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.

For information and guidance about enrolment, timetables, settling into university and more, please visit our SOAS Essentials area.

Term dates for 2023/24

Term 1

Monday 25 September 2023- Friday 15 December 2023

Reading Week: Monday 6 November – Friday 10 November 2023

Term 2

Monday 8 January 2024 - Friday 22 March 2024

Reading Week: Monday 12 February – Friday 16 February 2024

Term 3

Monday 22 April 2024 - Friday 14 June 2024

Closed days

2023

22 December: Closure Day
25 December: Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
26 December: Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
27 December: Closure Day
28 December: Closure Day
29 December: Closure Day

2024

1 January: New Year’s Day (Bank Holiday)
28 March: Closure Day
29 March: Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
1 April: Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
6 May: Early Spring Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
27 May: Spring Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
26 August: Summer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
25 December: Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
26 December: Boxing 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.