Vacation and Holiday Policy for Full-time PhD Students

The School of Medicine and Dentistry recognizes that time away from school is important to the individual. Vacations should be taken at times that do not interfere with students' course work and their research responsibilities in the lab/office and within the department. Students will abide by the following vacation policies:

• PhD students are permitted to take two weeks of vacation time (10 business days) each calendar year (January 1 through December 31). Vacation time does not automatically accrue and can be rolled over from year to year only with written permission of the advisor and program director.
• Vacation time must be approved well in advance by the appropriate advisor/program director. First year biomedical science students are required to receive written permission of the program director to ensure that the vacation period does not interfere with course work and laboratory rotations.
• Semester breaks are not automatic holidays. PhD students are expected to be in their labs or offices during breaks between semesters and during periods when no classes are held. See the SMD Graduate School Academic Calendar for exact dates.
• Vacations must not interfere with teaching assistant duties, including meetings prior to the start of classes.
• International students who plan to travel outside the United States must submit a Short Term Absence Notice. The information provided on this form will allow the school to assist the student in the event they are subject to an extensive security clearance prior to receiving the necessary clearance and documentation required for re‐entry into the United States.

• Unauthorized absences may result in a prorated withholding of a student’s stipend.

University Holidays

PhD students are entitled to paid time off for official University holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day and the Friday following Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Observance of Religious Holidays

See Religious Holidays.