At the University of Surrey, most undergraduate students will have a break in their semester over Christmas, Easter and Summer. Continue reading to find out more about the holidays and what a typical student holiday looks like.

Additional information

Before we go any further, the information discussed below can vary with each degree (e.g. Paramedic Science due to placements).

You don’t have to leave university during these holidays if you don’t want to, but this all depends on the accommodation you’re living in. In student halls, students rent includes the Christmas and Easter break so you can easily continue living in halls during this time. However, if you wanted to stay during the Summer holidays, your rent would have to be extended or find an alternative place to live.

Christmas holidays

Christmas holidays are typically 3 weeks long, this means there will be no scheduled lectures or seminars during this time.

Prior to the Christmas holidays, most degrees would have finished all their content delivery for semester 1. This means that all the content needed for the semester should have been delivered.

What university work might students be doing over the Christmas holidays?
It really varies depending on if students are on track with their university work, but here are some ideas:

• Coursework/assignments
• Rewatching any lectures
• Revision for upcoming exams in January
• Working on a dissertation (typically for final year students)

Easter holidays

The Easter holidays fall within the semester 2 of the year, approximately around week 8 of the semester. The break is typically 3 weeks long, similar to the Christmas holidays. A few weeks after the Easter break lots of students will have their ‘summer’ exams.

What university work might students be doing over the Easter holidays?
It really varies (similar to the Christmas holidays).

• Coursework/assignments
• Rewatching any lectures
• Revision for upcoming exams in the ‘summer’
• Preparing for the upcoming lectures after the Easter holidays
• Finalising dissertation (typically for final year students)

Summer holidays

Exams typically finish mid-June; once students have finished their exams they are on their Summer holiday until approximately the end of September.

What university work might students be doing over the Summer holidays?
It really varies depending on students personal circumstances

• Students who have not passed previous assessments, may have summer resits
• May prepare for the upcoming academic year

Other things students typically do during their holidays

Resting and spending time with family and friends is really important during the holidays, to ensure students are rested and ready for the upcoming academic work. Some students like to travel and explore new places, and others may have part-time jobs to support their finances at university.

This blog has gone through information on university holidays. To read other blogs written by current students, click here.