Online Greek courses for university in Greece and for Ancient Greek

International applicants who hold the Ellinomatheia certificate at level B2 can enrol at a Greek university. A ministerial decision of 2001 sets this rule, and the Centre for the Greek Language refers to it. For other study programmes, ask the university directly which level it requires. Programmes taught in English follow the university's own rules and may ask for proof of English instead.

B2 is the fourth of the six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). At B2 you understand the main ideas of complex texts and can communicate spontaneously and fluently.

For study in Cyprus, each university sets its own language requirements. Because Ellinomatheia is a certificate of the Greek state, ask there whether the university accepts it and at which level.

The main Ellinomatheia exam takes place once a year in May, in Greece and at exam centres abroad. In October 2026 there was an extra session, but only for A2 for professional purposes and B1, and only in Greece. If you need B2, plan with the May session. Results of the May 2026 exam were published on 31 July 2026.

Check whether your university's application deadline falls before or after the results date. If it falls before, you need a certificate from the previous year. B2 is the minimum for enrolment. For lectures and essays in Greek, plan an accompanying course in your first year that trains academic writing.

Greek-taught programmes work in Standard Modern Greek, the language of schools and the state since 1976. Academic texts, however, use more words and phrases from the older learned language than everyday speech. These include fixed expressions with the old dative such as εν τω μεταξύ, meanwhile, a case Modern Greek otherwise no longer uses.

If you work with older academic literature, you will also meet texts in Katharevousa, the learned language that was used in schools and the state until 1976. It uses older forms and endings that a Standard Modern Greek course hardly covers.

Three points need particular practice at university.

1. Spelling: Essays require secure spelling, and the i sound has six spellings.
2. Specialist vocabulary: Many academic terms come from Greek and are familiar to English speakers, such as democracy, therapy or analysis. In Greek they carry an accent and Greek endings.
3. Address: You address professors as κύριε καθηγητά or κυρία καθηγήτρια, and in emails you use the polite form εσείς.

In lectures, teachers speak at normal speed and use many specialist terms. Practise beforehand with talks and news programmes in Greek and take notes as you listen.

Theology and classics need Ancient Greek, not Modern Greek. In Germany the state certificate for Ancient Greek is the Graecum. Under the 2005 agreement of the German education ministers, it confirms that you can grasp original texts at the level of the more demanding passages of Plato. Theology programmes in Germany partly require the Latinum and the Hebraicum for Hebrew as well.

A Modern Greek course does not prepare you for the Graecum. If you know Modern Greek, you have a head start in vocabulary, but you still need to learn the forms and syntax of Ancient Greek. Pronunciation differs too. Schools and universities in English-speaking countries and Germany usually read Ancient Greek with the Erasmian pronunciation, a reconstruction, while Greeks read old texts with modern pronunciation.

For the Graecum you therefore need a separate Ancient Greek course that reads up to Plato, with translation into German and marking by a teacher. You sit the exam itself in person, so only the preparation can take place online.

Depending on your goal, you combine two or three course types.

Online you find teachers from Greece who studied there and know university life. In a trial lesson, ask whether the teacher can work with texts from your subject.

Check three things in an academic course. It uses texts from your field, it marks your writing with comments on spelling and accents, and it trains listening to longer talks followed by a summary.