Academic calendar
School Year 2026-2027 runs Sep 10, 2026 – Jun 24, 2027. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- School Year 2025-2026
- School Year 2026-2027Relevant now
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 58 of 58 terms
1
- 1920 Commons
- The largest dining hall on campus, often just called 'Commons'.
A
- Alice Lloyd
- Alice Lloyd Hall, a residence hall on the Hill known for the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program.
B
- Baits
- Baits II Houses, a North Campus residence hall complex.
- Bursley
- Bursley Hall, the largest residence hall on campus, located on North Campus.
- Bursley
- The main dining hall for students living on North Campus.
C
- CAPS
- Counseling and Psychological Services (now part of Student Health and Counseling), the campus mental health center.
- Commons
- 1920 Commons, the largest dining hall on campus located near the high rises.
- CSG
- Central Student Government, the main student representative body.
D
- Dining Dollars
- Currency included in meal plans for use at retail dining locations.
- DP
- The Daily Pennsylvanian, the independent student newspaper.
E
- English House
- The dining hall located within the Kings Court English College House (KCECH).
F
- Falk
- The kosher dining hall located at Penn Hillel (Steinhardt Hall).
G
- Gregory
- Gregory College House, known for its film culture and 'Class of 1925' building.
H
- Harnwell
- Harnwell College House, one of the three high-rise apartment-style dorms.
- Harrison
- Harrison College House, one of the three high-rise apartment-style dorms.
- Hey Day
- A junior class tradition where students wear red shirts and straw hats to celebrate moving up to senior status.
- Hill
- Hill College House, known for its distinct architecture and social atmosphere.
- Hill
- The dining hall located inside Hill College House, popular with freshmen.
- Hill House
- The dining hall located within Hill College House.
- Houston Market
- The retail food court located in the basement of Houston Hall.
K
- KCECH
- Kings Court English College House, a dorm known for its tight-knit community and 'English House' dining hall.
L
- Lauder
- Lauder College House, a newer dorm formerly known as New College House (NCH).
- Locust Walk
- The central pedestrian thoroughfare of the campus.
M
- M&T
- The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology dual-degree program.
- Markley
- Mary Markley Hall, a large residence hall primarily for freshmen.
- McClelland
- McClelland Express, a retail and meal-swipe dining spot located in the center of the Quad.
- Mojo
- Mosher-Jordan Hall, a residence hall on Central Campus known for its dining hall.
- Mojo
- The dining hall located within Mosher-Jordan Hall.
N
- NCH
- New College House (now Gutmann College House), a modern residential building.
- NEC
- Nominations and Elections Committee, responsible for running student government elections.
- North Campus
- The separate campus area housing Engineering, Music, and Art programs.
O
- OCR
- On-Campus Recruiting; the intense period of job interviews and networking, particularly for finance and consulting.
P
- Penn Cash
- A debit-like account on the PennCard for non-dining campus purchases.
- Penn Face
- The social phenomenon where students hide their stress and struggles behind a mask of perfection and success.
R
- RHA
- Residence Halls Association, representing students living in campus housing.
- Rick's
- Rick's American Cafe, a well-known student nightclub.
- Rodin
- Rodin College House, one of the three high-rise apartment-style dorms.
S
- SABS
- See And Be Seen; the act of hanging out in high-traffic areas (like Starbucks or the high rise field) specifically to be noticed.
- SCUE
- Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, which advocates for academic policy changes.
- Skeeps
- Scorekeepers, a popular student bar on Maynard Street.
- SLC
- Science Learning Center, providing tutoring and resources for science students.
- South Quad
- South Quadrangle, a residence hall centrally located near the Union.
- South Quad
- The dining hall located within South Quadrangle, popular for its variety.
- SPEC
- Social Planning and Events Committee, the student group that organizes major events like Spring Fling.
- Spring Fling
- The massive annual end-of-year festival featuring concerts and carnival events.
- Stouffer
- Stouffer College House, which includes both Stouffer Hall and Mayer Hall.
T
- The Arb
- Nichols Arboretum, a large nature area and park adjacent to campus.
- The Button
- The 'Split Button' sculpture outside Van Pelt Library, a common landmark for meeting up.
- The Compass
- A mosaic in the ground on Locust Walk; legend says stepping on it causes you to fail your midterms.
- The Diag
- The central diagonal walkway and plaza at the heart of Central Campus.
- The High Rises
- The three 25-story apartment-style dorms: Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin.
- The League
- The Michigan League, which houses several retail dining options.
- The Quad
- The historic freshman housing complex consisting of Riepe, Ware, and Fisher Hassenfeld College Houses.
- The Rock
- A large boulder on Washtenaw Avenue that is frequently repainted by student groups.
- Twigs
- The dining option at Oxford Houses, known for being gluten-free friendly.
U
- UA
- Undergraduate Assembly, the primary branch of student government.
- UROP
- Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, which pairs students with research projects.
W
- Wharton
- The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Angell Hall
- The primary academic building on Central Campus, known for its large columns.
- Blue Bus
- The free campus bus system (Magic Bus) that connects Central, North, and South campuses.
- Canvas
- The primary learning management system for course materials and assignments.
- Dining Dollars
- Currency included in meal plans that can be used at retail dining locations like Starbucks or Houston Market.
- DRL
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, the building housing the Math and Physics departments, often cited for its confusing layout.
- Fisher
- The Fisher Fine Arts Library, known for its distinctive red brick architecture.
- Houston Hall
- The oldest student union building in the United States.
- Huntsman
- Jon M. Huntsman Hall (JMHH), the primary building for the Wharton School.
- M-Card
- The official University of Michigan student identification card.
- Michigan Time
- The cultural tradition of classes starting 10 minutes after the scheduled time (officially retired in 2018 but still widely referenced).
- Path@Penn
- The online portal used for course registration, checking grades, and managing student records.
- Penn Guardian
- A mobile app that connects students directly to Penn Public Safety.
- Penn Transit
- The university's free shuttle and bus service for students traveling around campus and nearby neighborhoods.
- PennCard
- The official student ID used for building access, meal swipes, and identification.
- PennCash
- A declining balance account on the PennCard used for laundry, printing, and some retail purchases.
- PennKey
- The username and password used to access Penn's online services.
- Quaker Days
- The official campus visit days for admitted high school students.
- Ross
- The Stephen M. Ross School of Business building.
- Steiny-D
- Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, another major Wharton academic building.
- The Arch
- The Arts, Research, and Culture House, a hub for cultural centers and student groups.
- The Big House
- Michigan Stadium, the university's massive football stadium.
- The Dude
- The Duderstadt Center, the main library and technology hub on North Campus.
- The Fishbowl
- The glass-walled computing and study area in the Angell Hall courtyard.
- The M
- The block 'M' logo; students traditionally avoid stepping on the brass 'M' in the Diag to avoid failing their first blue book exam.
- Ugli
- The Shapiro Undergraduate Library (Shapiro + Undergraduate Library = Ugli).
- VP
- Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, the main university library.
- Walking Escort
- A service provided by Public Safety to walk students to their destination at night.
- Wolverine Access
- The central online portal for registration, grades, and student accounts.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- School Year 2026-2027 runs Sep 10, 2026 – Jun 24, 2027.
- How much campus context is included?
- 58 approved campus terms and 28 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.