Academic calendar
Academic Year 2026-2027 runs Aug 31, 2026 – Jul 2, 2027. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Academic Year 2026-2027Relevant now
- Fall 2027
- Spring 2028
- Summer 2028
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 20 of 20 terms
1
- 1920
- Short for 1920 Commons, the largest dining hall on campus located on 38th Street.
A
- Accra
- The African food station located within the Falk Dining Commons (Kosher dining).
G
- Gutmann
- Gutmann College House, formerly known as New College House West (NCHW).
H
- Hey Day
- A junior class tradition where students march down Locust Walk wearing red shirts and carrying mahogany canes to mark their transition to seniors.
- Hill
- Hill College House, a large dorm known for its social atmosphere and built-in dining hall.
- Hill
- The dining hall located within Hill College House, popular for its brunch.
- Houston
- Houston Market, a retail dining location in the basement of Houston Hall offering diverse food stalls.
J
- Joe's
- Joe's Café, a popular coffee and sandwich spot located in the Wharton School's Steinberg-Dietrich Hall.
M
- M&T
- The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, a dual-degree program between Wharton and Penn Engineering.
N
- NEC
- Nominations and Elections Committee, the branch of student government that manages elections and appointments.
O
- OCR
- On-Campus Recruiting; the high-intensity period where students interview with major firms, particularly in finance and consulting.
Q
- Quaker
- The university mascot and a general term for a Penn student.
S
- SCUE
- Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, which focuses on academic policy and curriculum changes.
- SPEC
- Social Planning and Events Committee, responsible for major campus events like Spring Fling.
T
- The Button
- The Split Button sculpture located in front of Van Pelt Library, a common meeting spot.
- The Compass
- A floor mosaic on Locust Walk that students avoid stepping on due to a superstition that doing so will cause them to fail their exams.
- The High Rises
- The three 24-story residential towers: Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin College Houses.
- The Quad
- The Quadrangle, comprising three college houses (Riepe, Ware, and Fisher Hassenfeld) known for its historic architecture and freshman population.
- The Radian
- A popular off-campus luxury apartment building frequently inhabited by upperclassmen.
U
- UA
- The Undergraduate Assembly, the elected branch of student government.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- DRL
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, home to the Physics and Math departments, often noted for being a long walk from the center of campus.
- Fisher
- The Fisher Fine Arts Library, known for its distinct red brick architecture and quiet study environment.
- Huntsman
- Jon M. Huntsman Hall, the primary building for the Wharton School.
- Locust
- Short for Locust Walk, the central pedestrian thoroughfare that runs through the heart of campus.
- PennCard
- The official student ID card used for building access, meal plans, and student identification.
- PennCash
- A debit system linked to the PennCard used for laundry, printing, and some retail purchases.
- PennKey
- The unique username and password used to access all university digital services and portals.
- PennTransit
- The university's shuttle and bus service that provides transportation around campus and the surrounding West Philadelphia area.
- school_canteen
- School Canteen
- Steiny-D
- Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, a major building for the Wharton School.
- VP
- Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, the main campus library.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Academic Year 2026-2027 runs Aug 31, 2026 – Jul 2, 2027.
- How much campus context is included?
- 20 approved campus terms and 11 local details are included in full.
- Are all approved campus terms included?
- Yes. The complete approved glossary is available in the scrollable, searchable campus-language section.
- Where does this guide come from?
- Calendar dates, campus terms, and local details come from DormWay's approved campus reference library.