Academic calendar
Fall Term 2026 runs Aug 19, 2026 – Dec 17, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Fall Term 2026Relevant now
- Spring Term 2027
- Summer 2027 Session I
- Summer 2027 11-Week Session
- Summer 2027 Session II
- Fall Term 2027
- Spring Term 2028
- Summer 2028 Session I
- Summer 2028 11-Week Session
- Summer 2028 Session II
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 38 of 38 terms
1
- 1920
- 1920 Commons, the largest dining hall on campus located near the High Rises.
B
- BYO
- Bring Your Own (bottle), referring to the popular Philly culture of group dinners at restaurants that allow outside alcohol.
C
- Commons
- 1920 Commons, the largest dining hall on campus located near the high-rise dorms.
D
- Dining Dollars
- Tax-free funds attached to a meal plan used for retail dining locations like Starbucks or Houston Market.
- DP
- The Daily Pennsylvanian, the independent student-run newspaper of the university.
F
- Falk
- The kosher dining hall located within Steinhardt Hall (Penn Hillel).
G
- Gutmann
- Gutmann College House, formerly known as New College House West (NCHW).
H
- Hey Day
- A junior class tradition marking the transition to senior year, involving red shirts and straw hats.
- Hill
- Hill College House, a freshman dorm known for its distinct architecture and internal dining hall.
- Hill
- The dining hall located inside Hill College House, popular for its breakfast and social layout.
- Hill Dining
- The dining hall located inside Hill College House, popular for its frequent themed meals.
- Houston
- Houston Market, a retail dining food court located in the basement of Houston Hall.
- Houston Market
- The retail dining food court located in the basement of Houston Hall.
J
- Joe's
- Joe's Café, a popular retail dining spot in the Steinberg-Dietrich Hall.
K
- KCECH
- Kings Court English College House, a residential community located on the eastern edge of campus.
L
- Lauder
- Lauder College House, a residential building located at 34th and Chestnut streets.
- Locust
- Locust Walk, the central pedestrian artery of the campus.
M
- McClelland
- McClelland Express, a dining and retail location located within the Quad.
- MERT
- Medical Emergency Response Team, a student-run volunteer EMS organization that responds to campus emergencies.
N
- NEC
- Nominations and Elections Committee, the branch of student government that manages elections and appointments.
O
- OCR
- On-Campus Recruiting, the intensive period where firms visit campus to interview students for jobs and internships.
P
- Penn Face
- The social phenomenon where students hide their stress and struggles to appear perfectly successful.
- PennCash
- A debit-like system on the PennCard used for non-meal expenses like laundry and printing.
S
- SABS
- Sitting and Being Seen; the act of sitting in high-traffic areas like Locust Walk to socialize and be noticed.
- SAC
- Student Activities Council, the body that recognizes and funds over 200 student organizations.
- SCUE
- Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, an advisory body focused on academic policy.
- Smoke's
- Smokey Joe's, a legendary local bar frequently visited by upperclassmen.
- Smokes
- Smokey Joe's, a legendary local bar frequently referred to as 'The Penn Institution'.
- SPEC
- Social Planning and Events Committee, the group responsible for major campus events like Spring Fling.
- Spring Fling
- The largest annual student-run festival on the East Coast, featuring concerts and carnival events.
- Stouffer
- Stouffer College House, which includes both Stouffer Hall and Mayer Hall.
- Swipes
- Meal credits used to enter all-you-care-to-eat dining halls.
T
- The Button
- A large white sculpture of a broken button located in front of Van Pelt Library, a common meeting spot.
- The Compass
- A mosaic compass on Locust Walk that students traditionally avoid stepping on to prevent failing their exams.
- The High Rises
- The three 25-story apartment-style dorms: Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin College Houses.
- The Quad
- The historic freshman housing complex consisting of Ware, Riepe, and Fisher Hassenfeld College Houses.
- The Walk
- Locust Walk, the central pedestrian artery of the campus.
U
- UA
- Undergraduate Assembly, the primary student government body representing undergraduate interests.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 1920_commons
- 1920 Commons
- accenture_caf
- Accenture Café
- DRL
- David Rittenhouse Laboratory, the building housing the Math, Physics, and Astronomy departments.
- falk_at_penn_hillel
- Falk at Penn Hillel
- Fisher
- Fisher Fine Arts Library, a historic building known for its quiet study environment and architecture.
- Fisher-Bennett
- Fisher-Bennett Hall, home to the English and Cinema Studies departments.
- hill_house_dining_caf
- Hill House Dining Café
- houston_market
- Houston Market
- Huntsman
- Jon M. Huntsman Hall, the primary building for the Wharton School.
- LUCY
- Loop through University City, a shuttle service connecting the campus to 30th Street Station.
- Mobile Order
- The Transact Mobile Ordering app used to order food ahead at campus retail dining locations.
- Path@Penn
- The primary web portal for course registration, financial aid, and student records.
- Penn Mobile
- The official student-developed app for checking dining hours, laundry status, and campus maps.
- Penn Portal
- The centralized online dashboard where students access grades, schedules, and financial information.
- Penn Transit
- The university's shuttle and bus system providing free transportation for students within the service area.
- PennAlert
- The emergency notification system that sends texts and emails regarding campus safety threats.
- PennCard
- The official university identification card used for building access and payments.
- PennCash
- A debit-like system on the PennCard used for laundry, printing, and some local vendors.
- PennKey
- The unique username and password required to log into all Penn electronic systems and services.
- PennO365
- The university-provided Microsoft Office 365 and email suite for students.
- Steiny-D
- Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, a major academic building for Wharton students.
- The ARCH
- The Arts, Research and Culture House, a hub for cultural centers and student groups on Locust Walk.
- The Button
- The 'Split Button' sculpture located in front of Van Pelt Library, a popular meeting spot.
- The Palestra
- The university's historic basketball arena, often called the 'Cathedral of College Basketball'.
- Towne
- The Towne Building, a primary facility for the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
- Van Pelt
- Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, the university's primary research library.
- 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?
- Fall Term 2026 runs Aug 19, 2026 – Dec 17, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 38 approved campus terms and 27 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.