Academic Year and Language of Instruction in Spain
Academic Year
The Spanish academic year lasts for 9 months and is split into 3 terms separated by vacation intervals. The Universities in Spain follow semester pattern. The semesters are divided into two parts. This can vary from university to university.
- The first semester usually start mid September or early October with exams in January.
- The second semester then starts early February and concludes with exams in June.
The first holiday period is at Christmas that starts from 22nd December until 8th January.
The second holiday period is Easter holidays that lasts for about 1 week- "Semana Santa". These holidays are between March and April
The summer holidays start in June normally from 23d June and lasts for 3 months, i.e. till September, normally 15 September.
There are also mini-breaks, commonly known as "bridges" (In Spanish: puentes). These mini-breaks occur on public holiday which falls on a Thursday, Friday or Monday.
Language of Instruction
The language of instruction in Spain is Spanish. Alongside Spanish, Catalan- in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Valencia- in the Community of Valencia, Galician and Basque, are the other official languages spoken in Spain. Across Universities and Institutes of Higher Education (HEIs) Language of Instruction is both English and Spanish and students can chose in which language they want to attend classes.