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Student Housing

Berkeley graduate students have an increasing number of housing options available to them. You can examine all the choices by visiting the Housing website. You will see that housing options fall into three categories: University owned and operated, Alternative housing options, and Off-campus rental housing.

University Housing

Single graduate students may apply for a variety of university housing. Graduate student apartments include the Manville Apartments, which are single studios for law and other graduate students, and the Ida Louise Jackson Graduate House, which consists of shared apartments with single private bedrooms for graduate students. Other apartment options, primarily for upper division students, include the Yoritada Wada Apartments in Unit 2 and the Channing Bowditch Apartments, which feature mostly two bedroom apartments with double occupancy rooms. Residence hall options for new single graduate students include double or triple occupancy rooms in any of the seven university residence hall complexes; continuing graduate students may apply for single rooms. Information and applications are available online. For university apartment information, call (510) 642-4109 or email apts@berkeley.edu. For residence hall information, call (510) 642-4108 or email reshall@berkeley.edu.

Married and partnered graduate students and graduate students with at least 50 percent custody of one or more children are eligible to apply for apartments in university family student housing. Most of this housing is located in University Village Albany (UVA), which is approximately three miles from campus. UVA is located on 56 acres with almost 1,000 apartments for student families in the small town of Albany, which is known for its excellent schools. Another, much smaller, complex of family housing is called Smyth Fernwald and is located in Berkeley. Waiting lists tend to be long for this popular housing, and you should not wait for notification of admission to apply. (Please note that the application fee of $25 is nonrefundable, regardless of the university’s decision to offer or not offer you admission.) For more information and an application, consult the online Living at Cal Information Guide, or you may call (510) 642-4109 or email apts@berkeley.edu. Offices for both university apartment assignments and residence hall assignments are located in the Residential and Student Services Building (RSSB), 2610 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA. 94720-2272.

Alternative Housing

Alternative housing options include rooming houses and apartments offered by the University Students’ Cooperative Association (Co-ops), which also has The Convent (a house solely for graduate and re-entry students) and Hillegass Parker House (housing single graduate students, re-entry students, and visiting scholars). Alternative housing includes International House, described below, as well as fraternities, sororities, and Casa Joaquin Murrieta. More information and links to these sites are available online.

Cal Rentals

The university’s Cal Rentals service offers housing counseling on all options, both on-campus and off-campus housing, and also provides a rental listing service for a small fee. Counseling sessions can help you weigh your housing options and develop an effective house-hunting plan if you’re looking for an off-campus rental. Counselors can provide information on setting up utilities, commuting, school and child care resources, rental safety issues, and more. Information, including how to obtain the rental listing services, may be found on the Cal Rentals website. Graduate students can email their housing questions to homeinfo@berkeley.edu, or call (510) 642-3642, or stop by the Residential and Student Services Building (RSSB), 2610 Channing Way.

International House

International House, a residence and program center, houses nearly 600 students, about two-thirds graduate students and visiting scholars and one-third juniors and seniors. About 40 percent of the resident population is American; the other 60 percent is international, representing approximately 80 foreign countries. The rates for the 2007–2008 academic year range from $10,086 to $11,301 for double rooms and $11,321 to $13,014 for single rooms and include a flexible meal plan and a wide range of cultural and social activities. For more information, please write to the Residence Office, International House, 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94720-2320, email ihres@berkeley.edu, or consult the International House website.

The Rafael Rodriguez Golden Age Foreign Student Scholarship. This scholarship provides room and board for an entering graduate international student of great promise who may lack the financial resources to come to UC Berkeley and is deemed likely to benefit from, and contribute to, life at International House. To apply, please complete the fellowship section for international applicants of the graduate application.