The traditional structure of the academic year in universities is that the year has three 10–12-week ‘terms’ – the Autumn term (October to December), the Spring term (January to March) and the Summer term (April to June). More recently, though, most universities have introduced a semester system, with Semester 1 from October to early February and Semester 2 from February to June. The main vacation periods are the Christmas vacation (3 or 4 weeks from mid-December to early or mid-January), the Easter vacation (2, 3 or 4 weeks in April), and the Summer vacation (12–14 weeks from June to the end of September).
Term time/semester time is the period during which formal teaching takes place and when examinations are held. This is the case for postgraduate programmes as well as for undergraduate programmes. During vacation times there will not usually be any teaching, and most undergraduate students will go home. This means that the university will be much quieter with far fewer students around. However, most academic facilities remain open, for this is the time when academic staff concentrate on their research, and when postgraduate students have the opportunity to focus on their individual assignments and research projects. This is when the university will feel most like a postgraduate community, since the students who are around will be those on Masters programmes or undertaking research for their doctorates. You can easily find a space in the library, and access to public computer workstations is always available.
Student social and service facilities will all be open during vacations, too, although the opening hours of facilities such as cafeterias and bars may not be as long as during semester time. Most clubs and societies do not meet during vacations, but facilities such as the swimming pool and the gym will be open.
All universities, though, also have times when they close entirely. These are usually for quite short periods. The longest closure will be during the Christmas and New Year period between 23rd December and 3rd January, but there will also be occasional days when the university is closed, such as at Easter (usually the Friday before Easter, known as Good Friday, and the Monday after Easter, called Easter Monday) and on a small number of other public holidays (Bank Holidays as they are called in the UK) in May and August.
These times are ones that you need to plan for as an international student, for you will not be able to have access to academic facilities, or your office or lab, and you will not be able to get meals at the university. If you are living in university accommodation (hall of residence or flat), as an international student you will probably be able to stay in your accommodation at these holiday times – but you should check this well in advance.
Chapter 7 of Postgraduate Study in the UK by Nicholas and Rosalind Foskett gives some useful advice as to how you can use this time to your advantage as a postgrad student.
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