Academic calendar
Fall Semester 2026 runs Sep 2, 2026 – Dec 19, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Fall Session 1 2026
- Fall Semester 2026Relevant now
- Fall Session 2 2026
- Harvard Griffin GSAS Winter 2026-2027Harvard Griffin GSAS Winter 2027
- Harvard College Winter 2026-2027Harvard College Winter 2027Winter Recess / Wintersession 2026-2027 (Harvard College)
- MRE January Class 2027
- Harvard Griffin GSAS January@HarvardGriffinGSAS 2027January@HarvardGriffinGSAS 2027
- Harvard College Wintersession 2027
- Spring Session 1 2027
- Spring Semester 2027
- Spring Session 2 2027
- Summer School 2027
- Fall Semester 2027
- Harvard Griffin GSAS Winter 2028
- Harvard College Winter 2028
- January@HarvardGriffinGSAS 2028
- Spring Semester 2028
- Summer School 2028
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 40 of 40 terms
B
- Berg
- Annenberg Hall, the primary dining hall for first-year students.
- Board Plus
- A fixed credit amount (typically $65) included in the meal plan for use at campus cafes and retail locations.
- Brain Break
- Late-night snacks and social time provided in house dining halls Sunday through Thursday.
C
- Canaday
- A freshman dormitory in the Yard, often jokingly referred to as 'riot-proof' due to its 1970s architecture.
- Comp
- The competitive or instructional process students must complete to join certain student organizations.
- Concentration
- The Harvard term for a student's academic major.
- Crimson Cash
- A declining balance account on the HUID used for laundry, printing, and purchases at certain on-campus and local vendors.
D
- DAPA
- Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors, students trained to provide health education and support to peers.
- DeWolfe
- The DeWolfe Street apartments, which serve as overflow housing for several River houses like Leverett and Dunster.
- Dunster
- Dunster House, known for its prominent red dome and river views.
F
- Fly-By
- A grab-and-go lunch service located in the Memorial Hall basement for students who cannot return to their houses for lunch.
- FOP
- First-Year Outdoor Program, a popular pre-orientation wilderness trip for incoming students.
H
- Harvard Time
- The tradition of starting classes and events 7 minutes past the scheduled time (officially ended for classes in 2018 but persists socially).
- HRDC
- Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, the umbrella organization for campus theater.
- HSA
- Harvard Student Agencies, the largest student-run corporation in the world.
- HUA
- Harvard Undergraduate Association, the primary student government body.
- HUDS
- Harvard University Dining Services, the department managing campus food operations.
I
- IOP
- Institute of Politics, a non-partisan organization based at the Kennedy School that hosts speakers and political study groups.
K
- Kirk
- Shorthand for Kirkland House.
L
- Lev
- Leverett House, the largest of the undergraduate houses.
M
- Mass Hall
- Massachusetts Hall, the oldest building on campus, which houses both the President's office and a small number of freshmen.
- Mather
- Mather House, known for its distinct concrete brutalist architecture.
P
- P-set
- Short for 'problem set,' the standard term for homework assignments in STEM and quantitative courses.
- PBHA
- Phillips Brooks House Association, the student-led umbrella organization for public service and volunteering.
- Pfoho
- Pforzheimer House, one of the three houses located in the Radcliffe Quad.
- Punch
- The multi-stage recruitment and social process for joining a Final Club.
Q
- Q-Guide
- The online database of student-submitted course evaluations used to research class difficulty and instructor quality.
S
- Secondary
- The Harvard term for an academic minor.
- Section
- The smaller discussion group led by a Teaching Fellow (TF) that supplements large lecture courses.
T
- TF
- Teaching Fellow, a graduate student who assists a professor by leading sections and grading assignments.
- The Berg
- Annenberg Hall, the grand dining hall reserved exclusively for first-year students.
- The Concrete Jungle
- A common nickname for Mather House due to its brutalist concrete architecture.
- The Crimson
- The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper.
- The Game
- The annual football game between Harvard and Yale.
- The Inn
- The Harvard Inn, used as overflow housing for upperclassmen.
- The Quad
- The Radcliffe Quadrangle, home to Cabot, Currier, and Pforzheimer Houses, located about 15 minutes from Harvard Square.
- The River
- A collective term for the undergraduate houses located near the Charles River, as opposed to those in the Quad.
- The Yard
- Harvard Yard, the historic center of campus where all first-year students live in dormitories.
- Throp
- Shorthand for Winthrop House.
W
- Wig
- Wigglesworth Hall, a prominent freshman dormitory located along the southern edge of Harvard Yard.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- adams_dining_hall
- Adams Dining Hall
- annenberg_dining_hall
- Annenberg Dining Hall
- Canvas
- The learning management system used for course websites, syllabi, and assignment submissions.
- Crimson Cash
- A declining balance payment system on the HUID used for laundry, printing, and some local vendors.
- Harvard Time
- The historical 7-minute delay for class starts, now officially replaced by a 15-minute passing period between classes.
- HUID
- The Harvard University Identification card used for building access, meals, and library services.
- Lamont
- Lamont Library, the primary undergraduate library, known for being open 24 hours during term time.
- M2
- The shuttle bus service connecting the Cambridge campus to the Longwood Medical Area.
- Mem Church
- Memorial Church, located in the center of Tercentenary Theatre.
- Mem Hall
- Memorial Hall, which houses Annenberg dining hall and Sanders Theatre.
- MessageMe
- The university's emergency notification system that sends alerts via text and email.
- my.harvard
- The primary student information system portal for course registration and grades.
- Passio GO
- The mobile application used by students to track the real-time location and arrival times of campus shuttles.
- Q Guide
- The online course evaluation system where students review classes and instructors; essential for course selection.
- QRAC
- Quad Recreational Athletic Center, the primary gym and fitness facility for students living in the Quad.
- Science Center
- The main building for STEM classes, also housing the Cabot Science Library and a large plaza.
- SEC
- The Science and Engineering Complex, a major facility for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences located in Allston.
- sec_caf
- SEC Café
- Section
- A smaller discussion group led by a Teaching Fellow (TF) that supplements large lectures.
- Smith
- The Smith Campus Center, a central hub for study spaces, food, and student services in Harvard Square.
- The M2
- The shuttle bus service connecting the Cambridge campus to the Longwood Medical Area in Boston.
- The MAC
- The Malkin Athletic Center, the primary gym and fitness facility for students in the Cambridge campus area.
- The Science Center
- The main hub for STEM classes and home to the Cabot Science Library.
- The SEC
- The Science and Engineering Complex, located in Allston.
- The Shuttle
- The campus bus system that connects the Yard, the Quad, and the Allston campus.
- The Smith
- The Smith Campus Center, a central hub for student life, study spaces, and food in Harvard Square.
- Widener
- Widener Library, the flagship library of the Harvard library system.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall Semester 2026 runs Sep 2, 2026 – Dec 19, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 40 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.