Vacations
Vacation or recess periods are built into all years of the curriculum. All students have a recess at the end of December (includes Christmas Day and New Year’s Day), which is determined annually by the academic schedule. Furthermore, all students have additional breaks determined by their curriculum phase.
Please refer to the Academic Calendars for dates.
Holidays
In preclerkship courses, classes are not scheduled on the following Harvard-observed holidays*:
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day
- Thanksgiving, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the following Friday
- Martin Luther King Day
- President’s Day
- Memorial Day
- July 4th (Pathways curriculum)
*Please note that classes will be held on Veterans' Day (November 11); a holiday observance will be planned.
In the PCE and post-PCE year(s), Thanksgiving and the Friday after Thanksgiving are official Harvard Medical School holidays; students are not required to report for clerkships until the Monday after Thanksgiving. All students are required to be present for clerkship responsibilities until 5:00 PM on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Students enrolled in subinternships should check with the clerkship director about patient obligations before making Thanksgiving plans. Observation of all other Harvard-observed holidays (July 4th, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, and Memorial Day) is at the discretion of the PCE site or clerkship.
Last updated 8/4/18