Key dates and opening times
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.
Term dates for 2022/23
| Term 1 |
Monday 26 September 2022- Friday 16 December 2022 Reading Week: Monday 7 November – Friday 11 November 2022 SOAS is closed on Friday 23, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29, and Friday 30 December 2022, in addition to UK bank holidays. |
| Term 2 |
Monday 9 January 2023 - Friday 24 March 2023 Reading Week: Monday 13 February – Friday 17 February 2023 SOAS is closed on Thursday 6 April 2023, in addition to UK bank holidays. |
| Term 3 | Monday 24 April 2023 - Friday 16 June 2023 |
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 |
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.
Opening times
School
The School buildings are open from 8:00am to 9:30pm Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, Main College Building is open for access to library between 9:00am to 5:00pm and Brunei building for the Gallery between 9:00am to 5:00pm (after that for staff and students library access only).
The School is closed on Sundays.
Library
The Library is open 8:00am to 11:30pm from Monday to Friday, and 9:30am to 10:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. For times when the Main College Building is not open, please access though main door using a valid card as issued.
The Library may be open during School closure days. Please see the Library section for more details.
Special Collections Reading Room
Visitors wishing to use SOAS Special Collections should read our guidance before arranging their visit. We regret that visitors without a booking will not be admitted. For information about joining SOAS Library if you do not already have a valid membership card.
Brunei Gallery
For further information on opening times please see the Brunei Gallery section.