Academic calendar
Fall Term 2026 runs Aug 17, 2026 – Dec 22, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Summer Session B 2026
- Fall Term 2026Relevant now
- Fall Term 2026 First Half
- Fall Term 2026 Second Half
- Spring Term 2027
- Spring Term 2027 First Half
- Spring Term 2027 Second Half
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 39 of 39 terms
A
- AACC
- The Asian American Cultural Center, providing resources and community for Asian and Asian American students.
B
- BF
- Benjamin Franklin College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
- BK
- Berkeley College, centrally located near the Sterling Memorial Library.
- Bluebook
- The historical name for the Yale course catalog, now used for the online search tool.
- Buttery
- Late-night, student-run snack bars located in the basement of each residential college.
C
- Commons
- The primary large-scale dining hall located in the Yale Schwarzman Center.
D
- Durfee's
- A legacy term for the former convenience store; often used to refer to the practice of 'swiping' for snacks.
E
- ES
- Ezra Stiles College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
F
- Family Night
- A traditional Sunday night dinner in residential colleges often restricted to college members.
- FroCo
- First-year Counselor, a senior who lives in the freshman dorms to provide mentorship.
G
- G-Heav
- Good Nature Market, a 24-hour deli on Broadway popular for late-night sandwiches.
- GH
- Grace Hopper College (formerly Calhoun), one of the 14 residential colleges.
- GHeav
- Good Nature Market, a 24/7 deli on High Street popular for late-night food.
H
- Hopper
- Grace Hopper College, formerly known as Calhoun College.
J
- JE
- Jonathan Edwards College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
L
- La Casa
- La Casa Cultural, the Latino Cultural Center
M
- MC
- Morse College
- MY
- Pauli Murray College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
O
- Old Campus
- The central quadrangle where most first-year students live.
P
- PC
- Pierson College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
- PM
- Pauli Murray College, one of the two newest residential colleges.
S
- Shopping Period
- The traditional name for the first week of classes when students visit multiple courses before finalizing their schedule.
- SM
- Silliman College, the largest residential college by physical area.
- Steak Night
- A popular recurring special dinner event held in the residential college dining halls.
- Swipe
- A meal credit used to enter dining halls or purchase items at retail locations like the Bow Wow.
- SY
- Saybrook College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
T
- TD
- Timothy Dwight College, one of the 14 residential colleges.
- The Bow-Wow
- The retail cafe and convenience store located in the Schwarzman Center.
- The Buttery
- Late-night, student-run snack bars located in the basement of each residential college.
- The Cut
- A shortcut or path through a residential college courtyard used to save time while walking.
- The Game
- The annual football game between Yale and Harvard.
W
- Woads
- Wednesday night at Toad's Place, a popular weekly nightclub tradition.
- WYBC
- Yale's student-run radio station.
Y
- Yale Time
- The historical practice of starting classes 7 minutes late; officially ended in 2018 but still used colloquially.
- YCC
- Yale College Council, the undergraduate student government.
- YDN
- Yale Daily News, the oldest college daily newspaper in the US.
- YHHAP
- Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project, a large service organization.
- YPU
- Yale Political Union, a non-partisan student debating society.
- YSO
- Yale Symphony Orchestra.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 2-Step
- The Duo Security multi-factor authentication required for accessing Yale digital services.
- Add/Drop
- The formal period at the start of each semester for finalizing course registration
- Bass
- Bass Library, the underground library connected to Sterling.
- Bluebook
- The historical name for the Yale College Programs of Study (course catalog), now used for the online search tool.
- Canvas
- The learning management system where professors post syllabi, assignments, and grades.
- Double-Locking
- The safety practice of locking both the suite door and the individual bedroom door.
- Double-swipe
- The act of using two meal swipes in a single meal period, typically at retail locations.
- Eli Express
- A declining balance account on the Yale ID used for laundry and non-meal-plan food
- ID Card
- The multi-purpose card used for building access, meal plans, and library privileges.
- LC
- Linsly-Chittenden Hall, a major classroom building on Old Campus.
- Night Ride
- The university's safe-ride shuttle service available to students after dark via a mobile app.
- Panopto
- The video platform where students access recorded lectures for their courses.
- SML
- Sterling Memorial Library, the main campus library building.
- SSS
- Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, a building known for large lecture halls.
- The Beinecke
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, famous for its translucent marble walls.
- The Whale
- Ingalls Rink, the university's hockey arena designed by Eero Saarinen.
- UPass
- A transit pass provided to students for unlimited local bus and rail travel in Connecticut.
- UPay
- The mobile payment system used for laundry services and some retail dining on campus.
- WLH
- William L. Harkness Hall, a primary building for humanities classrooms.
- Yale Alert
- The emergency notification system that sends texts and emails regarding campus safety.
- Yale Hub
- The central online portal for students to access grades, registration, and financial information.
- Yale ID
- The physical card required for building access, dining hall entry, and library services.
- Yale Shuttle
- The free bus system providing transit around campus and New Haven for the Yale community.
- Yale Time
- The unofficial convention where meetings or social events start 7 minutes after the scheduled time.
- Yale Transit
- The university's shuttle system; students use the TransLoc app to track buses in real-time.
- YSN
- Yale School of Nursing, though often used to refer to its specific campus location.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall Term 2026 runs Aug 17, 2026 – Dec 22, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 39 approved campus terms and 26 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.