Academic calendar
Fall Term 2026 runs Sep 17, 2026 – Dec 11, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Summer Term 2026
- Fall Term 2026Relevant now
- Winter Term 2027
- Spring Term 2027
- Summer Term 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 43 of 43 terms
A
- ARC
- Academics and Research Committee, an ASCIT subcommittee focused on academic affairs.
- ASCIT
- Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology, the undergraduate student government.
- Avery
- Avery House, an undergraduate house that historically allowed both grads and undergrads to live together.
- Averyites
- Members or residents of Avery House.
B
- Blacker
- Blacker House, one of the eight undergraduate houses known for its 'Hovse' spelling and traditions.
- Board
- The mandatory student meal plan, often used to refer to dinner served in the houses.
- BoC
- Board of Control, the student-run body that investigates potential academic Honor Code violations.
- Broad
- Broad Café, a dining location situated in the Broad Center for the Biological Sciences.
- Broad Cafe
- A dining location in the Broad Center specializing in custom sandwiches and salads.
- Browne
- Browne Dining Hall, the main facility used for formal house dinners.
C
- Chandler
- Chandler Café, the primary retail dining facility on campus.
- CRC
- Conduct Review Committee, the body that handles non-academic student conduct issues.
D
- Dabney
- Dabney House, an undergraduate house known for its green decor and 'Dabney Hovse' moniker.
- Darbs
- Members or residents of Dabney House.
- Ditch Day
- A legendary annual tradition where seniors disappear and leave complex puzzles ('stacks') for underclassmen.
F
- Fleming
- Fleming House, an undergraduate house known for its red color scheme and athletic focus.
- Flems
- Members or residents of Fleming House.
- Flick
- To skip a class, meeting, or social obligation.
- Flicking
- The act of procrastinating or intentionally ignoring academic responsibilities to have fun.
G
- Grants
- Members or residents of Grant House (formerly Ruddock House).
I
- IHC
- Interhouse Committee, the body composed of house presidents that manages house-related affairs.
L
- Lloyd
- Lloyd House, an undergraduate house located on the Olive Walk.
- Lloydies
- Members or residents of Lloyd House.
M
- Moles
- Members or residents of Blacker House.
N
- North Houses
- The group of four newer residential houses: Lloyd, Page, Venn, and Avery.
O
- Open Kitchen
- The system where students can access food in their house kitchens outside of formal meal hours.
P
- Page
- Page House, an undergraduate house known for its purple color and 'Pageboy' identity.
- Pagies
- Members or residents of Page House.
- Prefrosh
- A prospective freshman, typically visiting during 'Discotech' or 'Pre-frosh Weekend'.
R
- Red Door
- Red Door Marketplace, a popular campus cafe serving coffee, sandwiches, and snacks.
- Ricketts
- Ricketts House, an undergraduate house known for its 'Skurves' nickname and social traditions.
- Rotation
- The process during the first week of fall term where new students visit all houses to determine their placement.
S
- Scurves
- Members or residents of Ricketts House.
- Set
- Short for 'problem set,' the standard term for homework assignments at Caltech.
- Snake
- A student who works ahead on assignments or is perceived as overly competitive.
- South Houses
- The group of four older residential houses: Blacker, Dabney, Fleming, and Ricketts.
T
- The Honor Code
- The fundamental principle: 'No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community.'
- The Houses
- The eight primary undergraduate residential communities that form the core of Caltech social life.
- The Y
- The Caltech Y, a student-led organization focused on community service, activism, and leadership.
- Troll
- To spend an excessive amount of time studying, often in a basement or secluded room.
- Trolling
- The act of working intensely or studying for long periods, often in isolation.
V
- Venerable
- Venerable House, the new name for the former Ruddock House as of 2021.
- Venn
- Venn House, the undergraduate house formerly known as Ruddock House.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- Access
- The online student portal used for course registration, checking grades, and financial records.
- Access Card
- The official Caltech ID card used for building entry, meal plans, and library services.
- avery_kitchen
- Avery Kitchen
- Baxter
- Baxter Hall of the Humanities and Social Sciences, where most HSS classes are held.
- Beckman
- Refers to either the Beckman Institute or the Beckman Auditorium (the 'wedding cake' building).
- Bridge
- The Bridge Laboratory of Physics, a central hub for the physics department.
- broad_cafe
- Broad Cafe
- browne_dining_hall
- Browne Dining Hall
- Bursar
- The office located in Keith Spalding Building that handles student accounts and tuition payments.
- Cahill
- The Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, known for its unique architectural angles.
- Caltech Hall
- The central campus building and former library, renamed from Millikan Library in 2021.
- Caltech ID
- The multi-purpose identification card used for building access, meal plans, and library services.
- Gates
- The Gates Laboratory of Chemistry, one of the primary chemistry buildings.
- Guggenheim
- The Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, a key building for aerospace engineering students.
- Honor Code
- The fundamental principle: 'No member of the Caltech community shall take unfair advantage of any other member'.
- Late Night
- The specific hours (typically 9 PM to 2 AM) when certain dining options or house kitchens are available.
- Millikan
- Millikan Library, the tallest and most prominent building on the Caltech campus.
- Olive Walk
- The central pedestrian path lined with olive trees where the undergraduate houses are located.
- red_door_marketplace
- Red Door Marketplace
- REGIS
- The online student registration system used for classes and grades.
- T-Lot
- A common reference to campus parking lots, specifically those requiring permits managed by Caltech Parking.
- The Ath
- The Athenaeum, Caltech's private faculty club and hotel used for formal events.
- The Cannon
- The Fleming House cannon, a historic landmark frequently involved in inter-house pranks.
- Winnett
- Winnett Student Center, a hub for student clubs and the campus bookstore.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall Term 2026 runs Sep 17, 2026 – Dec 11, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 43 approved campus terms and 24 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.