Human Resources
October 7, 2026

UC Riverside plans to observe a Winter Holiday Closure during the 2026-2027 holiday season.

The campus is scheduled to close beginning Thursday, December 24, 2026, and will reopen on Monday, January 4, 2027. Pursuant to Personnel Policy 2.210: Absence from Work and relevant provisions of our collective bargaining agreements, the campus will observe the holidays on the following days.

Campus Winter Holiday Closure Dates

Thursday, December 24, 2026

Campus Closed - Christmas Eve**

Friday, December 25, 2026

Campus Closed - Christmas Day**

December 26 - 27, 2026

Campus Closed - Weekend

Monday, December 28, 2026

Campus Closed - Curtailment Day*

Tuesday, December 29, 2026

Campus Closed - Curtailment Day*

Wednesday, December 30, 2026

Campus Closed - Curtailment Day*

Thursday, December 31, 2026 

Campus Closed - New Year’s Eve** 

Friday, January 1, 2027

Campus Closed - New Year’s Day**

Monday, January 4, 2027

Campus Reopens 

*Non-paid days during the holiday closure period unless an employee elects to use vacation accruals or compensatory time.

**University paid holiday.

Four (4) university-paid holidays (December 24, 25, 31, and January 1) will be observed while the campus is closed. However, three (3) days (December 28, 29, and 30) are considered curtailment leave days and are not paid holidays. Employees have the choice of the following options to cover the non-paid days during the holiday closure period.

  • Employees may use vacation days in advance of their actual accrual.
  • Newly hired employees, represented and policy-covered, may use their vacation accruals before completing six (6) continuous months on pay status.
  • Employees with accrued compensatory time may elect to use it to cover the three (3) days off or to offset the use of vacation time.
  • Employees who do not wish to use vacation or compensatory time off may request leave without pay, pending departmental approval. In this case, employees will not lose hourly vacation or sick leave accruals for these three (3) days. 

In accordance with regular procedures for scheduling vacation, employees should notify their supervisors in advance as to which option or combination of options they choose to use.

For represented employees, closure days will be processed in accordance with existing contract provisions and are subject to discussion and/or collective bargaining where applicable.

As in previous years, certain essential services will not be closed during this period. Employees who might be expected to work should check with their supervisors for confirmation.

Researcher access to critical research facilities will continue and select research facilities requiring access will continue to be maintained by Facilities Services. In addition, grading deadlines will remain unchanged.

Comments or questions regarding application of personnel policies during the winter closure may be sent to Central Human Resources Policy at hrpolicy@ucr.edu or submit a HR Ticket Request. Comments or questions regarding application of collective bargaining agreements may be sent to Labor Relations at labor.relations@ucr.edu.