History and Mission

With roots stretching back to American missionaries who established a school for girls in Smyrna, Asia Minor, in 1875, The American College of Greece (ACG) will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2025. After a move to Athens at the invitation of the Greek Prime Minister following the 1922 Smyrna disaster, in 1923 the institution continued to carry out its commitment to educating a diverse, multi-national student body and contributing to the broader society by effecting the mission “Not to be served, but to serve” (non ministrari sed ministrare).

As the first U.S. institution abroad to be accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC, now NECHE) in 1981, ACG has offered a wide range of college and graduate degrees accredited in either the United States or (since 2011) in the United Kingdom (through its association with the Open University) or both. The Open University validation agreement has allowed ACG/OU undergraduate degree recipients to receive professional rights and military deferral in Greece and also allowed those with ACG undergraduate degrees and suitable, advanced academic credentials to hold Greece government-recognized faculty positions in the institution.

In 2021, The American University of Greece (AUG) was established in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an independently incorporated institution to fulfill several roles: 1. To offer programs and degrees (online or face-to-face) in Massachusetts and elsewhere; 2. To act as a validating and degree-granting institution for ACG; 3. To award honorary degrees; 4. To promote the academic mission of ACG through supervisory and supportive operations; 5. To prepare an institutional framework and infrastructure capable of replacing ACG if and when the Greek constitution is changed to allow officially sanctioned, private university-level education in Greece. In 2022, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education officially recognized AUG. The American University of Greece Foundation (AUGF) provides financial support to both ACG and AUG.

In 2023, NECHE recognized AUG as an accredited institution, an accreditation that included ACG’s operations in Greece by means of a validating agreement between AUG and ACG, supplementing the ACG/OU validation agreement. ACG continues to operate from its Greek headquarters, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees at Deree - The American College of Greece, in Aghia Paraskevi, and graduate business degrees through The Alba Graduate Business School (AGBS) in downtown Athens, in addition to pre-K to 12th grade education through Pierce College.

AUG operates from its Boston headquarters, fulfilling all aspects of its mission noted above. In particular, in 2024 AUG established the AUG Global Campus to offer American-accredited, online degree programs that would draw on ACG’s long-established expertise and would also help both AUG and ACG expand into new fields and new student markets. AUG and ACG continue to operate as independently incorporated, distinct but aligned institutions, sharing a common mission of education but with different target audiences. ACG offers programs aimed at the Greek student population and international degree-seeking and study-abroad students that seek to promote Greek society and the Greek economy while also preparing students to successfully navigate a rapidly changing international environment.

AUG offers programs aimed at the U.S. and international online student markets, drawing on and seeking to augment ACG’s established expertise in higher education and preparing for an active role in Greece when constitutional changes or other legislation permits. To that end, AUG is currently preparing to participate in the new ULE (University Legal Entity) legislation in Greece via ACG’s Athens Campus programs and in partnership with a network of private and public U.S. higher education institutions.