Academic calendar
Summer Term 2026 runs May 8, 2026 – Aug 23, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Summer Term 2026Relevant now
- Intersession 2026
- Summer Session 2026
- Fall Term 2026
- Spring Term 2027
- Summer Term 2027
- Intersession 2027
- Summer Session 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 36 of 36 terms
C
- CJSF
- The campus radio station (90.1 FM).
- Concrete Jungle
- A nickname for the Burnaby campus due to its extensive use of raw concrete in architecture.
- Cornerstone
- The commercial area at the east end of campus featuring various restaurants and shops.
- Courtyard
- The Courtyard Residence, the newest housing facility on the Burnaby campus.
F
- FASS
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the largest faculty on campus.
G
- GSS
- Graduate Student Society, representing graduate students at SFU.
M
- Mackenzie
- Mackenzie Café, a large food court area located in the Academic Quadrangle.
- Mackie
- Mackenzie Café, a large food court area in the Academic Quadrangle.
- MBC
- The Maggie Benston Centre, which houses a food court with various vendors.
- McT
- McTaggart-Cowan Hall, a traditional-style residence building.
- McTaggart
- McTaggart-Cowan Hall, a traditional-style residence hall.
N
- North/East
- Refers to the North and East residence buildings, the newest additions to the Burnaby campus housing.
R
- Renaissance
- Renaissance Coffee, a popular local coffee shop with multiple locations on campus.
- Renny's
- Renaissance Coffee, a popular independent coffee shop with multiple campus locations.
S
- SASS
- Sociology and Anthropology Student Union.
- Science Fiction University
- A common play on the SFU acronym, referencing the campus's futuristic/brutalist look often used in films.
- SFPIRG
- Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, a student-funded social justice center.
- SFSS
- Simon Fraser Student Society, the undergraduate student union.
- Shell
- Shellmont Hall, one of the older residence buildings on the Burnaby campus.
- Stay Far University
- A common student joke referencing SFU's perceived lack of social life or its isolated location.
- Stay Forever Unmarried
- A long-standing self-deprecating joke about the university's acronym and perceived social life.
T
- The 145
- The most frequent bus route connecting the campus to Production Way-University Station.
- The DH
- The main Dining Hall located near the residences, offering buffet-style meals.
- The Gondola
- A long-discussed proposed transit project to replace buses up the mountain.
- The Hill
- Refers to the main Burnaby campus, which is located on top of Burnaby Mountain.
- The Ladle
- A student-run food service providing low-cost vegan and vegetarian meals, often called 'the veggie lunch'.
- The Mountain
- Refers to the Burnaby Mountain campus location.
- The Peak
- SFU's independent student newspaper.
- The Pond
- The reflection pond located in the center of the Academic Quadrangle (AQ).
- The Pub
- The SFU Study Public House, the primary on-campus bar and social spot located in the SUB.
- The Stairs
- Refers to the numerous outdoor staircases connecting different levels of the mountain campus.
- The Study
- The Study Public House, the primary on-campus pub and social space.
- The Towers
- The three traditional residence buildings: Hamilton Hall, Pauline Jewett Hall, and Barbara Rae Hall.
- The Townhouses
- The multi-level residential units typically reserved for upper-year students.
- Towers
- The collective name for the Hamilton, Pauline Jewett, and Shell residence buildings.
- Townhouses
- The 11-building complex of townhouse-style student residences located on the east side of campus.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 145
- The high-frequency bus shuttle connecting the Burnaby campus to the Production Way-University SkyTrain station.
- AQ
- Academic Quadrangle, the central hub of the Burnaby campus known for its brutalist architecture.
- BLU
- Blusson Hall, home to the Faculty of Health Sciences.
- Canvas
- The learning management system where professors post course materials and assignments.
- Compass Card
- The physical smart card used for transit that students must link to their U-Pass account monthly.
- dining_commons
- Dining Commons
- discovery_caf
- Discovery Café
- goSFU
- The online student information system used for course registration and checking grades.
- mackenzie_caf
- Mackenzie Café
- MBC
- Maggie Benston Centre, the hub for student services, the bookstore, and the registrar.
- R5
- The RapidBus route that provides the fastest transit link between downtown Vancouver and the Burnaby campus.
- RCB
- Robert C. Brown Hall, primarily used for Arts and Social Sciences classes.
- SFU ID
- The physical student identification card used for library services and gym access.
- SUB
- Student Union Building, the modern facility managed by the SFSS.
- TASC
- Technology and Applied Sciences Complex, divided into TASC 1 and TASC 2.
- The 145
- The most frequent bus route connecting the Burnaby campus to the Production Way-University SkyTrain station.
- The R5
- The RapidBus route providing frequent service between SFU Burnaby and Downtown Vancouver.
- U-Pass
- The mandatory transit pass loaded onto a Compass Card for all-zone travel.
- WMC
- West Mall Centre, a major building housing classrooms and the Beedie School of Business.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Summer Term 2026 runs May 8, 2026 – Aug 23, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 36 approved campus terms and 19 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.