“For decades, it has been difficult for high school and college students to enroll in modern Greek language classes. Typically, they exist in specialized charter schools or in a small number of universities across the country,” says Dr. Katerina Lagos, Professor of History and Director of the Angelo K. Tsakopoulos Hellenic Studies Center. 

Through a partnership with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Sac State’s College of Continuing Education (CCE), students can develop the foundational skills in speaking, reading, and understanding the Modern Greek language through a new fully online program consisting of two courses (GREK 6A and 6B). The courses are taught by faculty in Athens, Greece. 

“Having CCE offer modern Greek will allow students across the country to take modern Greek to fulfill their foreign language requirement or simply out of an interest in learning this rich and historic language.,” Dr. Lagos says. “Since Sac State university credits are given once a student successfully completes the course, these credits can be transferred across the country or used for high school foreign language requirements.”

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is the premier university in Greece and has been a leader in the instruction of Greek to foreigners. 

“Having faculty from Greece is the optimal way to learn the Greek language,” says Dr. Lagos. 

Some of the benefits of this unique program include:

• Earn 4-8 units of university academic credit from Sacramento State University
• May fulfill foreign language graduation requirements (check with your institution to confirm)
• Learn from exemplary university faculty who teach in Athens, Greece, from the comfort of your own home
• Benefit from engaging and conversing with Greek-speaking students who attend the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
• Enhance marketability as an employee
• Network with members of the Greek community
• Obtain a solid foundation for the pursuit of additional Modern Greek language training

“Learning modern Greek is more than just being able to reconnect with relatives in Greece or getting university credit for foreign language,” says Dr. Lagos. “It provides foundational vocabulary for math, science, philosophy and other subjects.”

Learn more about the Modern Greek Language program here.