The Department of Agriculture of the International Hellenic University was founded in 2019 according to Law 4610/2019 (Government Gazette Issue 70 / A / 07-05-2019) and is an evolution of the Department of Agricultural Technologists of the Alexander Technological Institute of Thessaloniki. The mission of the Department is to contribute to the cultivation and transmission of knowledge in the wider field of agricultural studies through teaching and applied research.
The seat of the Department of Agriculture is Sindos, Thessaloniki. The Department of Agriculture seeks to exploit the comparative advantages of the region of Thessaloniki, as one of the most fertile regions of Greece, but also as a hub of international trade, as it is an area in which a very large volume of plant and animal products of the country is produced. It is home to the largest agro-industries in the country and is a hub of the country’s trade (port, roads, railway).
The aim of the Department is to provide basic education in all fields of applied agricultural science and especially in the fields of Crop and Animal Production, Agricultural Economics and Entrepreneurship, but also Agricultural Biotechnology and Informatics Applications in Agriculture.
The Department offers a five-year Undergraduate Program of Study, two (2) two-year Postgraduate Programs and a Doctoral Program.
In 2023, after an extensive and thorough evaluation, the undergraduate program of studies of the Department of Agriculture was certified by the National Authority for Higher Education (HAHE) with Fully Compliant.
The Department of Agriculture of the IHU implements the Undergraduate Program of Studies from the Academic Year 2019-2020 until today, operating under three (3) directions: a) Direction of Agricultural Economics and Entrepreneurship, b) Direction of Animal Science and c) Direction of Crop Production.
The program of study has a duration of 10 semesters, leading to the 7th cycle of studies in a degree with recognition of a postgraduate degree (Integrated Master).
Graduates of the Department acquire during the first semesters of their studies a broad common knowledge infrastructure of agriculture, and then have the opportunity to specialize in a subject in the direction they choose from the fifth semester of their studies onwards. The flexibility of the Program allows alternative course options that enable students of one direction to choose courses of other directions, according to their interests and needs. The wide range of knowledge, abilities and skills built at the beginning, combined with the subsequent specialization, as well as the six-month internship that takes place in the tenth semester, and the diploma thesis that students prepare at the end of their studies, enable graduates to cope with a large set of agronomic applications and diversified professional occupations.
Graduates of the Department of Agriculture of the International Hellenic University, after the successful completion of their five-year university studies, are compulsorily enrolled in GEOTEE, in accordance with article 3 of Law 1474/84 – Government Gazette Issue 128 A and article 21 of Law 2040/1992 – Government Gazette Issue 70 A and enjoy full rights to practice the profession of Agronomist.
Since the Academic Year 2015-2016, the Department of Agriculture of the IHU operates the Postgraduate Program entitled “MSc in Innovative Systems of Sustainable Agricultural Production”, while from the Academic Year 2018-2019, operates the Postgraduate Program entitled “MSc in Environmental Management and Environmental Education”.
Since the Academic Year 2020-2021, the Department of Agriculture of the IHU is also operating a Doctoral Studies Program.
The Department of Agriculture of the IHU is ranked very high on the academic map of higher education. It is a point of reference for educational processes and scientific practices of agricultural education and research.