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Harvard Language Revealed

Each university has its own vernacular and Harvard is no exception. Even if English is your mother tongue, it takes a while to get used to HarvardSpeak. The following is a partial list of acronyms and terms used by the Harvard community and their definitions.

ABP - Au Bon Pain, the popular spot in Harvard Square, on the Mass Ave. side of the Hoyoke Center.

Ad Board - A committee of faculty charged with interpreting and enforcing the rules of the Faculty of Arts and Science that apply to graduate students.

Afro-Am - Afro-American Studies

ART - American Repertory Theatre

B-School - Harvard Business School

BSC - Bureau of Study Counsel, located on 5 Linden Street. Offers tutoring services, a reading course, academic and personal counseling.

CFIA - Center for International Affairs

CMES - Center for Middle Eastern Studies

Concentration - The Harvard term for "major."

Coop - The Harvard Cooperative Society, the store located at Harvard Square. Pronounced as in "hen coop."

The Core - A set of courses that comprises approximately one-quarter of the undergraduate program; students choose 8 courses from eleven broad areas of academic inquiry.

Crimson - The name of the student daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson; also the nickname of any Harvard sports team.

Crimson Cash - A card you buy or your Harvard ID, which you can then put cash on electronically in order to purchase copies, food, and other sundries.

CUE Guide - The Harvard University Course Evaluation Guide from the Committee on Undergraduate Education. Still printed as book, it is also available electronically.

SEAS - School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Div School - Harvard Divinity School

Ed School - Also known as HUGSE (Harvard University Graduate School of Education)

EPS - Earth and Planetary Sciences Department

FAS - Faculty of Arts and Sciences, comprising Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Continuing Education.

FASCS - Faculty of Arts and Science Computing Services, the group that manages student internet access, email, etc.

G1, G2, G3, etc. - Designation of the year one is in at GSAS.

Gov Docs - Government Documents and Microtext Division of the Harvard College Library, located on the first floor of the Lamont Library.

GSAS - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

GSC - Graduate Student Council. Student government for GSAS students.

GSD - Harvard Graduate School of Design

GSE - Harvard Graduate School of Education

HASCS - Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services

HBS - Harvard Business School

HCL - The Harvard College Library, comprising the following libraries: Cabot Science, Fine Arts, Harvard Yenching, Hilles, Houghton, Kummel, Lamont, Littauer, Loeb Music, Tozzer, and Widener.

HD - The Harvard Depository, located in Southborough, Massachusetts. HD. HD is an off-site storage facility for books and is used to manage the vast collections of the University Libraries.

Head of the Charles - The annual October regatta held on the Charles River.

HIO - Harvard International Office

HLS - Harvard Law School

HMS - Harvard Medical School

HOLLIS - An acronym that stands for the Harvard Online Library Information System. Refers to the online catalog and now also to the suite of electronic resources that the libraries make available via the HOLLIS Portal.

House - The residences of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Harvard Houses were modelled on the college systems of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, in England.

HSPH - Harvard School of Public Health

HUAM - Harvard University Art Museums

HUL - Harvard University Library (the entire library system).

HUPD - Harvard University Police Department

ICG - Instructional Computing Group (Support)

In Common - Graduate student peer-support hotline, 38(4-TALK).

IOP - Institute of Politics, at the Kennedy School of Government

KSG - Kennedy School of Government

K-School - Kennedy School of Government

Let's Go - The series of travel books written by Harvard students.

MAC - Malkin Athletic Center

Masters - Faculty members who lead and administer each undergraduate House.

MBTA - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (i.e. the subway and buses).

MCZ - Museum of Comparative Zoology, which has a library as well.

MIT - Massacusetts Institute of Technology. the other university in Cambridge.

NELC - Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department

OCS - Office of Career Services

Pit - The area immediately surrounding the Harvard Square T stop, one of the Square's hubs of street entertainment.

Proctors - Graduate students or officers of the University who live among freshmen, serve as academic advisors, and direct the events and programs of an entryway.

QRAC - Quadrangle Recreational Activities Center at 66 Garden Street

Quad - The area surrounded by Currier, Pforzheimer and Cabot Houses.

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study - An interdisciplinary center offering nondegree instruction and executive education programs. The Institute was created when Harvard and Radcliffe formally merged in October 1999.

Reading Period - That ten-day period of anxiety in which one preps for exams.

Resident Tutors - Graduate students or faculty members who live in the Houses with students, and provide them with a range of informal advice and counsel.

Shopping Period - The first five days of an academic term at Harvard, before Study Cards are submitted for formal enrollment in a course, when students can visit classes, sit in on lectures, and review syllabi and readings.

Statue of 3 Lies - The John Harvard Statue, located outside of University Hall. Lie #1: He didn't found Harvard (the Massachusetts Bay Colony government did). Lie #2: Harvard started in 1636 not 1638. Lie #3: It's not even John Harvard. No one knows what he looked like since there are no surviving portraits of the man. Daniel Chester French, the sculptor, used a 19th century undergraduate for his model.

The "T" - Short for MBTA, see definition above.

Tercentenary Theatre - The part of Harvard Yard bounded by Widener Library, University Hall, Sever Hall, and Memorial Chapel. It is the site for commencement.

TF - Teaching Fellow

UHS - University Health Services

UIS - University Information Systems

Veritas - The Harvard motto. Latin for truth.

The Yard - Most universities have a quadrangle, but Harvard has its Yard divided into 2 parts. The Old Yard is bordered by the freshman dormitories; the New Yard is bordered by Widener Library and Memorial Church.