The University will be closed for the winter break from Friday 19 December, reopening on Monday 5 January 2026. During this time, most UoA staff will be out of the office. Please refer to the services below for information on events and support available during this time, as well as the availability of some teams throughout December.
Student Helpline: 24/7 Counselling Support
The Student Helpline is available 24 hours a day and free-of-charge. It offers the opportunity to speak with a counsellor when the University Counselling Service is closed. This service is offered by an external partner to the university. Contact the helpline by phone using the numbers below or download the free Spectrum.Life app to access the online chat and lots of practical advice to support your wellbeing. Sign-up using your @abdn.ac.uk and institutional code ABERDEEN.
- Student Helpline freephone number (UK) 0808 196 2707
- Outside of UK 00353 1518 0277
Need a place to study?
Rooms will be available in the MacRobert Building for you to study. Most other UoA buildings, including all libraries, will be closed. See more here.
Medical Care
If you are unwell over the winter break, you can use the services below for medical care.
- GP Support: Contact your GP in the first instance. Remember you need to have a UK phone number for your doctor to call you back. Pick up free SIM cards from Infohub before 1pm on 18 December.
- Pharmacy: Your local pharmacist can advise and prescribe medication for minor health concerns.
- Emergency Services: In a medical emergency, you should dial 999. You should only call the emergency service when you, or someone else, is seriously ill or injured.
Check the Know-Who-To-Turn-To guide for helpful guidance on NHS services.
December Availability
University Libraries
The Sir Duncan Rice, Taylor and Medical Libraries will close at 5.00pm on Friday 19 December and reopen on Monday 5 January 2026.
Full details of their opening hours in January can be found on the Opening Hours webpage.
9U Shuttle Bus
The 9U shuttle bus will stop at 6.55pm on Friday 19 December and restart at 7:50am on 5 January 2026.
Student Advice & Support
The Student Advice & Support drop-in will be open between 10am and 12pm, Monday – Thursday, until 18 December. The team can be found on the top floor of the Students’ Union Building for questions about support for disabled students, study-related adjustments, personal and money matters, mental health, or wellbeing.
The Student Advice & Support team will be available via email (student.support@abdn.ac.uk) and for pre-arranged appointments, Monday – Friday, 10am – 4pm, until 4pm on Friday 19 December.
The Student Advice & Support Office will close at 1pm on Friday 19 December.
The team will be available via email (student.support@abdn.ac.uk) and for pre-arranged appointments from 10am on Monday 5 January 2026. The drop-in service will resume, in line with teaching, from 19 January 2026.
Please visit the website or use the Student Helpline for information about in the moment support. Please always call emergency services on 999 in a crisis or urgent situation.
Infohub
The Infohub office will close at 1pm on 18 December and operate an online service until 4pm on Friday 19 December . The office on the High Street will reopen at 10am on 5 January 2026.
Careers & Employability Service
The Careers and Employability Service will have appointments available until Friday 19 December. Questions submitted via MyCareerHub up to 9am on Wednesday 17 December, will receive a response by 4pm on Friday 19 December.
Queries submitted after this date will receive a response from Monday 5 January 2026. The team will be out of the office during the festive break and appointments will resume the week beginning 5 January 2026.
Visit the Careers and Employability webpage for further information and resources.
Multi-Faith Chaplaincy
The Multi-Faith Chaplaincy will close at 2pm on Thursday 18 December and will reopen at 10am on Monday 5 January 2026.
LapSafe Lockers
From 7am on Friday 19 December, it will not be possible to borrow a laptop from the LapSafe Lockers in the Sir Duncan Rice Library, Polwarth Library and MacRobert Building.
However, you can still return loaned devices to the LapSafe locker until 5pm on Friday 19 December.
If you are unable to meet this deadline, please make sure the device is stored securely over the break and return it when buildings re-open on 5 January 2026. Fines for overdue laptops will not be issued during this period. The LapSafe Locker at Hillhead Student Village will continue to operate as normal during this time. Normal Lapsafe Locker services will resume on 5 January 2026.
Hillhead Student Village
Hillhead Student Village will be operational throughout the festive period. From Monday 22 December to Sunday 4 January, Central Building will be open 2-10pm each day.
As usual, residents (of Hillhead Student Village, Kings Hall and the Elphinstone Road flats) will be able to have access to the badminton and pickle ball courts, the table tennis table and pool tables as well as the study rooms and also the community hub where they can access the music room, TV room, gamers room, chill out lounge, quiet room.
A student resident assistant will be on duty 2-10pm each day for any welfare issues that may arise and also to interact with residents over the festive period. There will be tea & coffee and snacks available each day for residents.
The main Reception desk will be available 24 hours a day for calls from residents with any issues. All accommodation blocks have a phone in the entrance corridor with Reception’s phone number on a poster beside the phone.
From Monday 5 January the normal 24-hour service of Central Building will resume, and SRAs will be back to their usual shifts (6pm-3am on Sunday-Thursday, 6pm-4am on Friday-Saturday).
In need of a mood booster or looking for inspiration on where to chase the northern lights this season?
Check out our ‘Seasonal Wellbeing’ message for helpful ways to manage symptoms of low moods and inspiration for thriving through the winter months in Aberdeen.