Academic calendar
Summer 2026 Full-Term Session runs Jun 1, 2026 – Aug 14, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Summer 2026 First 5-Week Session
- Summer 2026 Full-Term SessionRelevant now
- Summer 2026 8-Week Session
- Summer 2026 Second 5-Week Session
- Summer 2026 Session II
- Fall 2026 1st 8-Week Session
- Fall 2026 Full Term Session
- Fall 2026 2nd 8-Week SessionFall 2026 Second 8-Week Session
- Spring 2027 1st 8-Week Session
- Spring 2027 Full Term Session
- Spring 2027 Full Term Session
- Spring 2027 2nd 8-Week Session
- Summer 2027 First 5-Week Session
- Summer 2027 First 5-Week Session
- Summer 2027Summer 2027 Full-Term Session
- Summer 2027 Full-Term Session
- Summer 2027 8-Week Session
- Summer 2027 Second 5-Week Session
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 53 of 53 terms
A
- ACM
- Association for Computing Machinery, a very large and active computer science organization.
C
- CCH
- Canyon Creek Heights, the North and South apartment-style residence halls.
- Comet Cafe
- The food court area within the Student Union featuring various vendors.
- Comet Cash
- Campus currency loaded onto the Comet Card that can be used at all dining locations and the bookstore.
- CPC
- Collegiate Panhellenic Council, the governing body for sororities.
D
- DH
- Dining Hall West, the primary buffet-style eatery for students on meal plans.
- DH3
- Dining Hall West, the primary dining hall on campus (named for its location in phase 3).
- DHW
- Dining Hall West, the main buffet-style dining facility on campus.
- Dining Dollars
- Tax-free funds included with meal plans that can be used at any on-campus food vendor.
E
- Enarc
- The personification of the construction cranes on campus; 'Crane' spelled backward, often joked about as a campus deity.
- EPICS
- Engineering Projects in Community Service, a program where students earn credit for social-good projects.
F
- FSL
- Fraternity and Sorority Life, referring to the Greek life community.
I
- IEEE
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a major professional and social org for engineering students.
- ISA
- Indian Student Association, one of the largest cultural student groups.
L
- Lemonade Guy
- A legendary local vendor known for selling lemonade near the Plinth.
- Love Circle
- The circular walkway near the library often used for student tabling and events.
- Love Jack
- The large red sculpture (officially 'Jack') located near the library, a common meeting point.
M
- Meal Exchange
- A program allowing students to trade a dining hall swipe for a combo meal at retail spots.
- Meal Money
- A set amount of declining balance credit included with meal plans for use at retail food outlets like Chick-fil-A or Panda Express.
- MGC
- Multicultural Greek Council, the umbrella organization for culturally-based fraternities and sororities.
O
- Orange Out
- A tradition where students wear orange to show school spirit during major events.
- OSV
- Office of Student Volunteerism, which coordinates community service opportunities.
P
- Phase
- Refers to the specific numbered construction stages of University Village (e.g., Phase 1, Phase 8).
- Phase [Number]
- Refers to specific sections of University Village apartments (e.g., Phase 3, Phase 8).
R
- Res Hall
- Short for Residence Hall, typically referring to the five freshman-only dorm buildings (North, South, West, Northwest, Southwest).
- RH
- Short for Residence Hall, typically followed by a cardinal direction (e.g., RHW for West, RHN for North).
- RHE
- Residence Hall East, a freshman dormitory.
- RHN
- Residence Hall North, one of the primary freshman dormitory buildings.
- RHNW
- Residence Hall Northwest, a freshman dormitory.
- RHS
- Residence Hall South, a freshman dormitory.
- RHW
- Residence Hall West, one of the five freshman-only dorms.
S
- SG
- Student Government, the representative body for the student population.
- SOC
- Student Organization Center, the department that oversees all registered student groups.
- Squash
- The unofficial name for the 'Spirit Rock' when it is painted to look like a vegetable or specific character.
- Squish
- The nickname for the 'Love Jack' sculpture located near the ATEC building.
- Starship
- The fleet of autonomous delivery robots used to order food via an app.
- SU
- The Student Union food court, housing various fast-food vendors.
- SU Food Court
- The main dining area in the Student Union featuring various fast-food chains.
- SUAAB
- Student Union & Activities Advisory Board, the group that plans major campus events like Comet-Con.
T
- Temoc
- The UTD mascot, a blue-skinned comet; 'Comet' spelled backward.
- The Love Jack
- The red 'Jack' sculpture near the library, a popular meeting spot and photo op.
- The Market
- Convenience stores located in the Student Union and Dining Hall West.
- The Mercury
- The official student-run newspaper of UT Dallas.
- The Phase
- Refers to specific numbered sections of University Village (e.g., Phase 1, Phase 8).
- The Plinth
- The raised concrete platform and fountain area in the center of the Margaret McDermott Mall.
- The Pub
- The Pub at UTD, a sit-down restaurant located in the Student Union.
- The Res Halls
- Collective term for the five freshman-only residence halls (North, South, East, West, Northwest).
- The SU
- The Student Union, which houses the main food court and fast-food options.
- Tobor
- The autonomous Starship food delivery robots that roam campus; 'Robot' spelled backward.
U
- UC
- University Commons, the primary residence halls for first-year students.
- UV
- University Village, the primary on-campus apartment complex.
V
- VSA
- Vietnamese Student Association, a prominent cultural organization on campus.
W
- Whoosh
- The official hand sign and spirit cry of UTD, performed by extending the arm and 'whooshing' the hand.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 883
- The DART bus route (Comet Cruiser) that provides free transit around campus and to the CityLine/Bush station.
- ATEC
- Edith O'Donnell Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication building.
- BSB
- Bioengineering and Sciences Building.
- Bursar
- The office responsible for student billing and tuition payments.
- Comet Cab
- A free on-campus golf cart shuttle service for students.
- Comet Cabs
- The golf cart shuttle service that transports students between various points on campus.
- Comet Card
- The official student ID used for building access, meal plans, and printing.
- Comet Cruiser
- The 883 bus route that connects the campus to the CityLine/Bush DART station and local apartments.
- CourseBook
- The university's public-facing tool for searching class schedules, syllabi, and textbook requirements.
- DART Pass
- A transit pass available to students that allows free use of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit trains and buses.
- dining_hall_west
- Dining Hall West
- ECSN
- Engineering and Computer Science North, the older engineering building.
- ECSS
- Engineering and Computer Science South, a major hub for STEM classes.
- ECSW
- Engineering and Computer Science West, a major hub for engineering students.
- eLearning
- The Blackboard-based learning management system used for course materials and grades.
- FO
- Founders Building, one of the original structures on campus used for various departments.
- Galaxy
- The central online portal where students manage registration, grades, and financial aid.
- Gold Parking
- The mid-tier parking permit, more common for commuters who want a balance of price and distance.
- Handshake
- The online portal used by students to find on-campus jobs and internships.
- JSOM
- Naveen Jindal School of Management building.
- MC
- Eugene McDermott Library, the main campus library.
- NSERL
- Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory, often called the 'Mermaid Building' due to its colorful scales.
- Orange Parking
- The highest and most expensive tier of campus parking permits, closest to buildings.
- Orange/Gold/Purple Parking
- The tiered parking permit system where colors correspond to specific lot proximity and price.
- Parking Portal
- The website where students must register their vehicles and purchase color-coded parking permits.
- Parking Tiers
- The color-coded permit system (Green, Gold, Orange, Purple) that dictates where students are allowed to park.
- SCI
- The Science Building, primarily used for physics and chemistry labs.
- SLC
- Science Learning Center, known for its distinctive architecture and labs.
- SSA
- Student Services Building Addition, where many administrative offices are located.
- student_union_food_court
- Student Union Food Court
- The Loop
- The main road (University Parkway/Drive) that circles the inner campus.
- The Plinth
- The central outdoor plaza and fountain area located in the middle of campus.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Summer 2026 Full-Term Session runs Jun 1, 2026 – Aug 14, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 53 approved campus terms and 32 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.