The academic year starts on September 1 every year and ends on August 31 of the following year. The educational work of every academic year is organized in two semesters, the winter semester and the spring semester, each of which comprises 13 weeks of teaching and one examination period (three weeks).
Every September, before the start of the winter semester, there is an extra examination period in which students can be examined on the totality of the courses offered in the spring and winter semesters. For courses and workshops in which students are examined with progress tests and/or assignments there is no obligation for students to resit exams in September.
Winter semester courses start in the last week of September and end in mid-January, followed by the first exam period of the winter semester. Spring semester courses start in late February and end in early June, followed by the first exam period of the spring semester. Exact dates are determined by the Executive Committee.
Every semester has two exam periods: Winter semester courses are examined during the exam period of January/February; resit exams are held in September. Spring semester courses are examined during the exam period of June; resit exams are held in September. Every semester, and before the beginning of each exam period, students have the right and obligation to evaluate their courses and instructors, aiming at the improvement of the quality of their studies.
Courses or exams are not held in the two months of summer vacation (July and August). Holidays also include:
- Christmas Holidays: December 24 to January 6.
- January 30: The Three Patron Saints of Education Day.
- “Pure” Monday: Beginning of Orthodox Lent.
- March 25: The Annunciation / National Anniversary of the 1821 Revolution against Turkish Rule.
- Easter Holidays: from Holy Monday to Thomas Sunday (one week before and one week after Easter Sunday).
- May 1st: Labor Day.
- June 29: Anniversary of Serres liberation from Bulgarian rule.
- October 28: National celebration of resilience against WWII Axis Forces.
- November 17: Students’ uprising in the National Technical University of Athens against the junta in 1973.