Stuvac is a colloquialism for
study vacation. This term refers to any period of time between between the time when a
university student finishes formal work in
class, and the time when university
exams start. It is also referred to as 'Swotvac', a reflection of the fact that 'to swot' means to study or work extremely hard at something.
Typically this is either one or two weeks, although it may be longer depending on variations in subject length and university policy.
It is a stereotype that students studying for a degree from the Arts faculties don't have a stuvac because they don't have exams; instead they start their holidays.
It is a common phenomenon that students are very stressed in stuvac and imbibe large amounts of caffeine in the form of coffee and caffeine pills, allowing them to concentrate for longer periods of time.
Students are expected to study for their exams in this period, although this does not always happen. Other common occupations in Stuvac include:
- Participating in Beervac
- Frantically copying another student's lecture notes with a photocopier
- Putting in some shifts working at McDonald's