Summer 2020
- July 8-Aug 6 Mid-Career MPA Summer Program
- Aug 7-14 Mid-Career MPA Mason Fall Launch
- Aug 1 Fall and January course syllabi due
Fall 2020
- Aug 24-28 Orientation (for incoming two-year students only)
- Aug 28-Sept 2 Registration Round I
- Aug 31-Sept 1 Shopping days
- Sept 2 Full-term and Fall 1 courses begin
- Sept 2-3 Fall bidding
- Sept 3 Cross-registration begins for non-HKS students
- Sept 4 Registration Round II
- Sept 4 Monday and Wednesday courses meet (excludes Wed-only courses)
- Sept 4 Fall term cross-registration petitions for HKS degree credit deadline
- Sept 4 Cross-registration approval for non-HKS students begins
- Sept 7 (HOLIDAY) Labor Day
- Sept 10 Full-term and Fall 1 courses add deadline
- Sept 10 Cross-registration deadline (Full-term and Fall 1 courses)
- Sept 15 Full-term and Fall 1 courses drop deadline (without notation)
- Oct 2 Fall 1 drop deadline (with notation)
- Oct 12 (HOLIDAY) Columbus Day (Federal and State)/Indigenous Peoples' Day (Cambridge)
- Oct 16 Fall 1 ends
- Oct 19 Fall 2 begins
- Oct 23 Fall 1 final papers due
- Oct 30 Fall 2 add/drop deadline (without notation)
- Nov 2 Fall 1 grades due
- Nov 9 January session Crimson Cart opens (optional)
- Nov 11 (HOLIDAY) Veterans Day
- Nov 16 January session Registration Round I begins at 10:00 a.m.(optional)
- Nov 18 January session Registration Round I closes at 11:00 a.m.; January session bidding opens at 3:00 p.m. (optional)
- Nov 19 January session bidding closes at 11:00 a.m. (optional)
- Nov 20 January session Registration Round II begins at 8:00 a.m.; January session Registration Round II closes at 3:00 p.m. (optional)
- Nov 20 January session add/drop begins at 3:00 p.m.
- Nov 24 Full-term and Fall 2 courses drop deadline (with notation)
- Nov 25-27 (HOLIDAY) Thanksgiving recess
- Dec 4 Full-term and Fall 2 courses end
- Dec 5-8 Reading period
- Dec 5-18 Fall semester final assessment period* (exams/papers due)
- Dec 15 Spring course syllabi due
Spring 2021 (Subject to Change. Class Instruction Modality TBD)
- Jan 4-15 January session (optional)
- Jan 5 January session add/drop deadline (without notation)
- Jan 6 January session add/drop deadline (with notation)
- Jan 17 Full-term (Fall) and Fall 2 grades due
- Jan 18 (HOLIDAY) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Jan 19 Cross-registration submission for non-HKS students begins
- Jan 21-22 Shopping days
- Jan 21-25 Registration Round I
- Jan 25 Full-term and Spring 1 courses begin
- Jan 25 January session grades due
- Jan 25-26 Spring bidding
- Jan 26-27 Registration Round II
- Jan 26 Cross-registration approval for non-HKS students begins
- Jan 29 Spring term cross-registration petitions for HKS degree credit deadline
- Feb 2 Full-term and Spring 1 courses add deadline
- Feb 2 Cross-registration deadline (Full-term and Spring 1 courses)
- Feb 5 Academic wellness day (no degree program courses meet)*
- Feb 8 Full-term and Spring 1 courses drop deadline (without notation)
- Feb 15 (HOLIDAY) Presidents' Day
- Mar 1 Academic wellness day (no degree program courses meet)*
- Mar 5 Spring 1 drop deadline (with notation)
- Mar 12 Spring 1 ends
- Mar 15 Spring 2 begins
- Mar 16 Academic wellness day (no degree program courses meet)*
- Mar 26 Spring 1 final papers due
- Mar 31 Academic wellness day (no degree program courses meet)*
- Apr 2 Spring 2 add/drop deadline (without notation)
- Apr 5 Spring 1 grades due
- Apr 6 Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) deadline
- Apr 15 Academic wellness day (no degree program courses meet)*
- Apr 23 Full-term and Spring 2 courses drop deadline (with notation)
- Apr 30 Full-term and Spring 2 courses end
- May 1-4 Reading period
- May 1-14 Spring semester final assessment period** (exams/papers due)
- May 17 Full-term (spring) and Spring 2 grades due
- May 24-28 Commencement Week
- May 27 Commencement Day
- May 31 (HOLIDAY) Memorial Day
- June 18 (HOLIDAY) Juneteenth
*Spring break is replaced by individual academic wellness days on Feb 5, Mar 1, Mar 16, Mar 31, and Apr 15. Course and related course meetings will not meet on these days.
**Students must plan on being available throughout the final assessment period. Family emergency and serious illness are the only acceptable excuses for missing an examination. This exam schedule applies only to courses held at HKS. Jointly listed courses held at other Harvard schools may operate on a different exam schedule. Students must check their syllabi carefully for all courses to ensure that they avoid exam conflicts.
This calendar is subject to change.