The academic year starts in September: mid-September at the universities of applied sciences (and arts) and one week later at the universities. The majority of study programmes are divided into two semesters. At the end of each semester you have a final exam series of the courses of that semester (January and June). If you fail a course, you have the opportunity to do retakes during the third examination period in August and September. 

Students have a mid-year break in February and a two-week break at Easter. In summer, most campuses are closed from mid-July until mid-August. 

Good to know: a very limited number of study programmes allows students to start in February. Please check if this is the case for the programme of your choice.