Hilary term Hilary term Hilary term is the second academic term of the Universities of Oxford and Dublin and also Deepdene School near Portslade in East Sussex. It runs from January to March and is so named because the feast day of St Hilary of Poitiers, 14 January, falls during this term. All terms are dated from this day in the following way: The term originated in the legal system. The courts of England and Wales and the Courts of Ireland divide the legal year into four terms: Hilary, Easter, Trinity and Michaelmas. At the University of Oxford, following the resolution made
Academic term universities have special names for the three terms, e.g. Michaelmas, Hilary, Trinity (Oxford) or Michaelmas, Epiphany, Easter (Durham). Special term names (i.e. not first, second, third; autumn, spring, summer; or other obvious names) in use include: Exceptions to the ordinary structure of the academic year include the University of Buckingham, where undergraduate courses do not coincide with the academic year used by universities in Britain and elsewhere. Instead, they largely coincide with the calendar year—they typically start in January or February, with examinations in autumn. There are a number of different systems used in the US: The word quadmester or