Undergraduate Study Guide

1.      Structure

The current syllabus of the Department of History and Ethnology is structured in the following manner:

In the Department of History and Ethnology, two disciplines are studied and taught, history and ethnology. Just as any discipline can be broken down into subjects and various fields of study, here in the Department of History and Ethnology, the two disciplines may be broken down/in the following fashion.

As the diagram above shows, the Department of History and Ethnology syllabus contains altogether 16 subjects, nine drawn from history and seven from Ethnology, in addition to which there are two special introductory courses on the subject of the methodology of academic research, one concerning history and one ethnology.

2.      Course Bands

Each subject is divided into more specialised academic specialities, that is, into courses.
However, the courses that form the syllabus do not derive only from the subjects into which

the two disciplines studied in the Department are divided. They also derive from disciplines auxiliary to history and ethnology, such as, for example, courses in ancient languages and literature, palaeography or the history of art, and even from the disciplines of education and teaching method. This means that graduates of the Department of History and Ethnology will be able to sit the examination set by ΑΣΕΠ or the recruitment of teachers. The syllabus of the Department of History and Ethnology thus breaks down into three subject bands.

Band A: Compulsory Courses

Band A includes 18 obligatory introductory courses in the 18 (that is, 16 + 2) subjects of the two disciplines studied and taught in the Department. These 18 courses are distributed over the student's first three semesters, as follows:

The semester in which each course is taught is given in the course catalogue .

Band B: Compulsory Elective Courses

Band B contains the 16 compulsory elective courses (YE)³. The choice of these depends on the course of study (that is, either in history or ethnology) that the student chooses upon completing his/her third semester in the Department. Of these courses, 12 derive from the course of study chosen by the student and four derive from the other course of study. The student picks his or her compulsory elective courses from the annual list of courses for each subjects. This is compiled each year on the basis of suggestions made by members of the teaching and research staff and is approved by the Department in general session. This list

will include at least double the number of courses that a student of the Department is obliged to take.

The list of compulsory elective courses may include courses offered by other Departments, as long as the member of the teaching and research staff concerned makes a fully documented proposal to the effect that the course in question should be included in the list of compulsory elective courses and as long as the course in question is approved by the Department general committee.

Students of the Department may choose compulsory elective courses from any subjects of either course of study. However, they may not choose more than three courses per course of study. Thus, if a student chooses history as a course of study, he or she must choose 12 courses from at least four subjects drawn from history (3 x 4 = 12) and four courses from at least two subjects drawn from Ethnology (3 + 1 = 4 or 2 + 2=4).

Similarly, if a student chooses ethnology as his or her course of study, he or she must choose 12 courses from at least four subjects from Ethnology (3X4=12) and four courses from at least two subjects drawn from history. All the figures given here are merely for the sake of example.

Band C: Free Elective Courses

Band C contains 14 free elective courses (EE). The student chooses these from the list of courses compiled annually and approved by the Department general committee on the basis of suggestions made by member of the teaching and research staff of the Department. Such courses may be drawn from:

        •         compulsory elective courses or free elective courses not so far chosen by the student

•         free elective courses offered by the Department

•         courses offered by other Departments of the Democritus University of Thrace

•         courses offered under the Erasmus exchange programme

The courses in Bands B and C are not assigned to any particular semester.

In other words, all students of the Department of History and Ethnology, on completing the obligatory part of their programme of studies, which lasts over the first three semesters, can put together the programme that caters best to their needs and interests.

All students of the Department, however, in order to compete their studies, have to pass 48 courses altogether (that is, 18 compulsory courses during the first, second and third semesters, 16 compulsory elective courses and 14 free elective courses during the fifth sixth, seventh and eighth semesters).

In addition to these courses, there are a further eight semester-long language courses,

which students of the Department must pass, although the grade given for these courses does not contribute to the final grade average of the student's degree. Furthermore, if it is considered necessary, students of the Department are obliged to complete a certain number of teaching hours in the Computing Laboratory. This number of hours will not exceed a total of 60 during the whole course of the student's undergraduate studies in the Department.

3.       Special Regulations

A.     Special Study Assignment: The completion of at least two special study assignments

during the course of the eight semesters, in any subject or course offered by the syllabus is required. The terms on which such assignments are to be written are set by the instructor, who also offers certification on successful completion of the assignment.

B.     Degree Dissertation: The writing of a degree dissertation is optional. However, students who desire to undertake a degree dissertation should be able to show that they have already completed two special study assignments before undertaking a degree dissertation. A degree dissertation is the equivalent of two semester courses, one compulsory elective course in the subject on which the degree dissertation is to be written and one free elective course. The student is not therefore required to attend the lectures of these two courses or to pass the course examination. Students may opt to write a degree dissertation after completion of their sixth semester of studies, even if they have engaged in study for more than eight semesters, the minimum normally required to take a degree. Further details on the writing of degree dissertations are given in the Degree Dissertations Regulations in the full version of the course catalogue.