The academic calendar of Washington University in St. Louis is designed to provide an optimal amount of classroom instruction and examination within a manageable time frame, facilitating our educational mission to promote learning among both students and faculty.

Please note * indicates no classes.

Fall Semester

Brown School

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
First Day of Classes08/3008/2908/28
Labor Day*09/0609/0509/04
Fall Break* 10/09 to 10/12 10/08 to 10/11 10/07 to 10/10
Thanksgiving Break* 11/24 to 11/2811/23 to 11/2711/22 to 11/26
Last Day of Term12/2012/2112/08
Finals

Law School

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
First Day of Classes08/3008/2908/28
Labor Day*09/0609/0509/04
Fall Break* 10/09 to 10/12 10/08 to 10/11 10/07 to 10/10
Thanksgiving Break*11/24 to 11/2811/24 to 11/2711/23 to 11/26
Last Day of Classes12/0312/0212/01
Final Exams (remote Fall 2020)12/6 to 12/1712/05 to 12/1612/04 to 12/15

Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, Sam Fox School, University College

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
First Day of Classes08/3008/2908/28
Labor Day*09/0609/0509/04
Fall Break* 10/09 to 10/12 10/08 to 10/11 10/07 to 10/10
Thanksgiving Break*11/24 to 11/2811/23 to 11/2711/22 to 11/26
Last Day of Classes12/1012/0912/08
Reading Days and Finals 12/13 to 12/2212/12 to 12/2112/11 to 12/20

Note: University College’s Last Day of Classes in Fall 2021, including the Final Exam period, is 12/22.

Spring Semester

Brown School

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
Martin Luther King Day*01/1701/1601/15
First day of classes01/1801/1701/16
Spring Break*03/13 to 03/1903/12 to 03/1803/10 to 03/16
Wellness Breaks*
Last Day of Classes05/0605/0805/05
Finals

Law School

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
Martin Luther King Day*01/1701/1601/15
First Day of Classes01/1801/1701/16
Spring Break I*03/13 to 03/1903/12 to 03/1803/10 to 03/16
Spring Break II*
Last Day of Classes04/2204/2104/19
Final Exams04/25 to 05/0604/24 to 05/0504/22 to 05/03

Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, Sam Fox School, University College

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
Martin Luther King Day*01/1701/1601/15
First Day of Classes01/1801/1701/16
Spring Break*03/13 to 03/1903/12 to 03/1803/10 to 03/16
Wellness Days*
Last Day of Classes04/2904/2804/26
Reading and Finals05/02 to 05/1105/01 to 05/1004/29 to 05/08

Note: University College’s Last Day of Classes in the spring, including the Final Exam period, is the last day of finals for Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, and Sam Fox School

Summer

 2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
First Session Begins05/2305/2205/20
Memorial Day*05/3005/2905/27
Independence Day*07/0407/0407/04
Last Session Ends08/1808/1708/15

Commencement

2021 – 20222022 – 20232023 – 2024
05/2005/1505/13

Changes to the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic calendars reflect accommodations made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The academic calendar committee is appointed annually by the Provost. Committee members include representatives from each school; the chairperson of the committee is the University Registrar. New academic calendars are generally established in the spring, four years in advance of the current academic year.