The UAE's academic calendar for higher education has been approved for the next three years.
Announced by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the decision applies to the years 2026-2027, 2027-2028 and 2028-2029, and follows an earlier decision to announce the school calendar for the same period.
It applies to all federal and private higher education institutions in the UAE and will align their academic year start and end dates with their parent campus calendars.
Below is a breakdown of the specific dates:
2026-2027
The academic year starts on August 31, 2026, while the winter break runs from December 21, 2026, to January 1, 2027, with classes resuming on January 4, 2027.
The spring break takes place from April 5, 2027, to April 9, 2027, while the summer term begins on May 24, 2027, and ends on July 2, 2027.
2027-2028
For the 2027-2028 academic year, classes begin on August 30, 2027, with the winter break running from December 20, 2027, to December 31, 2027, and classes resuming on January 3, 2028.
The spring week off is March 27, 2028, to March 31, 2028, and the summer term runs from May 22, 2028, to June 30, 2028.
2028-2029
The opening day of the 2028-2029 academic year is August 28, 2028, with the winter break running from December 18, 2028, to December 29, 2028, and classes resuming on January 2, 2029.
Spring holidays will be taken from March 26, 2029, to March 30, 2029, and the summer holidays will run from May 21, 2029, to June 29, 2029.
Each higher education institution is granted flexibility in setting the start and end dates of the academic year based on programme requirements, but if this option is taken, they must adjust the start and end date accordingly to make sure the holiday duration remains unchanged.
It is hoped the new structure will provide a more consistent framework, providing 16 teaching weeks for the first term, 17 for the second, and six for the summer.
