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.
- Academic calendar 2022-2023
- Academic calendar 2023-2024
- Academic calendar 2024-2025
- Academic calendar 2025-2026
- Academic calender 2026-2027
The academic year calendar previously contained three frameworks: 1. Academic year, 2. Examinations and 3. Public holidays, compulsory vacation days and special occasions. As of academic year calendar 2025-2026, there is also a framework 4. Other religious, national, regional or local holidays and days of remembrance (for information)
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 |
Overview Faculty Academic Year 2025-2026
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 20 October 2025 - Friday 24 October 2025 (ONLY for BA International Studies, BA Urban Studies, Minor Disinformation and Minor Ecology, Migration and Tolerance)
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 |
Overview Faculty Academic Year 2026-2027
Overview Faculty Academic Year 2026-2027
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: 7 September 2026 - 16 October 2026
Block 2: 26 October 2026 - 11 December 2026
Semester II
Block 3: 1 February 2027 - 18 March 2027
Block 4: 30 March 2027 - 21 May 2027
Examination periods
Semester I
Monday 19 October 2026 - Friday 23 October 2026
Monday 14 December 2026 - Wednesday 23 December 2026 (where 21 till 23 December only if necessary)
Monday 4 January 2027 - Friday 29 January 2027
Semester II
Monday 22 March 2027 - Tuesday 30 March 2027 (where 30 March only if necessary)
Monday 24 May 2027 - Friday 2 July 2027
Public Holidays/compulsory closing days 2026-2027
| Date | Occasion |
|---|---|
| 24 December 2026 - 1 January 2027 | Christmas and New Year's |
| 26 March 2027 | Good Friday |
| 28 and 29 March 2027 | Easter |
| 27 April 2027 | King's Day |
| 5 May 2027 | Liberation Day |
| 6 and 7 May 2027 | Ascension Day |
| 16 and 18 May 2027 | Whit Sunday |
Previous faculty academic calendars
- Faculty Academic Calendar 2024-2025
- Faculty Academic Calendar 2023-2024
- Faculty Academic Calendar 2021-2022
- Faculty Academic Calendar 2020-2021
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