Semester dates
Please note that the semester dates below relate to the general teaching and examination periods at the University.
The Royal Agricultural University is similar to the majority of other British universities and operates its academic delivery via semesters. Programmes are taught across two semesters. For most students, your course will be taught and assessed in each semester with an examination period towards the end of each semester.
The semester dates are shown below.
Current year 2020 - 2021
- New student registration and induction (September starters): 14 - 18 September 2020
- New student registration and induction (January starters): 11 - 15 January 2021
| Semester | Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 September 2020 | 11 December 2020 | 12 weeks |
| Christmas | 14 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | 3 weeks |
| 1 continued | 4 January 2021 | 15 January 2021 | 2 weeks |
| 2 | 18 January 2021 | 19 March 2021 | 9 weeks |
| Easter | 22 March 2021 | 16 April 2021 | 4 weeks |
| 2 continued | 19 April 2021 | 21 May 2021 | 5 weeks |
Academic year dates for Catalyst MSc and MBA programmes 2020 - 2021
Semester 1
| w/c 14/9/2020 | Programme induction Welcome and set up - registration, access to on-line resources secured, introductory seminars, etc. Remotely. |
| 21/9/2020- 2/10/2020 | Orientation (distance learning) Courses open on line and students do the preparation tasks for the residential block | |
5-9/10/2020 12-16/10/2020 | Residential block – week 1 Residential block - week 2 *Accommodation opens - Sunday 4 October 2020 **Students depart Saturday 17 October 2020 | |
| 19/10/2020- 18/12/2020 | Distance learning Virtual teaching weeks V1-V9 | |
| 20/12/2020-1/1/2021 | University closed - Christmas holidays | |
| 4-8/1/2021 | Distance learning Virtual teaching week V10 | |
| 12, 14, 19, 21 January 2021 | Assessment submissions *All dates to be confirmed | |
| Semester 2 | 25-29/1/2021 | Programme induction for NEW ENTRANTS only |
| 1-12/2/2021 | Orientation (distance learning) | |
15-19/2/2021 22-26/2/2021 | Residential block – week 1 Residential block - week 2 *Accommodation opens - Sunday 14 February 2021 **Students depart Saturday 27 February 2021 | |
| 1/3/2021-3/4/2021 | Distance learning Virtual teaching weeks V1-V5 | |
| 5-18/4/2021 | University is closed - Easter holidays | |
| 19/4/2021- 21/5/2021 | Distance Learning Virtual teaching weeks V6-V10 | |
| 25 & 27 May, 1 & 3 June 2021 | Assessment submissions *All dates to be confirmed | |
| 14/6/2021-1/9/2021 | Students working on dissertation or professional product | |
| Thursday 2 September 2021 | Dissertation submission |
- New student registration and induction (September starters): 13 - 17 September 2021
- New student registration and induction (January starters): 10 - 14 January 2022
| Semester | Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 September 2021 | 10 December 2021 | 12 weeks |
| Christmas | 13 December 2021 | 3 January 2022 | 3 weeks |
| 1 continued | 4 January 2022 | 14 January 2022 | 2 weeks |
| 2 | 17 January 2022 | 25 March 2022 | 10 weeks |
| Easter | 28 March 2022 | 22 April 2022 | 4 weeks |
| 2 continued | 25 April 2022 | 20 May 2022 | 4 weeks |
Academic year dates for Catalyst MSc and MBA programmes 2021 - 2022
Semester 1
| w/c 13/9/2021 | Programme induction Welcome and set up - registration, access to on-line resources secured, introductory seminars, etc. Remotely. |
| 20/9/2021- 1/10/2021 | Orientation (distance learning) Courses open on line and students do the preparation tasks for the residential block | |
4-8/10/2021 11-15/10/2021 | Residential block – week 1 Residential block - week 2 *Accommodation opens - Sunday 3 October 2021 **Students depart Saturday 16 October 2021 | |
| 18/10/2021- 17/12/2021 | Distance learning Virtual teaching weeks V1-V9 | |
| 20/12/2021-1/1/2022 | University closed - Christmas holidays | |
| 3-7/1/2022 | Distance learning Virtual teaching week V10 | |
| 11, 13, 18, 20 January 2022 | Assessment submissions *All dates to be confirmed | |
| Semester 2 | 24-28/1/2022 | Programme induction for NEW ENTRANTS only |
| 31/1/2022-11/2/2022 | Orientation (distance learning) | |
14-18/2/2022 21-25/2/2022 | Residential block – week 1 Residential block - week 2 *Accommodation opens - Sunday 13 February 2022 **Students depart Saturday 26 February 2022 | |
| 28/2/2022-8/4/2022 | Distance learning Virtual teaching weeks V1-V5 | |
| 11-24/4/2022 | University is closed - Easter holidays | |
| 25/4/2022- 20/5/2022 | Distance Learning Virtual teaching weeks V6-V10 | |
| 24 & 26, 21 May & 2 June 2022 | Assessment submissions *All dates to be confirmed | |
| 13/6/2022-31/8/2022 | Students working on dissertation or professional product | |
| Thursday 1 September 2022 | Dissertation submission |
- New student registration and induction (September starters): 23 - 27 September 2019
- New student registration and induction (February starters): 27 - 31 January 2020
| Semester | Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 September 2019 | 6 December 2019 | 10 weeks |
| Christmas | 9 December 2019 | 3 January 2020 | 4 weeks |
| 1 continued | 6 January 2020 | 31 January 2020 | 4 weeks |
| 2 | 3 February 2020 | 20 March 2020 | 7 weeks |
| Easter | 23 March 2020 | 17 April 2020 | 4 weeks |
| 2 continued | 20 April 2020 | 12 June 2020 | 8 weeks |
Academic year dates for Catalyst MSc and MBA programmes:
| Semester | Start | End | Learning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 September 2019 | 11 October 2019 | Orientation (distance learning) |
| 1 | 14 October 2019 | 25 October 2019 | Residential blog |
| 1 | 28 October 2019 | 20 December 2019 | Distance learning |
| Christmas | 23 December 2019 | 3 January 2020 | University Closed |
| 1 continued | 6 January 2020 | 17 January 2020 | Distance learning |
| 2 | 24 February 2020 | 6 March 2020 | Orientation (distance learning) |
| 2 | 9 March 2020 | 20 March 2020 | Residential blog |
| 2 | 24 March 2020 | 29 May 2020 | Distance learning |
- New student registration and induction (September starters): 12 - 16 September 2022
- New student registration and induction (January starters): 23 - 27 January 2023
| Semester | Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 September 2022 | 4 November 2022 | 7 weeks |
| Reading week | 7 November 2022 | 11 November 2022 | 1 week |
| 1 continued | 14 November 2022 | 16 December 2022 | 5 weeks |
| Christmas | 19 December 2022 | 30 December 2022 | 2 weeks |
| 1 continued | 4 January 2023 | 20 January 2023 | 3 weeks |
| Inter Semester break | 23 January 2023 | 27 January 2023 | 1 week |
| 2 | 30 January 2023 | 31 March 2023 | 9 weeks |
| Easter | 3 April 2023 | 14 April 2023 | 2 weeks |
| 2 continued | 17 April 2023 | 26 May 2023 | 6 weeks |
*Please note: dates are provisional and may be subject to amendment
- New student registration and induction (September starters): 11 - 15 September 2023
- New student registration and induction (January starters): 22 - 26 January 2024
| Semester | Start | End | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 September 2023 | 3 November 2023 | 7 weeks |
| Reading week | 6 November 2023 | 10 November 2023 | 1 week |
| 1 continued | 13 November 2023 | 15 December 2023 | 5 weeks |
| Christmas | 18 December 2023 | 1 January 2024 | 2 weeks |
| 1 continued | 2 January 2024 | 19 January 2024 | 3 weeks |
| Inter Semester break | 22 January 2024 | 26 January 2024 | 1 week |
| 2 | 29 January 2024 | 22 March 2024 | 8 weeks |
| Easter | 25 March 2024 | 5 April 2024 | 2 weeks |
| 2 continued | 8 April 2024 | 24 May 2024 | 7 weeks |
*Please note: dates are provisional and may be subject to amendment