Location
  • Greece
    • Athens
Term
Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter
Subject Areas
Anthropology Archaeology Architecture Art History Arts Business Classical Studies Communications Computer Science Economics Engineering Environmental Studies European Studies Gender Studies History Humanities International Business International Relations Liberal Arts Literature Medieval Studies Museum Studies Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Public Policy Religious Studies Service Learning Social Sciences Sociology Sustainable Development Theater Theology Women's Studies +25
Need-based funding, General grants/scholarships, 529 Plan eligibility
Health & Safety

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
Bachelors
Housing
Apartment Host Family
Language
English

Pricing

Price Details
Tuition: $20,200
Room: $4,750
Board: $1,550

Need-based scholarships available! For more info, please visit our website.

*Full-year students receive a 25% reduction on tuition for the second semester and are permitted to stay in CYA housing, at no extra charge, during the interval between semesters.

*Students from public universities in the United States and Canada will receive an automatic scholarship of $3,000 per semester.
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Classes Some Meals Travel Insurance Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

Entrance fees to sites and museums visited, supplemental hospitalization insurance, International Student ID Card (ISIC), official transcript sent to the home institution.

What's Not Included
Some Activities Airfare Airport Transfers Some Meals SIM cards Visa
Mar 20, 2025
Jun 21, 2025
58 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

CYA has offered study abroad programs in a wide range of academic disciplines for over 60 years. With supplemental activities varying from archaeological digs to study-travel and volunteer/internship opportunities, students are able to actively engage with their course material. Students live in apartments in downtown Athens and will be inspired to immerse themselves in the environment and expand their worldview. Athens, a European capital, is rich in history but also a contemporary hub for art, international business and relations, and debate on economic, political, and migration issues.

The CYA curriculum consists of academically rigorous courses taught by expert faculty. Course offerings encompass a range of academic disciplines and are taught in English. Optional language courses are available (Modern & Ancient Greek, Latin). Each semester, classroom lectures are complemented by onsite courses and field study to major historic and contemporary sites around Greece.

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion 💙

Our page on diversity in contemporary Greek society gives a little more background on the local context regarding race and ethnicity. We would also be happy to put you in touch with a CYA alum of a similar background, so you have the chance to chat with another student about how the experience was for them.
Our page on diversity in contemporary Greek society gives a little more background on LGBTQIA+ issues in Greece. We would also be happy to put you in touch with an LGBTQIA+ CYA alum, so you have the chance to chat with another student about how the experience was for them.
CYA will work with both you and your home institution if you have disabilities or are alter-abled, and need accommodations as part of your study abroad with us. It is important to be in communication so that we can plan together, and ensure that your experience is a success. We would also be happy to put you in touch with a CYA alum, so you have the chance to chat with another student about how the experience was for them.

Program Highlights

  • Onsite classes and study-travel incorporated into program.
  • Exciting courses in a range of disciplines.
  • Hands-on volunteer and internship opportunities.
  • Personalized attention from faculty and support staff.
  • Opportunity to learn Modern Greek.

Program Dates

Application Deadline
Program Dates
-
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Program Reviews

4.94 Rating
based on 155 reviews
  • 5 rating 94.19%
  • 4 rating 5.81%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.3
  • Support 4.8
  • Fun 4.9
  • Housing 4.55
  • Safety 4.85
Showing 17 - 24 of 155 reviews
Default avatar
Brynn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Go abroad with CYA!

I had an incredible experience studying abroad through CYA. I am so glad that I chose this program. Coming from a big university, I really appreciated the small classes and community of CYA, as I felt very comfortable meeting my peers and getting to know my instructors in an entirely new place. The facilitation and instruction itself was also very helpful in my settling into Athens. The course offerings were ones I would not have been able to take at my home institution, which I am grateful for.

46 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Brynn, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We love to hear that you found our classes and community to be such a great fit and were able to make Athens feel like home. We hope you can visit us again soon!

Default avatar
Rebecca
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

BEST EXPERIENCE EVER

CYA was life changing experience. I loved every aspect of the program, city, and time I spent in CYA. The professors and staff were always kind and helpful. I even was invited to eat dinner at my professors house. They made me feel at home and comfortable. I made life long friends in which we shared incredible memories of traveling around Greece and trying now things! The food, city, and Greek people were amazing. I cannot wait to go back to Greece and visit CYA. I recommend this program to everyone. I wish I would of done a year instead of a semester.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I went to a remote pottery town in Rhodes where I was able to watch generations of potters make pottery. It was incredibly special and very personable.
Pros
  • The CYA staff and students
  • The city
  • the food
Cons
  • House is a hit or miss
54 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Rebecca, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We are so happy to hear you were able to make Athens your home away from home and found faculty and staff to be supportive. We hope you can visit us again soon!

Default avatar
Molly
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best semester ever!

CYA is such an amazing program!
Academics: All my classes were super interesting. The professors were all so supportive of the students both academically and personally. Many classes take frequent field trips which is a great way to explore Athens.
Fun/culture: Pangrati is a wonderful neighborhood/great location for CYA. Lots of shops, restaurants, bars, etc in the area. The rest of Athens is easily accessible by metro or taxi, which are both very affordable. Athens is a lively city with great nightlife.
Safety: I always felt very safe in Pangrati, much more so than I do in the states.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Take advantage of your position in Athens and use your weekends to explore the city as much as possible. Obviously you will want to (and should) travel through Europe, but remember why you chose Greece and really get to know the city and culture!
Pros
  • Amazing staff
  • Field-study trips
  • Affordable
Cons
  • Laundry services
52 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Molly, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We love to hear that you enjoyed your courses and had a chance to explore Athens and make it your home. We hope you can visit again soon!

Default avatar
Jessica
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Good opportunity and chances to explore

To those who want a rigorous academic experience as an undergraduate, this program is not very fitting. On the other hand, if you want to build a personal connection with Athens, this program is good because it's not exclusive. Courses cover a broad range, from classical languages to economy and human rights. There are more chances to meet people and build networks if you have that intention. It's also fitting for people who want to fulfill their general education/ distribution requirements, especially in the humanities, in a less stressful environment.

I personally encountered a great opportunity. One of my professors was an editor for an academic website. She offered to post the essay I wrote for her class on that website. I think this can never happen back in the US. Another special experience for me is taking Topography of Athens, a course exclusively held on-site. We climbed up to the Acropolis more than 5 times. The big archaeological sites were our classrooms, and as familiar as our own homes.

As a Classics major, I also enjoyed being around people who are in the same major. I've never met so many people in classics before. We received a distinguished scholar to give a talk on Sparta during the semester. We had two workshops outside regular coursework, one on the historian Thucydides, and the other on Latin Paleography. We had a PhD candidate from the American School of Classical Studies at Athens come and give a talk on Roman Greece, a topic not so popular but very intriguing for those who are interested in cultural exchanges and identities within an empire, plus a crash course on modern Greek national rhetoric.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I will either take Classics or Archaeology courses exclusively or I will exchange my modern history course to modern Greek 101. As far as I experienced, courses outside the classics didn't have enough intensity to explore a serious and complex topic. Archaeology courses are different, no matter whether intensive enough or not, they require students to spend significant time on sites or Museums in Athens, which is a great gain in itself. Learning Modern Greek will benefit the student in establishing friendships outside the program. People in the neighborhood did prefer students who made an effort to communicate with them in Greek, which I didn't do.
Pros
  • Good location, near to many sites and museums, with official reasons to visit (classes)
  • Opportunities to meet people in and outside the field of Classics (I'm not sociable so I didn't really do networking but it is more than possible for people who can)
  • Participation in holidays, such as the Easter, Clean Monday, and Greek independent day.
Cons
  • Limited library recourse (even though with a great Liberian)
  • Courses might be to rudimentary, professors usually don't give feedbacks
  • There is no meal plan, so you need to think of where to eat or what to cook for dinner.
44 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Jessica, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We love hearing that you were able to make connections with your faculty and with other classics students and had the chance to use Athens as your classroom. We hope you can visit us again soon!

Default avatar
R'riyon
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Experience of a lifetime

This will be an experience I will cherish forever. I was able to explore a new country, be embedded in a rich culture, foster lifelong relationships, and learn more about myself along the way. The courses and professors were exceptional. The organization and administration of the program were efficient, timely, and effective. I felt safe, loved, and supported throughout my time in Greece. I traveled and have grown so much personally, academically, and professionally. If I could do it all again, I would!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
In the beginning of the program, I tried to stick to my college routine that I had at my home institution. There, I would wake up at 6 am, eat breakfast at 7 am, do school work from 8 am -10 am, go to class from about 11 am - 4 pm, then eat dinner at 5 pm and do miscellaneous tasks until bedtime at 10 pm. This routine worked for me at my home school, but it did not fit the pace of life in Greece. I tried to stick to the routine that I knew, but I eventually adjusted to the time table of a traditional Greek schedule. If I could do it all again, I would try to adapt to this shift sooner instead of trying to stick to my previous habits.
Pros
  • Greek food is delicious
  • Greek people are incredibly hospitable and friendly
  • The program is efficient and extremely well-run
Cons
  • The only meal provided by the program is lunch
41 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi R'riyon, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We are so happy to hear you had the chance to explore Greece, build relationships, and found the courses and professors to be beneficial. We hope you can visit again soon!

Default avatar
Mia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

CYA was the time of my life!

I had a wonderful time studying abroad through CYA due to the student support services, travel experiences, cultural excursions, and internship opportunities that were provided. Having the chance to travel to both Crete and the Peloponnese region in the country of my heritage was a once in a life time opportunity, and I am so grateful that these experiences were included in the program costs, as they would have been an undertaking to plan on my own. Additionally, the provision of daily lunches during the week was greatly appreciated. While we did not have the opportunity to immerse ourselves with local Greek students, I did feel that my classes offered field trips that gave us a greater sense of the local culture - especially my Sustainable Social Housing Course with Dr. Evgenia Tousi, where we took weekly field visits to social housing neighborhoods around Athens. These field visits were both informative and eye-opening and allowed for the course to be very engaging as a study abroad student. Additionally, I was able to take part in an internship at a local environmental non-profit through CYA and feel like I have gained so much both academically and professionally throughout my experience. For a student hoping to meet more international students or fully immerse themselves in an international language and culture in an unsupported environment, this may not be the ideal program for them. I would instead recommend this program for a student that does not have much travel experience and desires more support from the program they take part in, as the caring faculty as well as the presence of American peers make the adjustment to a foreign country with an unfamiliar language much smoother. Overall, I learned a variety of skills while studying abroad, including time management, budgeting, the importance of self-care, and cultural interaction. As I had little travel experience outside of the US going into my semester abroad, I felt that this program was very worthwhile, as it provided me with the support and resources to live own my own in a foreign country, in addition to planning trips around Greece and other parts of Europe. Coming off of my semester at CYA, I felt empowered to travel on my own without fear, and I appreciate all of the knowledge I was able to gain while in a supportive and encouraging environment.

What was your funniest moment?
On the CYA provided field study to Crete in early September, we had the opportunity to go on an overnight ferry on our way to and from the island. When my friends and I boarded the ship, we had no idea what to expect. It ended up being a huge boat with a pool deck, overnight suites, and a prominent dining area. Because it was so fancy, we all kept joking that we were on the Titanic! It was truly surreal and such a fun and memorable experience, as I had never stayed overnight on a ship before and wasn't expecting it to be so luxurious. This trip proved to be a true bonding experience with the friends I stayed on the ship with and was such a funny and exciting moment of studying abroad!
Pros
  • Field study
  • Internship opportunities
  • Affordable food
Cons
  • Challenging local language
  • Athens is not as walkable of a city
48 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Mia, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We are so happy to hear you were able to see so much of Greece and Europe through classes, extra curriculars, and independent travel. We hope you can visit us again soon!

Default avatar
Katie
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing faculty

All of the professors and the rest of the staff did an amazing job of making sure that all the students were happy, safe, and learning. The professors were very approachable both in and out of class and did their best to make the material engaging whether it be through assigning project or group discussions or by hosting the class outside or doing a field trip to an archaeological site. Nikki did a great job of organizing social activities in the evenings, many of which included going out into another neighborhood in Athens to get more acquainted with elements of Greek culture.

39 people found this review helpful.
Response from CYA (College Year in Athens)

Hi Katie, thanks for sharing your experience with CYA! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your time in Greece and had the chance explore Athens on your own and with Niki. We hope you can visit again soon!

Default avatar
Isabelle
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A Taste of Greece: A Journey of History and Beauty

During my time in Greece, I felt incredibly safe while exploring ancient ruins, relaxing on Mykonos' beaches, and enjoying delicious Greek cuisine. The College Year in Athens (CYA) optional trips added excitement, and weekday lunches offered authentic dishes like salads, souvlaki, and tzatziki. Sharing these meals with fellow student travelers enhanced the sense of community and cultural immersion. The warmth and hospitality of the Greek people, along with engaging in local customs and festivals, made my journey unforgettable and deeply enriching. The generosity and friendliness of the Greek people were evident in every interaction, making me feel like a welcomed guest in their beautiful land.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would talk to more locals! They are so friendly and have amazing recommendations!
Pros
  • School field trips
  • School provided weekly lunches
  • great professors and volunteer opportunities
Cons
  • Not modern apartment buildings
  • range of quality of apartments offered
45 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

Hello Nicole, thank you so much for your question! Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate students with emotional support animals. Our housing is in residential apartments, and the landlords do not allow animals. In addition, animals would not be able to travel with us during our mandatory field trips because they are not allowed on chartered buses and many hotels will not accommodate them.