Academic calendar
Herbstsemester 2026 runs Aug 1, 2026 – Jan 31, 2027. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Herbstsemester 2026Relevant now
- Frühjahrssemester 2027
- Herbstsemester 2027
- Frühjahrssemester 2028
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 13 of 13 terms
A
- Aareböötle
- The quintessential Bernese student activity of floating down the Aare river in inflatable boats during the summer.
B
- Bühl
- Refers to the Mensa Bühlplatz, commonly used by science and medicine students.
- Bümpliz
- The neighborhood name often used to refer to the cluster of student dorms located in the western part of the city.
F
- Fellergut
- A large student housing complex in the Bümpliz district managed by the Student Lodging Association (VBSL).
G
- Gess
- Shorthand for the Mensa Gesellschaftsstrasse, popular for its central location near the main building.
L
- Lernphase
- The intense study period before exams when library seats (especially in the Basisbibliothek) become extremely scarce.
M
- Mensa
- The general term for any of the university's subsidized cafeterias.
- MVUB
- Mittelbauvereinigung der Universität Bern; the association representing intermediate staff, including PhD students and postdocs.
S
- SUB
- Studierendenschaft der Universität Bern; the official student union representing student interests and providing services.
T
- Tscharnergut
- A high-rise residential area frequently used for student housing, often referred to as 'Tscharne'.
V
- VBSL
- Verein Berner Studentenlogierhaus; the primary organization providing affordable student housing in Bern.
- vonRoll
- The cafeteria located at the vonRoll campus, known for serving the education and social sciences faculties.
Z
- Zibelemärit
- The Onion Market; a traditional festival in November where students often participate in the morning festivities and confetti battles.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- ExWi
- The 'Exakte Wissenschaften' building, home to physics, mathematics, and astronomy departments.
- Hauptgebäude
- The main university building located at Hochschulstrasse 4, often abbreviated as HG.
- ILIAS
- The primary web-based learning management system where professors upload lecture slides and course materials.
- KSL
- Kernsystem Lehre; the central administrative portal used for course registration, exam sign-ups, and viewing grades.
- mensa_gesellschaftsstrasse
- Mensa Gesellschaftsstrasse
- mensa_vonroll
- Mensa vonRoll
- Selfservice
- The online portal where students download their confirmation of registration and update personal contact details.
- UniS
- A former hospital building (Inselspital) converted into a university building for law and social sciences.
- UNISCARD
- The multi-functional student ID card used for library access, printing, and as a payment method in cafeterias.
- Unitobler
- A major campus building and former Toblerone chocolate factory, now housing the humanities and social sciences.
- unitobler_cafeteria
- Unitobler Cafeteria
- vonRoll
- A former industrial site converted into a modern campus for the Faculty of Human Sciences and the Department of Social Sciences.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Herbstsemester 2026 runs Aug 1, 2026 – Jan 31, 2027.
- How much campus context is included?
- 13 approved campus terms and 12 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.