Not everybody starts in September. Both of Aberdeen's universities take students in January, exchange students arrive for the second semester, and there is a whole undergraduate route that begins after Christmas.
The awkward part is housing, because most of Aberdeen is let by the academic year from September. That is dealt with at the bottom.
January at Robert Gordon University
Postgraduate. RGU runs January starts in Business, Engineering, Law, Computing, Pharmacy, and Health and Social Care. RGU's January postgraduate courses.
Undergraduate. January entrants take the International Year 1 pathway at the International College at Robert Gordon University, ICRGU. RGU's own wording: "The duration of the International Year 1 is 9 months – January until early September", after which "students will be able to progress to Year 2 of the course in September".
The subject areas are Accounting and Finance, Business Management, Computer Science, Engineering, Marketing and Hospitality, and Media and Public Relations. RGU's January undergraduate courses.
The dates. RGU's Semester 2 Welcome and Welcome Back Week begins Monday 25 January 2027, and Semester 2 teaching starts Monday 1 February 2027, per the academic calendar. If you are joining on one of the January routes above, confirm your own start date with the university — those two dates are the semester's, not necessarily yours.
January at the University of Aberdeen
For postgraduate taught courses, the University publishes a full set of dates for the January 2027 intake.
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Applications close, if you need a visa | Monday 30 November 2026 |
| Applications close, if you do not | Monday 7 December 2026 |
| Welcome Week begins | Monday 18 January 2027 |
| Teaching begins | Monday 25 January 2027 |
| Final registration | Monday 8 February 2027 |
Source: the University of Aberdeen's January dates. Some programmes set their own later start date, so check the page for yours.
Note the visa deadline is a week earlier than the other one, and it is the end of November. If you need a visa for January, the real deadline is well before Christmas.
Finding a room for January
Most student housing in Aberdeen runs from September to the following summer, which is why a January arrival is harder than it ought to be: you are looking for something that starts halfway through everybody else's contract.
ABeleven lets rooms on shorter terms as well as the full year, including semester-length stays, so a January start is one of the things this building can actually do. Which room types are free, and from exactly when, changes through the year — the team will tell you what is available for your dates.
Ask what is available for JanuaryEverything is furnished and every bill, the internet and contents insurance are included, which matters more in January than in September: you are arriving mid-winter with one suitcase, and nothing needs setting up.
See what is availableThere is more on mid-year arrivals on the January page and on short stays.
A January checklist
- Sort the room before you fly. Arriving in Aberdeen in January without somewhere to go is a worse problem than arriving in September without one. The team will do a video viewing if you cannot visit.
- Enrol as soon as the invitation arrives. It is the thing that releases your funding, and nobody chases you for it.
- Register with a GP in your first week, not when you need one.
- Pack for a northern winter. It is cold, it is wet, and in January it is dark by mid-afternoon. A proper coat is not optional, and you will not want to buy one in your first week.
- Apply for your bus pass if you are 21 or under — every bus in Scotland is free, and you can sort it before you arrive. See the getting to university guide.