The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis’ study abroad program consists of many branch campuses located across the globe.
The University of Indianapolis Athens, located in Athens, Greece, attracts students from around the world. It offers 30 undergraduate programs and eight graduate programs in the arts and sciences as well as in business.

UIndy Athens has approximately 500 students who attend the university each year.

Credit transfers are a common concern for students who choose to study abroad. Study Abroad Advisor Breezy Wente assured that although UIndy Athens is much smaller than the campus in Indianapolis, all credits transfer between campuses for students who wish to study in both locations.

“The majority of the courses are the same at the UIndy Athens [campus] as they are at the University of Indianapolis, but not all,” Wente said.

The UIndy Athens campus consists of the academic building, the administrative building and the cultural center.
Students attend classes in the academic building. Financial aid, housing and the cafeteria are managed in the administrative building. The newest addition to the Athens campus is the cultural center.

“The cultural center is beautiful. It contains an arts building, library and study rooms, “Wente said.

All classes at UIndy Athens are taught in English. When the campus was established, the goal was to replicate a U.S. institution. The university also uses UIndy syllabi for the courses.

“One of the benefits of attending UIndy Athens is that you have the opportunity of taking classes with other international students and Greek students,” Wente said.

The tuition cost at UIndy Athens is $10,595 per semester, which includes housing, tuition and fees. This price does not include meal plans.

Each semester entails overnight excursions to different parts of Greece. The world’s first Olympic stadium, the monasteries of Meteora and the Corinth Canal are some of the popular destinations.

“UIndy Athens allows transferring of financial aid only for UIndy students. Tuition can also be discounted based on certain scholarships,” Wente said.

UIndy senior Danielle Buckel, a history and theatre double major, studied abroad in Athens during the spring semester in 2010. She mainly took general education courses.

“UIndy Athens had very similar classes to UIndy. I was amazed by the small classes and the personal attention the professors gave the students,” Buckel said.

According to Buckel, having all of the classes taught in English was helpful because Greek is a very difficult language to learn.

“The Greek culture has a laid back way of life. The whole experience of travelling abroad to UIndy Athens was definitely a wonderful experience and a fabulous learning experience that will never be forgotten,” Buckel said. “I would recommend travelling abroad in a heartbeat.”

Aside for UIndy’s Greek ties, the university also partners with Galen University. Galen is a relatively new partnership university in Belize. The partnership was formed in 2006.

Wente runs the Galen partnership, which is a part of the College Consortium for International students (CCIS). The Galen exchange program is available for UIndy students and pays for half of the costs, not including housing.

According to Wente, financial aid is accepted at this partnership. It is also accepted at the Athens campus.

Galen University offers degrees in anything from accounting to tourism, international relations to business administration. The campus is located in San Ignacio and is a very small school that is in the process of expanding.

“The fascination of attending this partnership university is that you get the experience of seeing different traditions,” Wente said.