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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 as halls of residence , residence halls, accommodation blocks (particularly within residential colleges) or student 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 century Nalanda 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 century masjid-khan (mosque-inn), the forerunner of the madrasa. [4] The first college at a European university was the Collège des Dix-Huit , established at the University of Paris in the late 12th century.
Student housing in the UK is normally referred to as "halls" [5] or "halls of residence", [6] or "collleges" in universities with residential colleges, where individual residential buildings with the college may be known as "accommodation blocks". [7] At colleges and universities in North America, the term "residence hall" is often used instead of "dormitory". [8] In Australia, student accommodation may be called "halls of residence" or "residences", which are (as in the UK) distinguished from colleges, referred to as "residential colleges". [9] [10] In Indian English, student accommodation is called a "hostel". [11]
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In China, dormitories are called "宿舍" (pinyin: sùshè). Dorms for mainland Chinese students usually have four to six students of the same sex living together in one room, with buildings usually being entirely gender-segregated and sometimes intentionally placed at some distance from each other to make inappropriate fraternization between male and female students more difficult. Sleeping hours may be enforced by cutting electricity at a given time, for instance at midnight.
Chinese students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan live separately in their own dorms, as do foreigners. Mainlanders who are fluent in English or any foreign language may live in the foreigner- Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan dorms, assuming they will be a roommate and participate in the foreign student activities, in order to help people get accustomed to mainland Chinese life. The quality of these dorms is usually better than that of mainland student dorms, with rooms either shared between only two people or completely private for a single student. Sexual decency attitudes are laxer than in mainlander dorms, with males and females sharing the same buildings and sometimes corridors (though not rooms). Students are allowed to bring visitors – including mainlanders – of the opposite sex to their rooms. Guests may or may not be allowed to stay overnight, depending on the rules of the dorm. Electricity is usually available at all hours of the day.
Most dormitories for foreigners are run by the Foreign Students' Education Office (a department providing support services to students in China). They may be on campus or off campus. They are usually low cost and serve students.
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In France dormitories are called chambres universitaires managed by regional public services called CROUS. They are usually located nearby or inside university campuses but many exceptions occur as universities may be settled within cities. Rooms are usually individual with a collective kitchen and often collective bathrooms. Some "university cities" are famous such as the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris.
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In Germany, dormitories are called Studentenwohnheim (plural: Studentenwohnheime). Many of these are run by Studentenwerke (student services organisations), which have around 195,000 spaces across the country in over 1,700 halls. [12] Some Studentenwohnheime are run by a Catholic or Protestant church. Church-run facilities are sometimes single-sex. Studentenwohnheime may be situated on or off campus. They are usually low cost and serve students with limited budget. Flats may be shared with other students or may be studio-type, with en-suite bathroom and kitchen facilities. The rooms themselves are mostly single occupancy.
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Universities in Hong Kong are modeled on the British education system, with halls consequently being similar to those in the United Kingdom.
In India the dormitories are called "PG housing" or "student hostels". Even though most of the colleges/universities have hostels on-campus, however in most of the cases it is not enough for the total students enrolled. [13] Majority of the students prefer to stay off-campus in PGs and private hostels as they usually have better amenities and services. [14] For example, in 2015 estimated 1.8 lakh (180,000) students enrolled with Delhi University, there are only about 9,000 seats available in its hostels for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university admits an average of 54,000 students every year. [15] Which leaves a majority of students to find accommodation off-campus. [16] This has led to a lot of student hostel or student PG chains to be established near Delhi University. [17]
Until the mid 19th century, students at residential universities in England lived in colleges, 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 (now Hatfield College) by David Melville at Durham 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. [18] [19] [20] 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"; [21] this report led to a requirement in the Oxford University Act 1854 that Oxford allow the establishment of private halls, although these halls were never very successful. [22]
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. [23] University Hall was opened in 1849 by a group of mainly Unitarian Dissenters for students at University College London. This also struggled until taken over by Manchester New College in 1881, after which it flourished for a period but was subsequently closed when that college moved to Oxford in 1890. [24] Bedford College, London, at the time the only women's college in Britain, opened a residence in 1860. [25] College Hall, London was established in 1882 for women students at University College London (which had become mixed a few years earlier) and the London 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 the University of London in 1910. [26]
The provincial university colleges that became the redbrick 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 Anglican St Anselm Hall (1872/1907) and the Quaker Dalton Hall (1881), both at Owens College (now the University 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 as Reading, Exeter and Leicester; and fourthly, because residential provision was becoming seen as an essential element of university life, allowing for the development of community. [27]
In 1925, the University Grants Committee identified the need for more halls of residence as the most urgent of its priorities. [28] A report for the Committee 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. [29] 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 the Robbins Report identifying a need for "a very great increase in the housing provided by universities". [28]
The post-war expansion in halls of residence meant universities looked for relatively cheap and quick construction, turning to functional modern architecture rather than the more traditional designs of earlier halls. [30] Notable architects involved in designing halls of residence in this period included Basil Spence, who designed the University of Southampton's Highfield Campus [31] and the University of Sussex, [32] Denys Lasdun's "five minute university" at the University of East Anglia, including its 'ziggurat' halls of residence, [33] and James Stirling's Andrew Melville Hall at the University of St Andrews, "one of the most significant post-war buildings in Scotland" according to Historic Environment Scotland. [34]
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 via clearing. 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 as Aberdare Hall at Cardiff University) that are entirely single-sex, but others (such as University College London) offer only mixed accommodation. [35] [36] [37] [38] Most university or college-managed halls of residence are covered by Universities UK and Guild HE's accommodation code of practice. [39]
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, [b] and housing services at some universities (such as the University of London) will only list accredited PBSAs. [40] [41] 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. [42] Private halls may include facilities such as common rooms, gyms and study spaces. [43] [44] Private halls are often the most expensive accommodation option available in university towns. [45] Some of the companies which have developed such accommodation are based offshore, which has led to concerns about tax avoidance and evasion of sanctions on Russian owners. [46] [47]
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. [48]
Within London, the London 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 and University 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. [49]
Studies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have shown that international students prefer to live in PBSAs while domestic students prefer houses in multiple occupation, raising concerns that PBSAs drive geographies of exclusion, with international and domestic students becoming segregated. [50]
In the early colonial colleges, residence was often provided for students within the main college building, such as the Wren Building at the William & Mary (1705) and Nassau Hall at Princeton (1756); these went on to inspire other "Old Main" buildings, combining academic functions with accommodation. The first primarily residential building was the Harvard Indian College (1650), which also contained a printing press, while the first exclusively residential building was Stoughton Hall (1698), also at Harvard. [51]
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 be Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy, [52] housing 4,400 midshipmen in 1,700 multiple occupancy rooms. [53]
Many colleges and universities no longer use the word "dormitory" and staff are now using the term residence 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 sometimes segregated 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, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana has a long history of parietals, 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. [54] Some colleges and university coeducational dormitories also feature coeducational bathrooms. [55] 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.
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At some institutes, each residence hall has its own hall council. Where they exist, such individual councils are usually part of a larger organization called, variously, residence hall association, resident students' association, or junior common room committee which typically provides funds and oversees the individual building council. In the US, these student-led organizations are typically connected at a national level by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. Collectively, these hall councils plan social and educational events, and voice student needs to their respective administration.
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In the United States, university residence halls are normally staffed by a combination of both students and professional residence life staff. Student staff members, Resident Assistants, or community advisers act as liaisons, counselors, mediators and policy enforcers. The student staff is supervised by a graduate student or a full-time residence life professional, sometimes known as the hall director. Staff members frequently arrange programming activities to help residents learn about social and academic life during their college life.
In addition to the normal halls of residence, there are a few specific types of student accommodation
Skyscraper dormitories, termed dormitowers, have included the 93-metre (305 ft) Fenwick Tower at Dalhousie 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 at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and the 144-metre (472 ft) Capri at Marymount Manhattan College in New York. [56] The 33 Beekman Street tower at Pace University in New York, completed in 2015, is also claimed to be the worlds tallest college residence, at 104 metres (340 ft). [57] Altus House in Leeds, UK, built in 2021, is described as the tallest student accommodation building in northern Europe at 116 metres (381 ft). [58]
The proposed Munger Hall dormitory at the University 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. [59] [60]
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