The standard academic calendar*, with effect from AY2020/21, will have the following structure:
- It consists of two semesters and a special term.
- Each regular semester includes 13 weeks of instruction and 2 weeks of end-of-semester examinations.
- There are two consecutive mini-semesters in each regular semester. The first mini-semester (Mini-semester A) comprises 6 weeks of instruction, 1-week break (Reading Week) and 1 week of examinations. The second mini-semester (Mini-Semester B) comprises of 6 weeks of instruction, 1-week break (Reading Week) and 2 weeks of examinations (which is the same period as the end-of-semester examinations).
- Special term takes place during the Semester 2 vacation period. It comprises of two parts, each of which lasts 6 weeks and is inclusive of an examination period.
The table below presents the basic chronological structure of the two main semesters, with 2 mini-semesters within each regular semester, in any academic year.
* The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry operate on a slightly different academic calendar structure.
1 Commences on first Monday of August each year.
2 For Semester 1 and mini-semester 1A, this starts in the week immediately following Orientation Week.
For Semester 2 and mini-semester 2A, this commences on the second Monday of January each year.
The University may start Semester 2 on the third Monday of January as deemed necessary in some years to maintain a 5-week vacation in December/January.
For mini-semester B, this starts in the week following examination week of preceding mini-semester A.
3 From Saturday to the following Sunday
4 From Saturday of the final week of the preceding Instructional Period to Friday of the following week.
5 For Regular Semester and mini-semester B, a 2-week period that starts from the Saturday immediately following Reading Week and ends on Saturday.
For mini-semester A,1-week period from Monday to Saturday.
6 For Semester 1, this is during December to early January.
For Semester 2, this goes from May through July. The 2-part Special Term takes place during this vacation period, with each part being 6 weeks long.
To view the current, future and previous NUS Academic Calendars, please click on the respective links below.