The academic calendar

Published on December 20, 2010 Updated on January 13, 2021

In France, the higher education academic year is divided into two semesters.

First semester

From September to January/February


Second semester

From January/February to June


University annual closures

Winter break: from end of December to begining of January (2 weeks) 
Summer break: from end of July to 3rd week of August (3 weeks)


Class schedule 

Classes usually start at 8a.m at the earliest and finish at 8p.m at the latest. Students have approximately 20 to 30 hours of class per week, depending on the course they enrol in.