National Technical University of Athens
Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο
Greece's oldest technical university (1837), whose five-year engineering Diploma draws the country's top exam scorers.
- Students
- 13,139
- Tuition
- Free
- 2026-27
- Founded
- 1837
- QS World Ranking
- #378
- 2027 edition
About NTUA
The National Technical University of Athens, known in Greek as the Metsovion Polytechnic, was founded in 1837 as a Sunday school for builders and craftsmen, almost as old as the modern Greek state. It is named after benefactors from the town of Metsovo who funded its move in 1871 to the neoclassical Patission Street complex in central Athens. Today it has nine Schools: eight engineering Schools, including Architecture, and a School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
NTUA follows the continental European model of engineering education. There are no separate bachelor's and master's degrees: every School teaches a single five-year, 300-credit Diploma that is recognised as equivalent to a master's, and the tenth semester is devoted to a Diploma thesis. Eight Schools are on the green Zografou campus, while Architecture remains at Patission. The university's November 1973 student uprising against the military junta is commemorated every year on 17 November.
Entry is the hard part. Greek school leavers get in through the national Panhellenic exams, and NTUA says its admission scores are consistently among the highest in the country. International routes are narrow, and teaching is in Greek. NTUA suits students who already speak Greek, want a rigorous engineering or applied-science education, and are happy in a large public system with little hand-holding.
Why students choose NTUA
Every programme is an integrated five-year Diploma of master's level, ending in a full semester on a Diploma thesis.
NTUA reports that it has 194 laboratories, 140 of them certified, working on national and European research projects.
Civil Engineering students can apply for a dual-degree track: eight semesters at NTUA and at least two at Columbia University, leading to the NTUA Diploma and a Columbia MS.
Internships of one to two months are part of the curriculum, compulsory in Architecture, Chemical Engineering and Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, and more than 1,000 students take one each year.
Admissions
2027-28 entry (Greek national exams in 2027; the most recent special-category dates shown are from 2025 and 2026)
Selectivity
NTUA publishes no admission rate. Greek school leavers are placed through the Panhellenic national exams, and NTUA says its students come from roughly the top 1 to 5% of university candidates. In 2016 its School of Electrical and Computer Engineering required 18,628 points, the highest in the country's Science and Technology field. Separate, smaller routes exist for Greeks abroad and for foreign nationals.
Typical entry requirements
| Greek General Lyceum certificate + Panhellenic exams | Placement by national exam score; NTUA's Schools have historically required among the highest scores in Greece (e.g. 18,628 points for Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2016) |
|---|---|
| Foreign school-leaving certificate (foreign nationals) | Must give university access in the issuing country, with the last two years of school fully attended there; ranked by overall mark on a 0-20 scale via the Ministry of Education's special category |
| Graduates of schools abroad of Greek origin | Separate ministry category for Greeks living abroad; in 2026, 888 candidates applied and 663 were admitted to Greek universities nationwide |
| English language | No English test is required because undergraduate study is in Greek. Foreign nationals admitted through the ministry route must hold a Greek language certificate from the University of Athens or Aristotle University of Thessaloniki exams, or a B2 certificate from the Greek Language Centre. Without one, they can only enrol a year later. |
Deadlines
- Foreign nationals (allogeneis-allodapoi) online application Non-binding Passed9 July 2025, 23:59 (2025 cycle, for reference)
Window 2 to 9 July 2025 on the Ministry of Education platform; the 2027 window will be announced by the Ministry.
- Greeks abroad: registration of admitted students Non-binding Next deadline · In 2 days9 October 2026 (2026 intake, for reference)
Admitted candidates in the Greeks-abroad categories register from 2 to 9 October 2026 at their department's secretariat.
Admission to NTUA runs through national procedures, not NTUA itself. Dates for the 2027 Panhellenic exams and special categories are not yet published. The dates shown are from the 2025 and 2026 cycles, for reference only. Check minedu.gov.gr for the 2027 announcements.
How to apply
Greek school leavers take the Panhellenic exams and list their preferred departments on the national application form. Foreign nationals do not apply to NTUA directly. They submit an online application listing preferred departments on the Ministry of Education's platform (exams-foreigner.it.minedu.gov.gr) during a short window in early July, mail supporting documents to the ministry committee, and enrol at the School later with a Greek language certificate. Admitted students then pre-register with the Ministry and register at their School.
What admissions looks for
- For Greek-system applicants: a Panhellenic exam score above the department's cut-off, which at NTUA is typically among the highest in Greece.
- For foreign nationals: a strong overall school-leaving mark, since the ministry ranks applicants on that mark alone.
- A Greek language certificate (University of Athens or Thessaloniki exams, or Greek Language Centre B2) before enrolment for applicants from non-Greek schools.
- Complete, legalised documents: an apostilled or consular-validated diploma, an official Greek translation and a certificate of equivalence from a Greek authority.
Tips for applying to NTUA
- 1 If Greek is not your first language, sit the Greek language exam early: the University of Athens and Aristotle University run exams twice a year, and you cannot enrol without the certificate.
- 2 Get your school mark converted to the Greek 0-20 scale by the Ministry of Education or a Greek embassy education office before the July application window. That mark is your whole application.
- 3 You can apply in only one special category per year, either as a foreign national or as a Greek abroad, so check which one fits you.
- 4 Graduates of Greek secondary schools that operate inside Greece cannot use the foreign-nationals route; they must take the Panhellenic exams.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in EUR
Students with low family income can get a meal card for free lunch and dinner at NTUA's Zografou and Patission restaurants. All students get free healthcare, and students studying away from their home area can claim a housing allowance. NTUA also awards donor scholarships, such as the ABS scholarships for 2026-27 and the Nikolaos I. Kritikos and Metsovo Benefactors awards. NTUA's English pages give no undergraduate fee for students outside Greek citizenship.
- Free for students below the family-income threshold; a small charge for others
- Student meals
- Free for the normal length of studies plus 2 years
- Healthcare
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (ten semesters over five years)
Electrical and Computer Engineering (Diploma)
In 2016 its cut-off score was the highest nationwide in the Science and Technology field; alumni include Turing Award winner Joseph Sifakis.
Civil Engineering (Diploma)
Four departments (structural, water resources, transportation and geotechnical) and a dual-degree option with Columbia University.
Architecture (Diploma)
The only School still based in the historic neoclassical Patission Street complex.
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (Diploma)
A dedicated School for ship design and marine engineering, one of the eight engineering Schools on the Zografou campus.
Mining and Metallurgical Engineering (Diploma)
The internship has been part of its curriculum since about 1953, and it is still compulsory.
Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Diploma)
NTUA's ninth School, offering applied mathematics and physics within the same five-year Diploma structure.
Research
- NTUA reports 194 laboratories, 140 of them certified, and more than 3,000 scientific publications a year.
- The Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park, founded in 1992 on NTUA's initiative, hosts research and business in IT, robotics, lasers, energy and marine technology.
- The Metsovion Interdisciplinary Research Center links NTUA with Epirus, the home region of its founding benefactors.
Schools & faculties
- School of Civil Engineering
- School of Mechanical Engineering
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- School of Architecture
- School of Chemical Engineering
- School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering
- School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering
- School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
- School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences
NTUA states that the majority (over 40%) of the roughly 120,000 qualified engineers active in Greece are NTUA graduates.
Student life
Most NTUA students spend their days on the Zografou campus in eastern Athens, where eight of the nine Schools share lecture halls, labs, a central library and a sports centre in about 100 hectares of green space. Architecture students work in the historic Patission Street buildings downtown. Classes normally run from 08:45 to 15:30 on weekdays. The university has a choir, a strings orchestra, a percussion group, a dance division and a theatre group. Every 17 November students commemorate the 1973 Polytechnic uprising at the Patission complex.
- The Polytechnic uprising of November 1973 is commemorated every 17 November by students, the Senate and the Greek Parliament.
- Music, dance, choir and theatre groups are run through NTUA's cultural services.
- Student chapters of BEST, EESTEC, IAESTE and AEGEE organise exchanges, seminars and internships abroad.
- Erasmus exchanges have run since 1987, with study periods of three months to a year.
Housing. There are two halls of residence at Zografou (the older one is used mainly by students of other universities), and students studying away from their home area can apply for a housing allowance.
Location
NTUA is in Athens, Greece's capital. The main Zografou campus is in the eastern suburb of Zografou, reached by bus, for example line 242 from Katechaki metro station. The historic Patission Street complex, home to Architecture, is on Patission Avenue in central Athens. Students live across a large, busy capital rather than in a campus town.
Nearest airport: Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH)
Notable alumni
- JS Joseph SifakisComputer scientist, 2007 Turing Award laureate for model checking
- CP Christos PapadimitriouTheoretical computer scientist, 2002 Knuth Prize laureate
- CD Constantinos DaskalakisComputer scientist and MIT professor
- IX Iannis XenakisAvant-garde composer and architect who used mathematical models in music
- AT Alexis TsiprasFormer Prime Minister of Greece
- LP Linda P. B. KatehiElectrical engineer and former Chancellor of UC Davis
- MN Max NikiasFormer President of the University of Southern California
- DB Dimitri BertsekasEngineering professor at MIT, known for work on optimisation and control
Frequently asked questions
Can international students study at NTUA?
Only through narrow national routes. Foreign nationals of non-Greek origin apply through a Ministry of Education category and are ranked on their school-leaving mark, and children of Greeks abroad have their own category. NTUA's undergraduate Diplomas are taught in Greek, and admitted foreign nationals need a Greek language certificate to enrol.
Does NTUA offer undergraduate degrees in English?
NTUA's undergraduate pages list only its Greek-system five-year Diplomas and no English-taught undergraduate programme. English-language calls do appear for some postgraduate programmes, such as Automation Systems and Microsystems and Nanodevices.
How do Greek students get into NTUA?
Through the Panhellenic national exams. NTUA says its students typically come from the top 1 to 5% of candidates, and its Electrical and Computer Engineering cut-off in 2016 was the highest in Greece's Science and Technology field.
Is NTUA free?
For Greek citizens, yes: the Greek Constitution guarantees free education at state institutions. NTUA's English pages do not list an undergraduate fee for other students, so confirm with the Ministry route you apply through.
How long is an NTUA degree?
Five years. Every School awards a 300-credit Diploma recognised as master's level, with the tenth semester devoted to a Diploma thesis.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
Explore nearby in the world top 100
Universities ranked close to NTUA in the QS World University Rankings 2027.