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Study Abroad | Athens
Fall 2023: Academics

Acropolis.

Select Your Program Option:

  • Fall 2023

  • Spring 2024

  • Fall 2024

  • Spring 2025

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AcadEmics Overview

AIFS Abroad offers a unique global educational experience for students on this program, with the following academic options available:

Program Options

Program Name Early Start Available Credits Notes
Full Curriculum
Early Start Available: No Credits: Up to 15

Over 1,000 ACG courses are available to AIFS students on the Full Curriculum program. Courses meet for 3 hours per week and are recommended for 3 credits. Take up to 5 courses (minimum of 4) for a total of 15 credits.

No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a grade. Pass/Fail options are not available.

For a full and current list of available courses, contact the AIFS Program Advisor.

Eligibility Notes

International Honors program: 3.5 GPA and above. n On-campus internship: 3.0 GPA and above.

Accounting

Anthropology

Archaeology

Art

Art History

Biology

Business Administration

Communications

Criminal Justice

Economics

English

Environmental Studies

Finance

Foreign Language

History

Hospitality Management

International Business

Literature

Management

Music

Natural Resources & Conservation

Philosophy

Political Science

Psychology

Sociology

Statistics

Theater Studies

Courses Taught by Other Institutions

AIFS students who have a GPA of 3.5 or above are eligible to apply for the International Honors program at the American College of Greece where they will be able to choose from a select number of 3-credit Honors seminars.

Each semester the offerings will vary. Previous options included:

  • HFP 2202 (3) Documentary Photography
  • HFP 2205 (3) The Sound of the Future: Sonic Fiction, Science Fiction and Creative Coding
  • HHU 2204 (3) Digital Citizenship: Netizens and Cyberselves
  • HHU 2206 (3) Mediated Lives: Avatars, Cyborgs and Virtual Realities
  • HHU 2207 (3) Constructions of Desire: Representations of Eroticism in Western Culture
  • HHU 2208 (3) Poverty as Spectacle from the Odyssey to the Greek Crisis
  • HHU 2209 (3) The City of Athens: Landscape, Narrative and Urban Memory
  • HHU 2210 (3) Between Reality and Imagination: Constructions of Modern Cityscapes
  • HHU 2216 (3) Gaming the Past
  • HHU 2218 (3) Food In/As Culture: Perspectives in Greek Culinary Traditions
  • HNS 2285 (3) Greening the Campus
  • HSS 2201 (3) Career Building through Social Media
  • HSS 2212 (3) The Future of Capitalism
  • HSS 2214 (3) Laughing it Off: Forms and Uses of Modern Political Satire
  • HSS 2215 (3) Rebels Without a Cause: Cultural Expressions of 20th and 21st Century Youth Subcultures
  • HSS 2217 (3) Game On: Game Design and Social Interactions
  • HSS 2220 (3) Strolling Incognito in Athens: The Art of City Walkabouts
  • HSS 2221 (3) Performing Masculinities

Academic Credit & Transcripts

Credit Transfer

As a part of the AIFS application for semester programs, you will complete a Course Approval Form, which will be signed off by your study abroad office staff and/or faculty at your university.

For J Term/Summer programs, no such approval form is needed; however, students are still responsible for ensuring credit can be brought back from their overseas program.
In any case, we recommend getting additional courses approved in case you need to change courses while abroad.

Overseas universities do not use the credit system employed by American institutions. AIFS students must make special arrangements to transfer credits, but since AIFS courses are given at recognized universities or the AIFS Centers (which are transcripted by Fairfield University), there usually is no difficulty in arranging transfer credit toward U.S. degrees provided the proper procedure is followed.

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

Many of the European institutions that AIFS works with award credits under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). ECTS enables cooperating institutions to measure and compare a student’s performance and facilitates the transfer of credits from the European institution to the U.S institution.

Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)

Language levels are defined according to the CEFR and will be listed on your transcript on completion of the program. CEFR organizes language proficiency into six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) which can be regrouped into three broad levels according to the needs of the local institution: Beginner: A1, A2/U.S. Level 100; Intermediate: B1, B2/U.S. Level 200-300; Advanced: C1, C2/U.S. Level 400

Transcripts

When you complete your program, an official transcript is sent to your home institution directly from AIFS Abroad or the host university. Another official transcript may be retained by AIFS Abroad in Stamford, but this is not the case for all programs. Please contact transcripts@aifs.com to find out how to request additional transcripts. 
 
Generally, your school should receive your transcript 60 days after completion of the program. (Cannes Semester programs, Perth, Sydney, Dublin, Limerick, and Wellington Programs exception: Transcripts issued and retained by the host universities. Transcripts for the Cannes Semester programs are issued by Chapman University.)
 
Transcripts may come without an English-language translation, so participants will need to organize translations with their home university.

Academic Records

Credit assessment methods in overseas universities may not be comparable to those in U.S. universities. Grading may involve exams, papers, individual projects, class discussion or some combination of these. Although academic institutions abroad may grade on a variety of scales, admissions counselors and registrars at U.S. institutions are familiar with international grading systems and can convert grades.

Course Selection

AIFS Program Advisors are available to assist you in the process. The following procedure is recommended:

Read course descriptions for the selected program and select courses. Obtain approval from your academic or study abroad advisor for the preliminary courses selected. Final approval of credit transfer for completed courses is at the discretion of the Registrar or appropriate official at the home institution. Students must ascertain that courses taken meet their individual academic program requirements. Recommended credits in this catalog are based on 15 classroom hours per semester credit.

I would absolutely recommend this program. The trip has been such a positive experience. Wonderful program!

AIFS has a lot to offer. The more I talked to American students from other programs, the more I realized that AIFS was clearly the best choice

This program opened my eyes to a culture and society I knew very little about. I made great friends and had a fabulous time during the process. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

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