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.
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.