AKTO offers nine degree programmes validated by Middlesex
University. These last between three and four years at the
undergraduate level and one year at the graduate level in their
full-time form:
Four year programmes:
Three year programmes:
One year programmes:
AKTO also offers two non-validated degrees lasting two
years and resulting in a Diploma from AKTO College:
AKTO follows a semester-based system. Winter semester runs from
October to the end of January and is followed by a two-week exam
period. Spring semester runs from mid-February to the end of May
and is followed by end-of-year exams. Non-successful examinees have
an opportunity to revise in the summer and re-sit their exams in
September.
Students must be at least 16 years of age and have completed
their High School education. In a few exceptional cases AKTO has
enrolled students without a complete Secondary education. The
College may stipulate its Foundation year as a requirement
depending on the applicant.
AKTO offers a Foundation year as an obligatory first year of
studies in the Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Product
Design BA degree programmes. This does two things. It introduces
students to art history and the world of design, allowing them time
to orient themselves and decide which BA degree programme to
pursue. At the same time, it trains them in drafting, drawing,
painting, basic photography and technical drawing, developing the
level of technical skill that will be required of them in the
second year.
By going to Degree Programmes you can navigate
through all the options at AKTO and find both programme
descriptions and syllabus outlines.
AKTO began to validate its study programmes with Middlesex University in 1991, and is
today a Validated College. This means that entrants are Middlesex
University students when they enroll at AKTO and are holders of
Middlesex University BA and MA degree certificates when they
graduate, without ever being obliged to do any part of their
studies at Middlesex University. Middlesex University issues
transcripts to students listing all the modules they have
undertaken and the grade attained.
AKTO undergoes a stringent validation process every five years
with both Middlesex University and the UK's Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education (QAA), which oversees standards in the
British university system. In addition, all final exam results are
reviewed by Middlesex University examiners at the end of each year
before degrees are awarded.
Finally, AKTO is obliged to take into account student concerns
and complaints institutionally through Board of Studies meetings
involving the College administration, academic administration and
student representatives. Minutes of these meetings are shared with
Middlesex University, ensuring the greatest possible transparency
concerning student satisfaction on academic and infrastructure
matters.
Bachelor of Arts graduates at AKTO can easily transfer to Middlesex University for
postgraduate study. Their degrees are accepted as commensurate with
those issued at the home institution and AKTO's academic office is
in a position to help students file their applications.
The Bachelor of Arts degree is the United Kingdom's most widely
recognised undergraduate academic qualification in the liberal
arts, and usually forms the basis for any further, postgraduate
study.
Middlesex
University is the second-largest public university in Britain,
with 22,000 students at its homes campuses in north London and a
further 7,000 students at its overseas campuses and affiliated
institutions like AKTO. Middlesex offers a wide range of high
quality undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, located within
five departments: Art and Design; Education; English, Languages and
Philosophy; Media; Performing Arts.
The design market recognises AKTO as the most influential
College of Art & Design in Greece. In November 2007 AKTO came
under the ownership of National Bank of Greece Investments, and
forms a strategic part of NBGI's development portfolio in Southeast
Europe.
Historically, AKTO has operated under the legal regime provided
by Greek law for non-state universities as a Centre for Liberal
Studies (KES). That legal regime is now changing. Law 3696/2008 for
the first time recognised the existence of private, post-secondary
educational institutions called Colleges, and placed them under the
oversight of the Ministry of Education.
Under this law, AKTO received its license to found a College
from the ministry of education in 2009 (published in Government
Gazette No. 1532 on 27 July 2009) and its operating license
in Government Gazette No. 2138 on 1 October 2009).
In July 2010 the legal framework was changed again to adopt the
term "centre for post-secondary education" for Colleges, enshrined
in ministrial decision 63893/IA/3.6.2010. With ministerial
decisions 92788α/ΙΑ και 112975α/ΙΑ, AKTO's three campuses in Athens
and Thessaloniki received license to operate as a centre for
post-secondary education.
The publication of presidential decree 38 in the Government
Gazette number A 78/25.05.2010 on "harmonizing Greek law with
Directive 2005/36/EP of the European Parliament and the European
Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional
qualifications" opens the door for AKTO graduates to participate in
public hiring rounds. It also allows European Union degree holders
to work for the public sector as long as they are accepted by their
professional association or guild. Applicants can ask for the
Council for Recognition of Professional Qualifications (SAEP) to
review their application within three months, as the law
stipulates.
The Middlesex University degrees issued after courses of study
at AKTO are in full compliance with European law and approved by
the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom
(NARIC), the UK's national agency for comparison information on
overseas skills and qualifications. AKTO's BA and MA graduates are
therefore welcomed and recognized in a European Union labour market
of 450 million people. AKTO's graduates are gainfully employed
throughout the Greek private sector, for which they are principally
educated, both as salaried employees and self-employed business
owners.
Bachelor of Arts graduates at AKTO can easily transfer to Middlesex University for
postgraduate study. Their degrees are accepted as commensurate with
those issued at the home institution and AKTO's Foreign Liaison
Office is in a position to help students file their applications.
Since 2002, AKTO has also offered a Middlesex University validated
Master
of Arts in Design course.
- It is a College dedicated to and specialising in Design. It
thus provides an academic and social environment that complements
the particular discipline a student chooses to pursue.
- Its courses are comprehensive, covering all the major
disciplines in Design.
- AKTO is a pioneering institution. For instance, it created
Greece's first undergraduate degree courses in Photography, 3D
Animation & Multimedia Productions, Cartoon-Sketch-Comics and
Fashion Design, long before these disciplines were introduced in
public universities and other private colleges. AKTO also holds the
only validated Product Design course in the country.
- AKTO places a strong emphasis on technology as well as creative
development, ensuring graduates' greater marketability.
- AKTO's faculty is made up of professionals who can steer
students in the direction of correct professional practice and
ethos.
- Academic stringency is completed by real-market simulations
through projects and competitions jointly organised with major
private sector companies.
- AKTO offers a flexibility and cross-disciplinarity found
nowhere else in Greek higher education. Part-time and seminar-based
studies offer flexibility to professionals. AKTO also offers the
possibility of elective modules for students.
- AKTO is widely recognised in the Greek market as a provider of
independent thinkers and integral designers. AKTO's Career Office
provides roughly two job listings for every graduate.
- The Middlesex University degrees AKTO
provides are recognised throughout the European Union.
- AKTO is a recognised College under Greek law and is owned by an
institutional investor, the National Bank of Greece.
- AKTO invests inthe future. A newly constructed home campus
opens its doors in October 2010 in central Athens, and new degree
courses are regularly brought online. A new Bachelor of Arts course in
Marketing and Advertising begins in the 2010-2011 academic
year.
AKTO's Career
Office typically channels 700-1,000 job offers a year to
graduates - roughly two jobs per graduate. AKTO enjoys a sterling
reputation with industry because it has been instrumental in
supplying talent for design staff positions throughout the Greek
market for four decades. Most of its graduates find work in
publishing, broadcast media, telecommunications, advertising,
architecture, construction, engineering, photography, fashion,
textiles and industrial design firms. Many choose to be
self-employed business owners, selling services to these
markets.
AKTO's Career
Office receives requests for employment from students who
stipulate their area of interest. The Office then filters job
offers from roughly 1,200 companies registered in its database. It
also organises seminars for graduates on how to write their
resumes, conduct themselves in an interview and sell their
services.
The annual fees cover students'
enrolment costs at AKTO and at Middlesex University, the cost of
teaching, the course notes and bibliographies, software manuals,
access to libraries, workshops and computer labs and Wi-fi. In
addition, they cover supplementary or remedial lessons where the
College and faculty deem those necessary. The College also makes
available software instructors for students who want tutorials on
Saturday mornings, free of charge.
Fees can be paid in three ways:
- a) In advance, by the end of October. This entitles students to
a 10 percent discount.
- b) In five instalments, upon enrolment and in November,
December, February and April.
- c) In smaller, monthly instalments through the academic
year.
AKTO extends most of its scholarships to graduates of
international universities or Greek public universities and
polytechnics who come to AKTO for postgraduate studies. It also
awards these to its own BA graduates who choose to stay on for the
MA programme.
Undergraduates may be entitled to an AKTO scholarship if they
have graduated with exceptionally good results from High School.
You can find out more in Fees & Financial Aid.
AKTO offers five of its degree programmes in an Open Learning
format, which requires students to attend classes two afternoons a
week during semesters. These programmes are:
You can take a Bachelor of Arts degree through AKTO's Distance
Learning programme, which requires students to attend classes one
weekend a month and covers their overnight expenses. This option is
available in three disciplines:
Study at AKTO leads to a UK degree obtained entirely in Greece.
This obviates the need for costly travel to the UK and offers
students in Southeast Europe and the Middle East a lower cost of
living in Greece. For those who plan to live and work in Greece,
AKTO also offers the advantage of connecting them to the Greek
market and Greek employers through its industry-related class
projects, its faculty and its good reputation in design-related
companies.
AKTO also compares favourably with Greek public universities and
polytechnics in that it offers:
- A UK degree based on British educational standards and
principles
- A focus on design
- A course of study uninterrupted by strikes, party political
activism and sit-ins
- A culture of personal attention and extra tutorials
- Strong connections to industry and a Career Office that finds
graduates job listings and helps book interviews with
employers
- A comprehensive education focusing on creative development,
technical skill and market awareness
Transferring students are welcome
at AKTO. They must undergo an interview to determine what stage
they have reached and in which semester they would need to be
placed in their new course of study. See Transfers.