Academic Calendars

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.

Washington University in St. Louis primarily follows a standard semester-based academic calendar: a fall and spring semester of approximately 16 weeks, including sessions of half-semester lengths and intersessions beginning before the term start date, and a summer term of 13 weeks, including sessions of half-term length, an intersession beginning before the term start date, and 3-, 5- and 8-week lengths.  The Doctor of Medicine program follows a yearlong calendar supporting modular curriculum delivery.

Please note * indicates no classes.

Fall Semester

Brown School

Law School

	2022 – 2023	2023 – 2024	2024 – 2025
First Day of Classes	08/29	08/28	08/26
Labor Day*	09/05	09/04	09/02
Fall Break*	10/08 to 10/11	10/07 to 10/10	10/05 to 10/08
Thanksgiving Break*	11/24 to 11/27	11/23 to 11/26	11/27 to 12/01
Last Day of Classes	12/02	12/01	11/29
Final Exams	12/05 to 12/16	12/04 to 12/15	12/02 to 12/13

Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, Sam Fox School, School of Continuing & Professional Studies

Note: The School of Continuing & Professional Studies Last Day of Classes in Fall 2023, including the Final Exam period, is 12/20.

Spring Semester

Brown School

	2022 – 2023	2023 – 2024	2024 – 2025
Martin Luther King Day*	01/16	01/15	01/20
First Day of Classes	01/17	01/16	01/13
Spring Break*	03/12 to 03/18	03/10 to 03/16	03/09 to 03/15
Last Day of Classes	05/08	05/08	05/07
Final Exams	—	—	—

Law School

	2022 – 2023	2023 – 2024	2024 – 2025
Martin Luther King Day*	01/16	01/15	01/20
First Day of Classes	01/17	01/16	01/13
Spring Break*	03/12 to 03/18	03/10 to 03/16	03/09 to 03/15
Last Day of Classes	04/21	04/19	04/18
Final Exams	04/24 to 05/05	04/22 to 05/03	04/21 to 05/02

Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, Sam Fox School, School of Continuing & Professional Studies

	2022 – 2023	2023 – 2024	2024 – 2025
Martin Luther King Day*	01/16	01/15	01/20
First Day of Classes	01/17	01/16	01/13
Spring Break*	03/12 to 03/18	03/10 to 03/16	03/09 to 03/15
Last Day of Classes	04/28	04/26	04/25
Reading Days	05/01 to 05/03	04/29 to 05/01	04/28 to 4/30
Final Exams	05/04 to 05/10	05/02 to 05/08	05/01 to 05/07

Note: The Last Day of Classes in the spring for the School of Continuing & Professional Studies, including the Final Exam Period, is the last day of finals for Arts & Sciences, McKelvey School, Olin School, and Sam Fox School.

Summer

	2022 – 2023	2023 – 2024	2024 – 2025
First Session Begins	05/22	05/20	05/19
Memorial Day*	05/29	05/27	05/26
Independence Day*	07/04	07/04	07/04
Last Session Ends	08/17	08/15	08/14

Commencement

2023-2024	2024-2025	2025-2026	2026-2027
05/13	05/12	05/11	05/17

The Calendar Committee preliminarily approves academic calendars each spring, four years in advance; the calendar is finalized one year in advance by the Office of the University Registrar.  The Calendar Committee is commissioned by the Provost and chaired by the University Registrar.  Representatives from each school and key administrative units, including the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost and the Division of Student Affairs, comprise membership.  In addition to approving preliminary calendars, the Calendar Committee is charged also with considering changes to the calendar and submitting any they endorse to the Provost and Chancellor; ensuring academic calendars are in keeping with federal and accreditation requirements and industry best practices; and ensure any calendar principles and patterns are approved and applied consistently from year to year.