How to Get into a University in Greece: Exams, Foreign Applicants and English Programmes

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Greece has three ways in, and which one applies to you depends on where you finished school and in which language you want to study. Our catalogue holds 422 bachelor's programmes at public universities, 19 of them taught in English. Everything below reflects the Ministry of Education's rules in October 2026; dates for the 2027 intake are not yet published.

Route 1: the Panhellenic exams

Greek lyceum graduates enter through national exams held every year at the end of upper secondary school. Candidates are examined in four subjects of their orientation group, and every department sets its own weighting factors. The grade in each subject (0 to 20) is multiplied by the factor, the results are added and multiplied by 1,000, so the maximum is 20,000 points. Departments that require a special subject, such as a foreign language or drawing, can reach more.

Candidates then rank their chosen departments, and places are filled in descending order of score. Each department also has a minimum admission grade. The National Exams Organization stresses that it only lets you select the department and does not secure a place, and that it is not fixed at 10 on the 0 to 20 scale.

This route is for students of Greek schools. If you studied abroad, you do not sit these exams.

Route 2: foreign school graduates, without exams

The ministry runs a separate category for graduates of lyceums or equivalent schools outside Greece, both non-EU and EU. According to the 2025 general instructions:

You must have fully attended the last two classes of upper secondary school in the country where you graduated, and your certificate must give access to university in that country.
At least one parent must be of non-Greek origin. If you graduated from a foreign school that operates in Greece, neither you nor your parents may be of Greek origin.
Certificates obtained by distance learning are not accepted, and graduates of Greek schools operating in Greece cannot use this route.
You take no entrance exam. Selection is by the overall mark of your leaving certificate, converted to a 0 to 20 scale if needed.
You cannot submit this application and the one for Greeks living abroad in the same year.

In 2026 the online application was open from 2 July to 9 July at exams-foreigner.it.minedu.gov.gr. After submitting, candidates had to post the signed printouts and certified documents by courier to the ministry, with a postmark no later than 10 July. Study in Greece says results are usually announced around late August. See document recognition for Greece for what to prepare.

You can only be placed in a department that is listed on your application form. The published cut-off scores in our catalogue belong to the Greek lyceum quota and do not apply to this category. For comparison, the last admitted candidate to Greek-taught Medicine in the 2026 general quota scored between 18350 and 18900 points.

Route 3: non-EU students under Law 5094/2024

Article 58 of Law 5094/2024 lets each university's governing council admit non-EU students to Greek-language programmes outside the normal routes. Each decision sets the number of places per department and tuition fees tied to the total cost of studies. Applicants need a secondary diploma that gives access to higher education in their own country, at least one parent who is not a Greek citizen, the last two lyceum years completed abroad and a Greek certificate at B2 or higher. We found no university that has published such fees, so ask the department directly before relying on this route.

Language and medical check

Whichever Greek-taught route you use, you must hold a Greek language certificate to enrol. The 2025 instructions name B2 from the University of Athens, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki or the Centre for the Greek Language. Applicants without one can enrol only in the following academic year, and only if they have the certificate by then. Graduates of a school where they studied and were examined in Greek are exempt. Details are in Greek language requirements for Greece. Admitted students must also pass a medical examination before enrolling, as each department's regulations require.

Route 4: English-taught programmes

The 19 English-taught bachelor's programmes take applications directly at each university, not through the ministry. Each sets its own requirements, interviews or tests, deadlines and fees; see bachelor's degrees in English in Greece. Medicine in English is covered in study medicine in English in Greece.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.