC in accordance with the law 3328/2005 (GG 80A/1.4.2005).
7. Students may apply for a diploma supplement.
8. The operating costs of the Programme will be covered by the grants of the University of Athens, the Special Account for Research Grants, and the Ministry of Education.

F. Regulation of Studies

The Regulation of Studies of the Programme was published in the Government Gazette 4620Β/18.10.2018. The provisions of Law 4957/2022 supersede those of the Regulation. A new Regulation of Studies conforming to the Law will be published in the near future.