Address
Eurydice España-Redie (Red española de información sobre educación)
INEE: Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa
Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes
Gobierno de España
Paseo del Prado 28 4º planta
ES-28014 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 745 92 32
Email:
eurydice.redie@educacion.gob.es
Website
https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/mc/redie-eurydice/inicio.html
Higher education institutions enjoy full autonomy. They are responsible for determining teaching periods and holiday breaks.
The following table presents general information on degree programmes, with variations for master’s, doctoral and university-specific programmes at each institution.
The organisation of the 2025/2026 academic year in Spain is as follows:
| Start of the academic year | September1 |
| Teaching periods |
First semester: September to December (or January) Second semester: January (or February) to May (or June) |
| Examination periods2 |
First semester exams: January3 Second semester exams: May-June Extraordinary exams: June-July4 |
| End of the academic year | 31 August5 |
| Breaks between the teaching activities (excluding the examination period) |
Christmas holidays: approximately from 22 December to 6 January Easter holidays: 10-12 days in March or April6 Summer holidays: August7 |
Notes:
1: In some autonomous communities, certain non-university tertiary programmes start in October. Similarly, UNED (National Distance Education University) starts its online teaching in October.
2: Some universities hold mid-term exams in addition to regular and extraordinary exams.
3: In some universities, the first-semester exams start in December, while in others they may extend until February.
4: The UNED holds extraordinary exams in September. Some universities also offer an additional extraordinary session at the end of the first semester for subjects taught during that period.
5: In some universities, traineeships or exams may be scheduled in September.
6: Easter holidays vary across the autonomous communities; most fall between 27 March and 6 April, and the rest between 2 and 13 April.
7: Depending on the autonomous community and the university, the summer break may begin as from the third week of July.