Student accommodation is a building or buildings used to house students, particularly in higher education.[1] These are known by different names around the world, such ashalls of residence,residence halls,accommodation blocks (particularly withinresidential colleges) orstudent hostels. Student accommodation may be managed by educational institutions, religious bodies or other charities, student associations, private companies, or agencies of local or national governments.
Student accommodation is thought to date back to the 5th centuryNalanda mahavihara, sometimes referred to as "the world's first residential university".[2][a] Student accommodation appeared in the Islamic world as part of the 10th centurymasjid-khan (mosque-inn), the forerunner of themadrasa.[4] In China, student accommodation was introduced during theSong dynasty (10th to 13th centuries), with students having combined sleeping and study rooms.[5] Students were permitted to stay overnight at theTaixue from the 1050s, on the initiative of lecturersHu Yuan and Sun Fu, possibly to avoid students being distracted by the entertainments available inKaifeng. When a new campus for the institution was built byLi Jie in 1102, it contained 100 halls of residence housing 30 students each.[6]
The first college at a European university was theCollège des Dix-Huit, established at theUniversity of Paris in the late 12th century. However, the early European colleges were only for postgraduate students. Undergraduates were housed from the 12th century onwards in university-approved accommodation known ashalls in Oxford, hostels in Cambridge and pedagogies in Paris. These were run by a principal but were not endowed or incorporated. By the mid 15th century there were around 50 halls at Oxford, but following the admission of undergraduates to colleges and the rise of tutorial teaching at the expense of lectures, half of these had closed by the start of the 16th century and this declined further to seven or eight by the mid 16th century.[8]
Colleges flourished most strongly in England and France, with comparatively few medieval colleges in Spain and Italy. In Germany and other lands of theHoly Roman Empire, colleges developed as accommodation for masters rather than students and the non-collegiate halls remained until after theReformation. Even in Paris, Oxford and Cambridge, where the colleges were strongest, they only accommodated 10 to 20 per cent of students.[9]
In Islamic lands, madrasas offered student accommodation within the main building. Examples include the 13th centuryMustansiriyya Madrasa inBaghdad, where students were housed in individual cells,[10] and the 14th centuryAl-Attarine Madrasa inFez, Morocco, which had over 30 rooms housing around 60 students.[11] TheMadrasa Ben Youssef, built in the 16th century inMarrakesh, Morocco, had 134 student rooms arranged around 13 small courtyards to accommodate its student population. These had a reading area near the window, in the brightest part of the room, and a wooden alcove enclosing a sleeping area in the darker interior.[12][13]
In the early modern period, residence in college became the norm in England and France, and was even made a legal requirement at French universities in the mid 16th century. Colleges were also important in Spain, although a majority of students there rented privately until the mid 17th century. Jesuit-run colleges drove a growth in residence in Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, in Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and Bohemia, the halls fell away after the Reformation in both Catholic and Protestant regions. With the exception of the Jesuit colleges, there was a tendency for colleges to cater increasingly for wealthier students, which drove an increase in the number of colleges in Italy in the 16th and 17th century.[14]
In the UScolonial colleges, accommodation was often provided within the main college building in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first residential building was theHarvard Indian College in 1650.[16] The early halls had a (normally shared) bedroom with a smallstudy orcloset off it for each student.[17][18] These small rooms off a bedroom had become fashionable in Tudor England and had remained popular in the US.[19][20] These could be rather small, withThe Harvard Book of 1875 referring to the ones inMassachusetts Hall as "(so called) studies, or closets".[21]
TheFrench Revolution and the subsequentNapoleonic Wars saw the suppression of colleges in France and Spain, although some survived in Italy.[14][22][23] In the US,Thomas Jefferson's "academical village" at theUniversity of Virginia in the 1820s attempted to break away from the model of a large hall for student accommodation, with student rooms being directly off a classical arcade. However, the cost of building this made the university the most expensive in America, resulting in only the sons of the wealthiest families in theAmerican South being able to attend.[24][25]
In England, the expense of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge similarly acted as a barrier to entry to those universities. This was initially replicated atDurham University, established in 1832, but a much more economical residential system was initiated there atBishop Hatfield's Hall in 1846, with rooms let furnished and with shared servants, all meals provided in hall, and prices for both rooms and meals set in advance. It also pioneered the use of single-room study bedrooms rather than the "set" (suite) of rooms with a separate study and bedroom found in the older colleges.[26][27][28][29][30] The study bedroom was a recent innovation at that time, with the term first recorded in 1842.[31] These innovations inspired the foundation ofprivate halls (laterpermanent private halls) at Oxford and private hostels at Cambridge in the later 19th century[32][33][34][35] and were taken up byKeble College, Oxford[36] andSelwyn College, Cambridge,[37] subsequently becaming the standard model for residential accommodation at universities around the world.[38][39]
The second half of the 19th century saw the development offraternity and sorority housing in the US. The first residential chapter house was established in 1864 by theKappa Alpha Society atWilliams College. At many US universities, fraternities provided the only organised student accommodation.[40][b]
Student accommodation was established at the Victorianredbrick universities in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for a number of reasons, including philanthropy, provision for female undergraduates, attracting students from outside of the local region, and because it was seen as an essential part of university life.[41] It was not until after the first world war that university-funded halls of residence brought residential life back to continental Europe.[42] In the UK, theUniversity Grants Committee also identified building halls of residence as a priority for growing the provincial universities,[43] while the inter-war period in the US saw the revitalisation of residential life with the construction of thehouse system at Harvard and theresidential colleges at Yale.
Only found in North America, these are houses owned by student social societies known asfraternities and sororities. They are a major component of student accommodation in the US, but are also linked with reputational risk to universities and have been criticised for attracting alumni donations that might otherwise have gone to institutional projects.[44]
Known in different countries as halls,[45] halls of residence,[46][47] residences,[48] residence halls,[49] dormitories[50] or hostels,[51] this is the basic type that describes most student accommodation.[52][53] Halls are distinguished from residential colleges by students being residents for the period they live in a hall rather than members throughout their time at university, whether in residence or not.[54] Residential colleges may have multiple residential buildings, which may be referred to as accommodation blocks[55] or halls of residence.[56]
Accommodation in halls is often in traditional single or multiple occupancy study-bedrooms, which may be catered or self-catered (with a shared kitchen) and have either a shared bathroom or anen suite bathroom.Studio apartments are uncommon in university-owned halls and are mainly found in private halls.[57][58]
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Skyscraper dormitories, termed dormitowers, have included the 93-metre (305 ft)Fenwick Tower atDalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, built in 1971, the 103-metre (338 ft)Sky Plaza in Leeds, UK, built in 2009, and the 112-metre (367 ft)Chapter Spitalfields in London, built in 2010, all of which held the title of the world's tallest purely student accommodation building when built. Some taller buildings include student accommodation among other uses, including the 132-metre (433 ft)Het Strijkijzer in The Hague, Netherlands, the 143-metre (469 ft) Roosevelt Tower atRoosevelt University in Chicago, and the 144-metre (472 ft) Capri atMarymount Manhattan College in New York.[60] The 33 Beekman Street tower atPace University in New York, completed in 2015, was also claimed to be the world's tallest student residence, at 104 metres (340 ft).[61]Altus House in Leeds, UK, built in 2021, was described as the tallest student accommodation building in northern Europe at 116 metres (381 ft).[62] The 50-storey, 148-metre (485 ft) 99 Washington Street tower in Manhattan, New York, originally built as a 492-room hotel, was re-opened in 2025 as the world's tallest student accommodation tower, housing 650 students.[63] A 48-storey, 156 metres (512 ft) tall building housing 1,068 students is planned for 30 Marsh Wall in London'sCanary Wharf district, and is expected to be the tallest student accommodation building in the world when completed (planned for 2028 as of 2025[update]).[64][65][66]
The proposedMunger Hall dormitory at theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara would have been the largest university dormitory in the world with 4,500 students over 12 floors. The building, nicknamed "Dormzilla", was cancelled in 2023 after controversy over the design, including that 94% of the rooms would be windowless and that there were only two exits.[67][68]
A student village refers to an area of student accommodation, normally consisting of multiple halls, which may be at a distance from the campus.[69] Notable student villages includeTurku Student Village in Finland,Cheney Student Village in the UK andStudentendorf Schlachtensee in Germany.
University-builttownhouses, normally either on campus or in student villages, typically have the ground floor given over to shared facilities, such as a lounge and kitchen, with the upper two or three floors housing eight to twelve students.[57][58]
InFrance, student accommodation is provided by the state in "university residences" managed by thecentres régional des œuvres universitaires et scolaires (regional centres for university and school works) for holders of government scholarships. For other students, accommodation is provided through private "student residences" or through private rental. In Paris, theCité Internationale Universitaire de Paris provides accommodation for around 6,000 postgraduate students from around the world.[70][71][72]
In Germany, student accommodation is calledStudentenwohnheim (plural:Studentenwohnheime). Many of these are run byStudentenwerke (student services organisations), which have around 195,000 spaces across the country in over 1,700 halls,[73] or byStudierendenwerke (students' unions).[74] SomeStudentenwohnheime are run by social organisations or by Catholic or Protestant churches; many of these take students of any denomination or religion. These facilities are sometimes single-sex. At either church or social organisation residences students may be required to participate in service activities. Private halls normally cost more than church or social organisation halls, or students' union halls.[75]
In India, student accommodation is called "studenthostels". Many colleges and universities have hostels on-campus, but this is frequently insufficient for the number of students enrolled.[76] Most students prefer to stay off-campus in private "paying guest" (PG) accommodation and private hostels as these usually have better amenities and services.[77][78] For example, in 2015 an estimated 180,000 students enrolled withDelhi University, there are only about 9,000 beds available in its hostels for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university admits an average of 54,000 students every year.[79] This leaves a majority of students having to find accommodation off-campus.[80] This has led to a lot of student hostel or student PG chains being established near Delhi University.[81]
Until the mid 19th century, students at residential universities in England lived incolleges, where they rented a set of unfurnished rooms, paid their own servants, and bought their own meals. The first change from this came with the foundation of Bishop Hatfield's Hall (nowHatfield College) byDavid Melville atDurham University in 1846. This introduced three key concepts: rooms would be let furnished, all meals would be taken communally, and all expenses would be reasonable and fixed in advance, which combined to make the cost of accommodation in the hall much lower than in colleges. Melville also introduced single room study-bedrooms and, in 1849, opened the first purpose-built hall of residence in the country at Hatfield.[27][28][29] The Oxford University Commission of 1852 found that "The success that has attended Mr. Melville's labours in Hatfield Hall at Durham is regarded as a conclusive argument for imitating that institution in Oxford";[32] this report led to a requirement in theOxford University Act 1854 that Oxford allow the establishment ofprivate halls, although these halls were never very successful.[82]
The 19th century London colleges were originally non-residential.King's College London established a hall for theological students in a house adjacent to the college in 1847, although this only lasted until 1858.[83]University Hall was opened in 1849 by a group of mainlyUnitarian Dissenters for students atUniversity College London. This also struggled until taken over byManchester New College in 1881, after which it flourished for a period but was subsequently closed when that college moved to Oxford in 1890.[84]Bedford College, London, at the time the only women's college in Britain, opened a residence in 1860.[85]College Hall, London was established in 1882 for women students at University College London (which had become mixed a few years earlier) and theLondon School of Medicine for Women. Like the other London halls (with the exception of the Bedford College residence) this was initially private, but was taken over by theUniversity of London in 1910.[86]
The provincial university colleges that became theredbrick universities were established as non-residential institutions in the 19th century, but later became the universities most closely associated with the development of halls of residence (as distinct from the residential colleges of the older universities).William Whyte identifies four main drivers for the building of halls of residence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These were: firstly, for philanthropic reasons (often linked to religion), such as the AnglicanSt Anselm Hall (1872/1907) and the QuakerDalton Hall (1881), both atOwens College (now theUniversity of Manchester); secondly, to provide safe accommodation for female undergraduates, who it was felt at that time could not live in lodgings; thirdly, to attract students from more distant parts of the country, particularly for university colleges in smaller urban areas such asReading,Exeter andLeicester; and fourthly, because residential provision was becoming seen as an essential element of university life, allowing for the development of community.[41]
In 1925, theUniversity Grants Committee identified the need for more halls of residence as the most urgent of its priorities.[43] A report for theCommittee of Vice Chancellors and Principals in 1948 found that, in 1937–38, the highest percentages of students in colleges and halls of residence (outside of Oxford and Cambridge) were at Exeter (79 per cent), Reading (76 per ent), Southampton (65 per cent), Nottingham (42 per cent), Bristol (36 per cent) and Durham (32 per cent across both Durham and Newcastle divisions); all other universities were below 25 per cent.[87] Funding in the post-war period led to the construction of many new halls, with 67 built between 1944 and 1957. Yet the expansion of higher education in this same period meant that the proportion of students in halls hardly increased: while between 1943 and 1963 the number of students living at home fell from 42 per cent to 20 per cent, the number in private lodgings increased from 33 per cent to 52 per cent, leading to theRobbins Report identifying a need for "a very great increase in the housing provided by universities".[43]
The post-war expansion in halls of residence meant universities looked for relatively cheap and quick construction, turning to functionalmodern architecture rather than the more traditional designs of earlier halls.[88] Notable architects involved in designing halls of residence in this period includedBasil Spence, who designed the University of Southampton'sHighfield Campus[89] and theUniversity of Sussex,[90]Denys Lasdun's "five minute university" at theUniversity of East Anglia, including its 'ziggurat' halls of residence,[91] andJames Stirling'sAndrew Melville Hall at theUniversity of St Andrews, "one of the most significant post-war buildings in Scotland" according toHistoric Environment Scotland.[92]
Most UK universities provide accommodation in halls for first year students who make a firm acceptance of their offer, although this may not extend to students who enter viaclearing. Halls accommodation most commonly consists of shared flats, but rooms may also be arranged 'dorm-style' along corridors. Rooms may be en suite or there may be a shared bathroom for the flat or corridor. Halls may be catered, part-catered or self-catered. Most universities offer single-sex flats within halls and there are a few halls (such asAberdare Hall atCardiff University) that are entirely single-sex, but others (such as University College London) offer only mixed accommodation.[93][94][95][96] Most university or college-managed halls of residence are covered byUniversities UK andGuild HE's accommodation code of practice.[97]
Private halls of residence, also known as purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), are available in many university towns and cities. Many are covered by the Accreditation Network UK Code of Standards for Larger Developments,[c] and housing services at some universities (such as the University of London) will only list accredited PBSAs.[98][99] Many halls are delivered in partnership between educational establishments and private developers, and both codes include the same methodology for defining whether a hall counts as "managed and controlled by an educational establishment", making it a university hall, or is a private hall.[100] Private halls may include facilities such as common rooms, gyms and study spaces.[101][102] Private halls are often the most expensive accommodation option available in university towns.[103] Some of the companies which have developed such accommodation are basedoffshore, which has led to concerns about tax avoidance and evasion of sanctions on Russian owners.[104][105]
In the 2021/22 academic year, 347,680 (16 per cent) of the UK's 2,185,665 students were living in accommodation maintained by their higher education provider (either halls or colleges) and 200,895 (nine per cent) were in private-sector halls.[106]
Within London, theLondon Plan that was adopted in 2021 specified that PBSAs had to have a minimum of 35 per cent of rooms rented at 55 per cent or less of the maximum student loan for London. However, this has had the effect of making PBSAs not financially viable in more expensive areas of London, so development of new PBSAs has been primarily in outer London. A majority of rooms, including all of the affordable rooms, also had to be linked to a university via a contractural nomination agreement. As this puts financial risks on the institutions, particularly with uncertainties over international student recruitment, this has led to the four richest institutions (Imperial College London,King's College London,London School of Economics andUniversity College London) dominating the supply of new halls. Analysis of student numbers in London has shown that, as of 2024, 111,000 students are guaranteed a place in halls (including contracted private halls) by their universities but that there were only around 100,000 beds in university halls and private PBSAs. This has led University College London to remove their housing guarantee for incoming students and replace it with a system of priority groups.[107]
Studies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have shown that international students prefer to live in PBSAs while domestic students preferhouses in multiple occupation, raising concerns that PBSAs drive geographies of exclusion, with international and domestic students becoming segregated.[108]
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In the earlycolonial colleges, residence was often provided for students within the main college building, such as theWren Building at theWilliam & Mary (1705) andNassau Hall atPrinceton (1756); these went on to inspire other "Old Main" buildings, combining academic functions with accommodation. The first primarily residential building was theHarvard Indian College (1650), which also contained a printing press, while the first exclusively residential building was Stoughton Hall (1698), also atHarvard.[16]
Most colleges and universities provide single or multiple occupancy rooms for their students, usually at a cost. These buildings consist of many such rooms, like an apartment building. The largest dormitory building in the US is said to beBancroft Hall at theUnited States Naval Academy,[109] housing 4,400midshipmen in 1,700 multiple occupancy rooms.[110]
Many colleges and universities no longer use the word "dormitory" and staff are now using the termresidence hall (analogous to the United Kingdom "hall of residence") or simply "hall" instead. Outside academia however, the word "dorm" or "dormitory" is commonly used without negative connotations. Indeed, the words are used regularly in the marketplace as well as routinely in advertising.
Typically, a United States residence hall room holds two students with no toilet. This is usually referred to as a "double". Often, residence halls have communal bathroom facilities.In the United States, residence halls are sometimessegregated by sex, with men living in one group of rooms, and women in another. Some dormitory complexes are single-sex with varying limits on visits by persons of each sex. For example, theUniversity of Notre Dame inIndiana has a long history ofparietals, or mixed visiting hours. Most colleges and universities offer coeducational dorms, where either men or women reside on separate floors but in the same building or where both sexes share a floor but with individual rooms being single-sex. In the early 2000s, dorms that allowed people of opposite sexes to share a room became available in some public universities.[111] Some colleges and university coeducational dormitories also feature coeducational bathrooms.[112] Many newer residence halls offer single rooms as well as private bathrooms, or suite-style rooms.
Most residence halls are much closer to campus than comparable private housing such as apartment buildings. This convenience is a major factor in the choice of where to live since living physically closer to classrooms is often preferred, particularly for first-year students who may not be permitted to park vehicles on campus. Universities may therefore provide priority to first-year students when allocating this accommodation.
Halls may have student representative organisations, often connected to theresidence life department, known ashall councils,area councils (for multiple halls in an area) orhall governments. At the campus level, there may be aresidence hall association or aninter-hall council. These organise events and provide advocacy for resident students as opposed to the wider student body.[113]
The success that has attended Mr. Melville's labours in Hatfield Hall at Durham is regarded as a conclusive argument for imitating that institution in Oxford
a college or university building where students live
a college building where students live
Ursula Hall is one of ANU's oldest Halls of Residence
2: a residence hall providing rooms for individuals or for groups usually without private baths