Term dates

Term dates

The academic year at SOAS consists of three terms, the first two roughly 11 weeks long and the third usually eight weeks in length. The autumn and spring terms include a reading week.

2023/24 
Term 1Monday 25 September 2023 - Friday 15 December 2023
(Reading Week: Monday 6 November – Friday 10 November)
Term 2Monday 8 January 2024 - Friday 22 March 2024
(Reading Week: Monday 12 February – Friday 16 February)
Term 3Monday 22 April 2024 - Friday 14 June 2024
2024/25 
Term 1Monday 23 September 2024 - Friday 13 December 2024
(Reading Week: Monday 4 November – Friday 8 November)
Term 2Monday 6 January 2025 - Friday 21 March 2025
(Reading Week: Monday 10 February – Friday 14 February)
Term 3Monday 21 April 2025 - Friday 13 June 2025
Term 4*Monday 30 June 2025 - Friday 5 September 2025

*Term 4 only applies to PGT and PGR students

Please note that these approved term dates are accurate at the time of publishing but can be subject to alteration.

Closed days

 
2024 
1 JanuaryNew Year’s Day (Bank Holiday)
28 MarchClosure Day
29 MarchGood Friday (Bank Holiday)
1 AprilEaster Monday (Bank Holiday)
6 MayEarly Spring Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
27 MaySpring Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
26 AugustSummer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
25 DecemberChristmas Day (Bank Holiday)
26 DecemberBoxing Day (Bank Holiday)

Postgraduate dates

Postgraduate taught students

Masters students are expected to work on their dissertation throughout the summer – for these students, this period between the end of Term 3 and the programme end date is not classed as a vacation.

For Masters students, only the Christmas and Easter breaks are vacations.

Postgraduate research students

Taught course term dates do not apply to SOAS research programmes. SOAS research degrees are year-long programmes with the enrolment running from the first day of the academic session until the day preceding the first day of the next academic session (September to September).

Students who wish to take a break during the academic year should contact the Doctoral School for more information about requesting annual leave.