The Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH; el, Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης), established in July 1973, is based in

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-p ...

, Greece and has campuses in the

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

cities of

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...

, Komotini,

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis ( el, Αλεξανδρούπολη, ), Alexandroupoli, or Alexandrople is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Western Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It h ...

and

Orestiada Orestiada ( el, Ορεστιάδα, formerly , ''Nea Orestiás''), is the northeasternmost, northernmost and newest city of Greece and the second largest town of the Evros regional unit of Thrace. Founded by Greek refugees from Edirne after the ...

."''The relation between DUTH and the wider society seems to be rather asymmetric. In addition, it appears that some of the existing problems are due to the multi-city / multi-campus nature of DUTH and therefore the institution should focus on overcoming difficulties regarding connection of departments and schools with the whole region and not only within the city in which the local campus belongs. Although the intent is that the academic programs and awarded degrees are monitored there is no evidence of this objective being achieved. Library resources and operation are negatively affected by limited funding. Transportation and student housing issues need to be addressed. A center for faculty support of teaching and research/grants development is in order. The report was honest and clear in pointing out strengths as well as weaknesses. One dissenting member who finds the final rating as “Worthy of Merit” views it as a rating of “the totality of the internal evaluation process” with emphasis on the overall efficacy.''" The university today comprises eight schools — School of

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

School,

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

, School of

Agricultural Sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

, School of

Education Sciences Education sciences or education theory (traditionally often called ''pedagogy'') seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education policy and practice. Education sciences include many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, ...

, School of Economic and Social Sciences, School of

Health Sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

and School of

Physical Education and Sport Sciences Physical may refer to: *Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor *Physical (Olivia Newton-John album), ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 **Physical (Olivia Newton-John song), "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) *P ...

and twenty Departments. As of 2020, there is a student population of 25,919 registered undergraduates and 5,071 registered postgraduate and PhD students, a research and teaching personnel of over 600 as well as approximately 300 administrative staff. As a university it is state-owned and fully self-administered. It is thus supervised and subsidized by the Greek State and the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The university plays an important role in strengthening the national and cultural identity of the region of Thrace, and contributes to the high level of education in Greece.

Name and emblem

The emblem of the Democritus University of Thrace represents the influential Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher

Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...

. He was born in Abdera, Thrace and is primarily remembered today for his formulation of an

atomic theory of matter Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter ...

History

The university was established in July 1973 and accepted its first students in the academic year 1974–1975. The first departments to operate were the Department of Law and the Department of Civil Engineering. It was named after

, the ancient Greek philosopher who hailed from the town of Abdera in Thrace.

Schools and departments

The university consists of eight schools and 20 departments.

Research

The research strategy of DUTH aims at one hand to further support its academic and outward-looking character and on the other hand to promote its social role.

Academic evaluation

In 2016 the external evaluation committee gave Democritus University of Thrace a ''Positive evaluation''. An external evaluation of all academic departments in Greek universities was conducted by the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (HQA).

References

External links

Democritus University of Thrace

DUTH Internal Quality Assurance Unit

DUTH DASTA Office (Career Office & Innovation Unit)

DUTH Information Technology and Communications Office

Hellenic Authority for Higher Education (HAHE)

Study in Greece – Official portal for studies in Greece

"ATHENA" Plan for Higher Education

Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (HEAL-Link))

Kallipos (e-books Greek academic publishing)

Greek Research and Technology Network (GRNET)

okeanos (GRNET's cloud service)
{{authority control * Universities in Greece

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Education in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Educational institutions established in 1973 1973 establishments in Greece Buildings and structures in Komotini Xanthi Buildings and structures in Evros (regional unit) Alexandroupolis Orestiada