The Alexander S. Onassis Program in Hellenic Studies provides students with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of the language, literature, history, and politics of Greece. Through a wide range of courses, students are exposed to a polyphony of viewpoints that help elucidate the historical and political experiences of Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern Greece; the ways in which Greece has borne its several pasts and translated them into the modern era; Greece and its relations to Western Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Mediterranean cultures; and the distinguished literary and artistic traditions of a country that many regard as the birthplace of Western civilization, even as these traditions exhibit their multicultural contexts.
The Arts and Science summer program in Athens combines classroom study of the language, history, and culture of Greece with extracurricular activities and excursions that introduce students to all aspects of Greek life. The program offers a wide range of courses on such subjects as the Greek language, Greek literature and photography, Greek drama, Greek political history, the city of Athens, and the archaeology of Greece. Classes are held at our new facility in Athens, conveniently located in Kolonaki neighborhood and the historical center of Athens. Activities include walking tours of Athens, visits to monuments and museums, and evening outings to dramatic and musical performances. Weekend excursions include trips to several Greek islands and to important historical and archaeological sites. Relevant courses taken in this summer program count toward the major or minor as regular courses.
Honors Program
A degree in Hellenic Studies is awarded with honors to students who complete nine courses (36 credits) of graded work while maintaining an overall GPA of 3.65 and an average in the major of 3.65 and who successfully complete a program of original research leading to an honors thesis. Honors students are required to enroll in both HEL-UA 997 Independent Study (4 credits) and HEL-UA 999 Senior Honors Seminar (4 credits). HEL-UA 997 Independent Study may count toward the nine courses (36 credits) required for the major, but HEL-UA 999 Senior Honors Seminar does not count. Students should email vt507@nyu.edu by April 1st of their junior year to apply.
The thesis topic and the faculty adviser are chosen in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies. The average length of the paper is 40-60 pages. Honors students are encouraged, but not required, to take at least one appropriate graduate course in Hellenic Studies.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.
Select two specifically designated survey courses offered within the program
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Track A: Language, Literature, and Culture (see track requirements below)
Track B: Politics and History (see track requirements below)
Track C: The Classical Legacy (see track requirements below)
Electives
Major Electives
16
Other Elective Credits
52
Total Credits
128
Tracks
Students in tracks A and B who have placed out of HEL-UA 105 Intermediate Mod Greek I and HEL-UA 106 Intermediate Modern Greek II are encouraged to take HEL-UA 107 Advanced Modern Greek I and HEL-UA 108 Advanced Modern Greek II. Track C students who place out of Intermediate Modern Greek I and II are encouraged to take HEL-UA 107 Advanced Modern Greek I and HEL-UA 108 Advanced Modern Greek II, or two semesters of ancient Greek in the Department of Classics. Also note that students in tracks A and C are allowed to count up to six courses (24 credits) in Modern Greek language toward the major; students in track B are required to take up to at least four courses in Modern Greek (16 credits) for the major, unless they have placed ahead in/out of this language.
Language, Literature, and Culture Track — Designated Survey Courses
This track provides students with a solid foundation in the modern Greek language and provides a comprehensive introduction to medieval and modern Greek literature and culture. Students in Language, Literature, and Culture Track should take survey courses in both Language, Literature, and Culture Track and Politics and History Track.
Politics and History Track — Designated Survey Courses
This track provides students with an interdisciplinary social science perspective on the medieval and modern Greek experience. Students may choose to concentrate their studies in history or politics, or create their own combination in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies. Students in Politics and History Track should take survey courses in both Language, Literature, and Culture Track and Politics and History Track.
The Classical Legacy Track — Designated Survey Courses
This track provides students with an interdisciplinary perspective on the reception of classical Greek thought in postclassical Greece. Students in The Classical Legacy Track should take a survey course from either Language, Literature, and Culture Track or Politics and History Track in addition to their The Classical Legacy Track survey.
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have developed:
Proficiency in the modern Greek language at the intermediate level or higher through multimodal instruction in the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
A broad knowledge of Greek culture, arts, literature, language, politics, sociology, and history, including ancient and contemporary movements, figures, and works.
The ability to contextualize and analyze Greece’s current sociopolitical and cultural state through a variety of disciplines, including literary and cultural studies, sociology, philosophy, history, and politics.
The ability to utilize critical thinking and research to analyze literary and audiovisual texts, as well as to craft well-supported arguments in written and oral work.
The ability to apply Hellenic studies to their fields of interest and prospective careers.
Policies
Policies Applying to the Major
HEL-UA 105 Intermediate Mod Greek I and HEL-UA 106 Intermediate Modern Greek II may be counted toward both the major and the College Core Curriculum foreign language requirement.
Which two survey courses students choose depends on the disciplinary track that they select. Every student must take at least one designated survey course in their own track of concentration and one designated survey course from another track. (Students in track A should also take a track B survey; students in track B should also take a track A survey; and students in track C should also take one survey in track A or B.)
Additional Hellenic Studies courses may be required to reach the total of nine courses for the major. (The sample curriculum provided in this Bulletin assumes a student who cannot test out of the full intermediate level of Modern Greek.) The exact number of electives varies according to a student’s level of language proficiency upon entrance to the major. Subject to the approval of the director of undergraduate studies, cognate offerings in other departments or an approved internship may be counted toward the major. A sample list of cognate courses is available from the program office.