Academic calendar
Fall 2026 runs Aug 28, 2026 – Dec 21, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Summer 2026
- Fall 2026Relevant now
- Spring 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 39 of 39 terms
1
- 118th Street
- Common shorthand for the Graduate Center Apartments based on their location.
- 121st Street
- Shorthand for the Graduate Center's residential building in East Harlem.
3
- 365 Express
- The grab-and-go food service area within the building.
8
- 8th Floor Dining Room
- The primary cafeteria and seating area for students and faculty on the 8th floor.
A
- APO
- Assistant Program Officer; the primary administrative contact for students within their specific academic program.
- ARC
- Advanced Research Collaborative, which hosts visiting scholars and research initiatives.
C
- CUNY-wide
- Refers to programs, events, or policies that apply to the entire City University of New York system rather than just the GC.
- CUNYfirst
- The university-wide administrative portal used for registration, often cited by students for its complexity.
D
- DGSC
- Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council, the student government body.
- Dining Commons
- The main cafeteria area on the 8th floor providing subsidized or student-priced meals.
- Dissertating
- The status of a student who has finished coursework and is working solely on their dissertation.
- Dissertation Fellowship
- Often referred to as a 'D-Fellow' or 'D-Fellowship,' a highly sought-after funding award.
- DSC
- Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council, the sole policy-making body representing GC students.
E
- EO
- Executive Officer; the head of an academic program, equivalent to a department chair.
G
- GC Apartments
- The Graduate Center Apartments located at 121st Street in East Harlem.
- GCDI
- GC Digital Initiatives, which supports digital scholarship and provides tech workshops.
- GSUC
- Graduate School and University Center, the official administrative acronym for the institution.
I
- I-House
- International House, a private residence near Columbia University where some GC students reside.
K
- K-Town
- Refers to Korea Town (32nd Street), the popular off-campus dining destination for students due to its proximity.
L
- Level 3
- A status indicating a doctoral student has reached candidacy (finished coursework and exams) and is working on their dissertation.
- Level C
- The basement level of the library, often used to describe the deepest part of the building's academic space.
M
- MALS
- The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program, one of the largest master's cohorts at the GC.
O
- OAA
- Office of Academic Affairs, responsible for the administration of academic programs.
- OpenCUNY
- A student-led open-source digital platform for hosting websites and community projects.
P
- PSC
- Professional Staff Congress, the union representing faculty and graduate student workers (adjuncts and GAs).
- PSC-CUNY
- The Professional Staff Congress, the union representing faculty and staff.
T
- The 8th Floor
- The primary social hub of the building, housing the dining hall and student lounge.
- The 8th Floor
- The primary social and dining hub where students eat, study, and attend receptions.
- The Advocate
- The GC Advocate, the campus's student-run newspaper.
- The Bunker
- A colloquial term sometimes used for the lower-level library study areas (C-Level).
- The Cafe
- The ground-floor coffee shop and snack bar located near the Fifth Avenue entrance.
- The Coffee Bar
- The ground-floor cafe located in the lobby of the 365 Fifth Avenue building.
- The Commons
- The Robert E. Gilleece Student Center, the main social and lounge space for students.
- The Commons
- The Dining Commons located on the 8th floor, the primary cafeteria and social space.
- The Foundation
- Refers to The Graduate Center Foundation, which handles private fundraising and endowments.
- The Foundation
- The ground-floor cafe area often used for quick coffee or meetings.
- The GC
- The Graduate Center itself.
- The Residence
- A common shorthand for the Graduate Center's dedicated student housing complex.
- The Turnstiles
- The security checkpoint at the 365 Fifth Avenue entrance where students must tap their ID cards.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- 365
- The main Graduate Center building located at 365 Fifth Avenue (the former B. Altman department store).
- 365 Fifth
- The main Graduate Center building, formerly the B. Altman & Company Department Store.
- 365_caf_and_bar
- 365 Café and Bar
- ASRC
- The Advanced Science Research Center, a major GC-affiliated research facility in Upper Manhattan.
- Brightspace
- The Learning Management System (LMS) that replaced Blackboard for course materials.
- Clearing
- The administrative process of verifying all requirements are met for graduation.
- Cleary
- Refers to the annual campus security and fire safety reports required by federal law.
- CLICS
- CUNY Libraries Inter-Campus Service, the system used to request books from other CUNY campuses.
- CUNY Card
- The official ID card required for entry into 365 Fifth Avenue and library access.
- CUNYfirst
- The centralized online system used for registration, transcripts, and financial aid.
- dining_commons_cafeteria
- Dining Commons Cafeteria
- dining_commons_servery
- Dining Commons Servery
- Elebash
- Elebash Recital Hall, the main venue for musical performances and large lectures.
- GC Email
- The specific @gradcenter.cuny.edu address required for all official communication.
- GC Proxy
- The remote access system required to use library databases and journals from off-campus.
- Herald Square
- The nearest major transit hub (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, W trains) used by most commuters.
- ID Center
- The office (Room 8111) where students must go to obtain or update their mandatory campus identification cards.
- ID Swipe
- The mandatory security procedure requiring students to tap their ID cards at the turnstiles upon entering 365 Fifth.
- Inter-campus access
- The policy allowing GC students to use their ID to enter and use libraries at other CUNY campuses like Hunter or Baruch.
- Mina Rees
- The Mina Rees Library, spanning three floors (C-level, 1st, and 2nd).
- One-Stop
- The centralized service area for registrar, bursar, and financial aid inquiries.
- OneCard
- The official student ID card used for building entry and library borrowing.
- Proshansky
- The Proshansky Auditorium, the largest event space in the building.
- Segal Theatre
- The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, used for performances and academic talks.
- The 34th St Stop
- The 34th St–Herald Square subway station, the primary transit point for the campus.
- The 8th Floor
- The primary social and logistical hub of the building, housing the dining hall, student lounge, and DSC offices.
- The B. Altman Building
- The historical name for the main Graduate Center building.
- The Consortium
- The Inter-University Doctoral Consortium, allowing students to cross-register at schools like NYU, Columbia, and The New School.
- The GC
- The main Graduate Center building located at 365 Fifth Avenue.
- The Mina Rees
- The Mina Rees Library, spanning three floors of the building.
- The Segal
- The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, located on the first floor.
- The Skylight
- The Skylight Room (9th floor), a frequent venue for receptions and meetings.
- The Wellness Center
- The office providing student health services and short-term counseling.
- Wellness Center
- The office providing student health services and counseling on the 7th floor.
- Writing Center
- The service providing feedback on dissertations and academic papers, located in the library.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall 2026 runs Aug 28, 2026 – Dec 21, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 39 approved campus terms and 35 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.