Assange, 47, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in London after being accused by US authorities of conspiring to hack computers and of violating espionage law.
The court ruled that a full extradition hearing, which is expected to last five days, will begin on 25 February. A hearing will be held before that in October.
Assange, who appeared with a scraggly white beard, is being held in Belmarsh prison in London, after being jailed for 50 weeks for skipping bail.
In April, he was evicted from Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he had been holed up since 2012 after the country granted him political asylum. He had been avoiding extradition to Sweden for questioning over alleged sexual assault.