The MELATHRON American Center for Archaeology at Mycenae, hosted in the impressive facilities of the Mycenaean Foundation at Mycenae, Greece, offers a unique undergraduate study abroad program administered and accredited by the University of South Carolina (“school of record”), hosted by the Mycenaean Foundation, endorsed by the International University Alliance (IUA) and the Study In Greece (Official Portal of the Hellenic Republic), and serving an academic consortium of American and international universities (affiliate institutions). This interdisciplinary program focuses on archaeology and related disciplines, such as bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology, geophysics, geology, paleoenvironmental studies, archaeometry, archaeoastronomy, cultural heritage protection/management, classical civilization, ancient history, ancient/modern Greek, art history, studio art, and theatrical studies, requiring no prior experience in archaeology, transcending disciplines, and engaging majors from across the spectrum, sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities.
Students study at Mycenae, reside at Argos and Nafplion, where they immerse in the local culture, entertainment, and shopping, and participate in organized field trips and study tours all over mainland Greece and the islands in the weekends. All courses are taught in English by prominent Greek and American professors.
This intensive study abroad program offers an unparalleled experience for students from all over the world to spend a semester or a summer in one of the most spectacular sites of ancient Greece, study and travel all over Greece, while doing hands-on archeological work and learning basic skills that will serve them regardless of major and career. Our holistic educational model aims at communicating knowledge while developing critical ability and original thinking, through an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, engaging, experimental, experiential, effective, adaptive, and applied (praxis) approach.
The MELATHRON Center at Mycenae aspires to become a dynamic international platform for education and practical training, interdisciplinary faculty research, faculty-student research collaboration, and cultural immersion of students in Greece. Among other things, the Center will train students and archaeologists in a pioneer dig simulator, establish endowed scholarships and fellowships for graduate students, subsidize scholarly publications, sponsor archaeological fieldwork, offer accommodation for foreign scholars conducting research in the region, promote interest in archaeology and other related disciplines through lectures, seminars, and international conferences, and foster Greek-American collaboration.