The School of English Language and Literature was the first foreign-language School in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, opening in 1951 and functioning according to the founding law of 1931, which provided for an Institute of Foreign Languages and Literatures annexed to the Faculty of Philosophy.

During this early transition period and until 1982, the School operated under the supervision of the presiding Director of the British Council in Thessaloniki as well as of a three-person Supervisory Committee from the Faculty of Philosophy.

Due to changes in education laws (Reform Bill 1268/1982), the School οf English, along with the Schools of French, German and Italian, was granted autonomous status equal to that of the other Schools in the Faculty of Philosophy.

This statutory change marked the beginning of a process of academic and administrative restructuring and modernization, with the originally unified School being divided into two, the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics and that of English and American Literature, which itself was soon (in 1987) to divide into the Departments of English Literature and Culture, and American Literature and Culture. This restructuring, in turn, brought about greater specialization in the subjects taught in the School of English, as the curriculum was reorganized to include a balance of general core subjects, on the one hand, and more specialized subjects, on the other. Students were now offered the opportunity to develop their own interests by selecting from a range of elective modules from the three different Departments as well as from a limited number of courses in related areas from other Schools in the Faculty.

The number of subjects offered increased even further after the new Department of Translation and Intercultural Studies was founded in 2003. The programme of graduate studies has been in operation since 1995, providing specialization in the different fields of study covered by the four Departments.

Among the numerous and various aims of the programme of study in the School of English are:

• Providing young scholars with advanced knowledge in the main subjects taught in the programme (language, linguistics, literature, translation, cultural studies and teaching), qualifying them for employment in education and other related fields of specialization in the public and private sector.
• Providing graduates with the theoretical and critical tools necessary for research at a more advanced level.
• Developing and promoting European exchange programmes involving both student and staff mobility.
• Establishing and supporting laboratories for systematic research in specialized areas.
• Participating in partnerships and collaborative programmes with other schools and universities, both in Greece and abroad.
• Encouraging competitive and creative participation at international level as well as within the Greek community, at large through collaboration with cultural representatives and institutions.
• Organizing workshops and conferences and publishing scholarly journals.
• Inviting internationally recognized scholars to give lectures and seminars to students.|
• Promoting the development of the Faculty through research and publication as well as in terms of teaching methodology.
• Supporting and updating the technological infrastructure and facilities of the School.

Graduate career options:

• Teaching English in primary and secondary education
• Private sector (schools, language learning institutes)
• Translation agencies
• Publishing houses
• Banks, translation departments
• Interpretation