Universiteit Leiden

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Academic calendar

The academic year officially commences on 1 September and ends on 31 August. On national holidays and compulsory closure dates, the university is closed and no lectures take place.

Academic calendar

The academic calendar applies to the whole university with the exception of LUMC and LUC. 

Public holidays

The university is closed on the following public holidays. 

  • Good Friday
  • Easter Sunday and Monday
  • King's Day (the day upon which King's Day is celebrated nationally)
  • Liberation Day: 5 May
  • Ascension Day
  • Whit Sunday and Monday
  • 3  October (Relief of Leiden)
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Compulsory closures

The university is also closed on the 'compulsory closure' dates listed below.

Year Days
2024 Friday 10 May
Friday 4 October
Friday 27 December
Monday 30 December
Tuesday 31 December
2025 Friday 30 May
Wednesday 24 December
Monday 29 December
Tuesday 30 December
Wednesday 31 December
2026

Friday 2 January
Friday 15 May
Thursday 24 December
Monday 28 December
Tuesday 29 December
Wednesday 30 December
Thursday 31 December

 

Faculty Academic Year 2024-2025

The academic year comprises 2 semesters, each of 20 weeks (public holidays and compulsory vacation days not included) in which lectures, examinations, completion of assignments etc. take place.

Semester I 
Block 1: Thursday 5 September 2024 - Friday 25 October 2024
Block 2: Monday 4 November 2024 - Friday 13 December 2024

Semester II
Block 1: Monday 3 February 2025 - Friday 21 March 2025
Block 2: Monday 31 March 2025 - Monday 19 May 2025; reserved Tuesday 20 May 2025- Friday 23 May 2025

Exams

Semester I
Monday 28 October 2024 - Friday 1 November 2024
Monday 16 December 2024 - Friday 20 December 2024
Friday 3 January 2025 - Friday 31 January 2025

Semester II
Monday 24 March 2025 - Friday 28 March 2025
Monday 26 May 2025 - Friday 4 July 2025

Public Holidays/compulsory closing days

Date Occasion
3 and 4 October 2024 Leiden's Relief
26 November 2024 No lectures between 15.00-18.00h due to the Cleveringa lecture
25 December 2024 - 1 January 2025 Christmas and New Year's
7 February 2025 No lectures between 13.00-17.00h due to the Dies
TBA Minor Market after 15.30h; education continues
TBA No lectures after 13.00h due to the Humanities Career Event and Campus The Hague Career Event
18 April 2025 Good Friday
20 and 21 April 2025 Easter
26 April 2025 King's Day
5 May 2025 Liberation Day
29 and 30 May 2025 Ascension Day
8 and 9 June 2025 Whit Sunday

Overview Faculty Academic Year 2025-2026

The academic year comprises 2 semesters (public holidays and compulsory vacation days not included) during which all educational activities take place.

Semester I 
Block 1: Monday 8 September 2025 - Friday 24 October 2025
Block 2: Monday 3 November 2025 - Friday 12 December 2025

Semester II
Block 3: Monday 2 February 2026 - Friday 20 March 2026
Block 4: Monday 30 March 2026 - Monday 18 May 2026; reserved Tuesday 19 May 2026- Friday 22 May 2026

Examination periods

Semester I
Monday 27 October 2025 - Friday 31 October 2025
Monday 15 December 2025 - Tuesday 23 December 2025 (where 22 and 23 December only if necessary)
Friday 5 January 2026 - Friday 30 January 2026

Semester II
Monday 23 March 2026 - Friday 27 March 2026
Tuesday 26 May 2026 - Friday 3 July 2026

Public Holidays/compulsory closing days 2025-2026

Date Occasion
3 October 2025 Leiden's Relief
24 December 2025 - 2 January 2026 Christmas and New Year's
3 April 2026 Good Friday
5 and 6 April 2026 Easter
27 April 2026 King's Day
5 May 2026 Liberation Day
14 and 15 May 2026 Ascension Day
24 and 25 May 2026 Whit Sunday

Previous faculty academic calendars

D&I Calendar

The calendar includes religious holidays and important dates related to diversity and inclusion. It serves as a tool to create awareness about these dates and their potential impact on work and study. The calendar can be useful for planning meetings, events, and other communications. A colour-coded distinction is made between religious holidays and other D&I dates. For religious holidays, the description of the agenda item includes information about possible dietary restrictions and restrictions on work.

The calendar does not give staff members or students the right to demand that certain activities do not take place on religious holidays, with the exception of official public holidays in the Netherlands.

The calendar can be downloaded as an iCalendar file by those who want to add these dates to their own Outlook, Google or Apple calendar.

D&I Calendar
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