Academic calendar
Fall Semester 2026 runs Aug 24, 2026 – Dec 18, 2026. Calendar aliases that share a date range are grouped together, with every source term still shown.
- Fall Semester 2026Relevant now
- Fall 2026 1st 6-Week Session
- Fall 2026 2nd 6-Week Session
- Spring Semester 2027
- Summer 2027
Campus language
Search the full glossary. Nothing is sampled or hidden when the search field is empty.
Showing 39 of 39 terms
A
- ACDC
- The All Campus Dining Center, the former official name of the main dining hall, still used as shorthand by students.
- ALANA
- The ALANA Cultural Center, supporting African American/Black, Latinx, Asian, and Native American students.
B
- Brewery
- Refers to the nearby Mill House Brewing Company or general trips to local breweries in Poughkeepsie.
C
- Cush
- Cushing House, a residential hall known for its English Collegiate Gothic architecture.
E
- Express
- The grab-and-go meal option located in the Gordon Commons.
F
- Founder's
- Founder's Day, a massive annual campus festival held in the spring to celebrate Matthew Vassar.
- Founder's Day
- The massive annual spring festival celebrating Matthew Vassar's birthday.
J
- Jewett
- Jewett House, the tallest residential building on campus known for its tower.
- Joss
- Josselyn House, one of the larger residential houses on campus.
M
- Main
- Main Building, a central hub that houses both administrative offices and student rooms.
N
- Noyes
- Noyes House, a residential house known for its distinct mid-century modern architecture.
P
- P-Town
- A common student nickname for the surrounding city of Poughkeepsie.
- Primal Scream
- A tradition where students gather to scream at the top of their lungs at the start of finals week to relieve stress.
R
- Raymond
- Raymond House, one of the residential houses located on the residential quad.
S
- SAVP
- Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention program, providing education and support services.
- Serenading
- A long-standing tradition where classes perform songs for one another, often involving water fights.
- SoCos
- The South Commons, a set of student apartments often considered a 'forgotten treasure' due to their distance from the main campus.
- SoHos
- Southlands, apartment-style housing located further from the campus center.
- Souths
- South Commons, a set of apartment-style residences for upperclassmen.
- Street Eats
- The food truck often stationed on campus for late-night or special event dining.
- Strong
- Strong House, the only all-female identifying residential house on campus.
T
- TAs
- Terrace Apartments, apartment-style housing typically reserved for seniors.
- The Brew
- A student-run coffee and tea bar located in the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences.
- The Bridge
- The Bridge Cafe, located within the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences building.
- The Bubble
- The Vassar Bubble, referring to the perceived social and cultural isolation of the campus from Poughkeepsie.
- The Deece
- The Gordon Commons (formerly ACDC), the primary all-you-care-to-eat dining hall.
- The Farm
- The Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, used for research and recreation.
- The Mug
- A student-run social space and dance club located in the basement of the Main Building.
- The Quad
- The residential quad where many of the dorms (Lathrop, Strong, Raymond, Davison, Jewett) are located.
- The Retreat
- A popular cafe and eatery located in the North Wing of the Main Building.
- The Souths
- The South Commons, apartment-style housing for upperclassmen.
- The TAs
- The Town Houses, apartment-style housing located across the street from the main campus.
- The THs
- The Terrace Apartments, apartment-style housing primarily for seniors.
- THs
- Town Houses, a senior housing complex located across the Casperkill creek.
V
- Vassar Greens
- The primary student organization focused on environmental activism and sustainability.
- VCE
- Vassar College Entertainment, the student org that plans major concerts and events.
- VCTV
- Vassar College Television, the student-run video production and broadcast organization.
- ViCE
- Vassar College Entertainment, the student organization that plans concerts and large-scale events.
- VSA
- Vassar Student Association, the student government body.
Places and practicalities
Buildings, logistics, and other local references drawn from the approved campus snapshot.
- AFC
- The Athletics and Fitness Center, the main campus gym and athletic facility.
- Arlington
- The neighborhood immediately adjacent to the campus gates containing shops and restaurants.
- Blodgett
- Blodgett Hall, which houses various academic departments including Psychology and Sociology.
- CRC
- The Campus Response Center, the 24/7 dispatch hub for campus safety and emergency services.
- express
- Express
- gordon_commons
- Gordon Commons
- gordon_commons_formerly_acdc
- Gordon Commons (formerly ACDC)
- Moodle
- The learning management system where professors post course materials and assignments.
- Rocky
- Rockefeller Hall, a primary classroom building for social sciences and humanities.
- Sanders
- Sanders Classroom, an academic building primarily used by the English and Classics departments.
- Skinner
- Skinner Hall of Music, the primary building for the music department and performances.
- street_eats_food_truck
- Street Eats (Food Truck)
- The Barn
- The Susan Stein Shiva Theater, a student-run black box theater space.
- The Bridge
- The Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, a building that spans a ravine and houses science labs.
- The Lib
- The Thompson Memorial Library, the main campus library.
- The Loop
- The local Poughkeepsie bus system and campus shuttle that provides transportation to downtown and the train station.
- The Mug
- A student space and late-night venue located in the basement of Main Building.
- The Old Obs
- The Maria Mitchell Observatory, often used for meetings or small events.
- The Shuttle
- The campus-operated transportation service that runs to local shopping centers and the train station.
- the_retreat
- The Retreat
- V-Alert
- The emergency notification system that sends texts and emails to students.
- V-Card
- The official student ID card used for building access, meal swipes, and V-Cash.
- V-Cash
- Funds loaded onto the V-Card that can be used at the bookstore and local participating vendors.
- V-Print
- The campus-wide system that allows students to send documents to any public printer via the cloud.
- VCard
- The official Vassar ID card used for building access, meal swipes, and V-Cash.
- VCDF
- The Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film.
- Vogelstein
- The Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film.
- Workday
- The administrative software used for class registration, student employment, and financial records.
Quick answers
Useful facts students can verify from the guide above.
- What academic term is relevant now?
- Fall Semester 2026 runs Aug 24, 2026 – Dec 18, 2026.
- How much campus context is included?
- 39 approved campus terms and 28 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.