Establishment of the academic calendar for the University of Wisconsin-Madison falls within the authority of the faculty as set forth in Faculty Policies and Procedures. Construction of the academic calendar is subject to various rules and laws prescribed by the Board of Regents, the Faculty Senate, State of Wisconsin and federal government.
| Faculty contract year begins | Aug 18, 2025 (Monday) |
| Labor Day | Sept 1, 2025 (Monday) |
| Fall semester instruction begins | Sept 3, 2025 (Wednesday) |
| Thanksgiving recess | Nov 27-30, 2025 |
| Last class day | Dec 10, 2025 (Wednesday) |
| Study day | Dec 11, 2025 (Thursday) |
| Exams | Dec 12 (Friday) – Dec 18 (Thursday), 2025 |
| Commencement (no exams) | Dec 14, 2025 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline | Dec 21, 2025 (Sunday) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 19, 2026 (Monday) |
| Spring semester instruction begins | Jan 20, 2026 (Tuesday) |
| Spring recess | Mar 28-Apr 5, 2026 |
| Classes resume | Apr 6, 2026 (Monday) |
| Last class day | May 1, 2026 (Friday) |
| Study day | May 2, 2026 (Saturday) |
| Exams | May 3 (Sunday) – May 8 (Friday), 2026 |
| Commencement: Doctoral & Medical Professional | May 8, 2026 (Friday) |
| Commencement: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Law | May 9, 2026 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline | May 11, 2026 (Monday) |
| Faculty contract year ends | May 17, 2026 (Sunday) |
| 4-week summer session | May 18-Jun 14, 2026 |
| Memorial Day (observed) | May 25, 2026 (Monday) |
| 3-week summer session | May 26-Jun 14, 2026 |
| 8-week summer session | Jun 15-Aug 9, 2026 |
| Independence Day (observed) | Jul 4, 2026 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline (8-week summer session) | Aug 12, 2026 (Wednesday) |
| Faculty contract year begins | Aug 17, 2026 (Monday) |
| Fall semester instruction begins | Sept 2, 2026 (Wednesday) |
| Labor Day | Sept 7, 2026 (Monday) |
| Thanksgiving recess | Nov 26-29, 2026 |
| Last class day | Dec 9, 2026 (Wednesday) |
| Study day | Dec 10, 2026 (Thursday) |
| Exams | Dec 11 (Friday) – Dec 17 (Thursday), 2026 |
| Commencement (no exams) | Dec 13, 2026 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline | Dec 20, 2026 (Sunday) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 18, 2027 (Monday) |
| Spring semester instruction begins | Jan 19, 2027 (Tuesday) |
| Spring recess | Mar 20-Mar 28, 2027 |
| Classes resume | Mar 29, 2027 (Monday) |
| Last class day | Apr 30, 2027 (Friday) |
| Study day | May 1, 2027 (Saturday) |
| Exams | May 2 (Sunday) – May 7 (Friday), 2027 |
| Commencement: Doctoral & Medical Professional | May 7, 2027 (Friday) |
| Commencement: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Law | May 8, 2027 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline | May 10, 2027 (Monday) |
| Faculty contract year ends | May 16, 2027 (Sunday) |
| 4-week summer session | May 17-Jun 13, 2027 |
| 3-week summer session | May 24-Jun 13, 2027 |
| Memorial Day (observed) | May 31, 2027 (Monday) |
| 8-week summer session | Jun 14-Aug 8, 2027 |
| Independence Day (observed) | Jul 4, 2027 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline (8-week summer session) | Aug 11 , 2027 (Wednesday) |
| Faculty contract year begins | Aug 23, 2027 (Monday) |
| Labor Day | Sept 6, 2027 (Monday) |
| Fall semester instruction begins | Sept 8, 2027 (Wednesday) |
| Thanksgiving recess | Nov 25-28, 2027 |
| Last class day | Dec 15, 2027 (Wednesday) |
| Study day | Dec 16, 2027 (Thursday) |
| Exams | Dec 17 (Friday) – Dec 23 (Thursday), 2027 |
| Commencement (no exams) | Dec 19, 2027 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline | Dec 26, 2027 (Sunday) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 17, 2028 (Monday) |
| Spring semester instruction begins | Jan 25, 2028 (Tuesday) |
| Spring recess | Mar 25-Apr 2, 2028* |
| Classes resume | Apr 3, 2028 (Monday)* |
| Last class day | May 5, 2028 (Friday) |
| Study day | May 6, 2028 (Saturday) |
| Exams | May 7 (Sunday) – May 12 (Friday), 2028 |
| Commencement: Doctoral & Medical Professional | May 12, 2028 (Friday) |
| Commencement: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Law | May 13, 2028 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline | May 15, 2028 (Monday) |
| Faculty contract year ends | May 21, 2028 (Sunday) |
| 4-week summer session | May 22-Jun 18, 2028 |
| Memorial Day (observed) | May 29, 2028 (Monday) |
| 3-week summer session | May 30-Jun 18, 2028 |
| 8-week summer session | Jun 19-Aug 13, 2028 |
| Independence Day (observed) | Jul 4, 2028 (Tuesday) |
| Grading deadline (8-week summer session) | Aug 16, 2028 (Wednesday) |
*Dates updated as a result to a change in spring recess scheduling parameters, per Faculty Senate document 3132 (February 2024)
| Faculty contract year begins | Aug 21, 2028 (Monday) |
| Labor Day | Sept 4, 2028 (Monday) |
| Fall semester instruction begins | Sept 6, 2028 (Wednesday) |
| Thanksgiving recess | Nov 23-26, 2028 |
| Last class day | Dec 13, 2028 (Wednesday) |
| Study day | Dec 14, 2028 (Thursday) |
| Exams | Dec 15 (Friday) – Dec 21 (Thursday), 2028 |
| Commencement (no exams) | Dec 17, 2028 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline | Dec 24, 2028 (Sunday) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 15, 2029 (Monday) |
| Spring semester instruction begins | Jan 23, 2029 (Tuesday) |
| Spring recess | Mar 24-Apr 1, 2029 |
| Classes resume | Apr 2, 2029 (Monday) |
| Last class day | May 4, 2029 (Friday) |
| Study day | May 5, 2029 (Saturday) |
| Exams | May 6 (Sunday) – May 11 (Friday), 2029 |
| Commencement: Doctoral & Medical Professional | May 11, 2029 (Friday) |
| Commencement: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Law | May 12, 2029 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline | May 14, 2029 (Monday) |
| Faculty contract year ends | May 20, 2029 (Sunday) |
| 4-week summer session | May 21-Jun 17, 2029 |
| Memorial Day (observed) | May 28, 2029 (Monday) |
| 3-week summer session | May 29-Jun 17, 2029 |
| 8-week summer session | Jun 18-Aug 12, 2029 |
| Independence Day (observed) | Jul 4, 2029 (Wednesday) |
| Grading deadline (8-week summer session) | Aug 15, 2029 (Wednesday) |
| Faculty contract year begins | Aug 20, 2029 (Monday) |
| Labor Day | Sept 3, 2029 (Monday) |
| Fall semester instruction begins | Sept 5, 2029 (Wednesday) |
| Thanksgiving recess | Nov 22-25, 2029 |
| Last class day | Dec 12, 2029 (Wednesday) |
| Study day | Dec 13, 2029 (Thursday) |
| Exams | Dec 14 (Friday) – Dec 20 (Thursday), 2029 |
| Commencement (no exams) | Dec 16, 2029 (Sunday) |
| Grading deadline | Dec 23, 2029 (Sunday) |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 21, 2030 (Monday) |
| Spring semester instruction begins | Jan 22, 2030 (Tuesday) |
| Spring recess | Mar 23-Mar 31, 2030 |
| Classes resume | Apr 1, 2030 (Monday) |
| Last class day | May 3, 2030 (Friday) |
| Study day | May 4, 2030 (Saturday) |
| Exams | May 5 (Sunday) – May 10 (Friday), 2030 |
| Commencement: Doctoral & Medical Professional | May 10, 2030 (Friday) |
| Commencement: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Law | May 11, 2030 (Saturday) |
| Grading deadline | May 13, 2030 (Monday) |
| Faculty contract year ends | May 19, 2030 (Sunday) |
| 4-week summer session | May 20-Jun 16, 2030 |
| Memorial Day (observed) | May 27, 2030 (Monday) |
| 3-week summer session | May 28-Jun 16, 2030 |
| 8-week summer session | Jun 17-Aug 11, 2030 |
| Independence Day (observed) | Jul 4, 2030 (Thursday) |
| Grading deadline (8-week summer session) | Aug 14, 2030 (Wednesday) |
Wall Calendars
Separate from the academic calendar, there are two wall calendars that include key events and deadlines available each year.
- Campus Events Calendar: available for pickup at the University Book Store
- Parent and Family Program Calendar: available for request on the Parent and Family Program website.
How to Add the Academic Calendar & Religious Observances to Outlook
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Classic Outlook
- Within Outlook, select Calendar.
- Select the Home tab.
- In the Manage Calendars group, select Open Calendar.
- Select Open Shared Calendar… from within the drop-down menu.
- Type SoF Academic Calendar & Religious Observances in the Name box, or click Name to select it from the Global Address Book. This does not search against your personal contact list.
For more detail and related links, See the Office 365 KB article on Accessing Another User’s Calendar
New Outlook
- Within Outlook, select Calendar.
- Type SoF Academic Calendar & Religious Observances in the search bar.
- Select the calendar icon on the right side of the contact.
For more detail and related links, See the Office 365 KB article on Accessing Another User’s Calendar
Non-Employees
- View the Academic calendar tag on the Events Calendar page.
- At the bottom of the page, click the iCal icon
. This will automatically download an .ics file. - Go to the home tab in your Outlook Calendar.
- Below the calendar grid, select
Add Calendar. - Select Upload from file.
- Either drag the .ics file onto the page or select browse and find it.
- Select the existing calendar you want to add it to.
- Select Import.