Democritus University of Thrace

The Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH; Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης), established in July 1973, is based in Komotini, Greece and has campuses in the Thracian cities of Xanthi, Komotini, Alexandroupoli and Orestiada. The university today comprises eight schools — School of Humanities, Engineering School, Law School, School of Agricultural Sciences, School of Education Sciences, School of Economic and Social Sciences, School of Health Sciences and School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences and twenty Departments. As of 2020, there is a student population of 25,919 registered undergraduates and 5,071 registered postgraduate and PhD students, a research and teaching personnel of over 600 as well as approximately 300 administrative staff. As a university it is state-owned and fully self-administered. It is thus supervised and subsidized by the Greek State and the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The university plays an important role in strengthening the national and cultural identity of the region of Thrace, and contributes to the high level of education in Greece. The emblem of the Democritus University of Thrace represents the influential Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Democritus. He was born in Abdera, Thrace and is primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of matter. The university was established in July 1973 and accepted its first students in the academic year 1974–1975. The first departments to operate were the Department of Law and the Department of Civil Engineering. It was named after Democritus, the ancient Greek philosopher who hailed from the town of Abdera in Thrace. The university consists of eight schools and 20 departments. The research strategy of DUTH aims at one hand to further support its academic and outward-looking character and on the other hand to promote its social role. In 2016 the external evaluation committee gave Democritus University of Thrace a Positive evaluation.