SU lengthens 2026-27 winter break, changes 1st day of classes
SU updated its fall 2026–27 academic calendar, according to its website. The calendar extended winter break to three and a half weeks, similar to previous years, after initially listing it as one week shorter than in 2025–26. Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 10:25a.m. on Feb. 4, 2026
Syracuse University revised its fall 2026-27 academic calendar, according to the university’s website. The initial calendar ended classes later and shortened winter break compared to the 2025-26 academic year.
Next fall, the last day of classes will be Dec. 8, and the final day of the semester will be Dec. 15. Before the change, fall 2026 classes were scheduled to end Dec. 15 with finals running through Dec. 22, three days before Christmas, a federal holiday.
Winter break was scheduled to be one week shorter than the 2025-26 term, but now the break will be three-and-a-half weeks, a similar length to recent years.
The first day of fall classes also shifted, beginning Aug. 24, instead of its former date, Aug. 31.
SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew confirmed the changes were based on feedback from the campus community in an email to students Wednesday morning.
“We hope this change will help students manage summer and holiday commitments,” Agnew wrote. “Thanks to those who shared their concerns.”
The change comes after an SU spokesperson told The Daily Orange the university would reassess the fall academic calendar in January. Student feedback prompted the reevaluation, the spokesperson wrote.
The first day of the 2027 spring semester remains unchanged, and spring classes will still begin Jan. 11.
