Graduate Life

Resources and events to enhance your student experience

Housing

Columbia University owns and directly manages residential units near the Morningside Heights campus and the Health Sciences campus in Washington Heights. Some of these units are available to graduate students through University Apartment Housing (UAH), though supply is limited. The UAH inventory consists of apartment shares and dormitory-style rooms. There are also a limited number of studio/efficiency, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units prioritized for couples and families. 

Housing Application Deadlines

Fall Semester Application Deadline:

  • Incoming PhD Students: June 1
  • Continuing PhD and MA Students: June 15

Spring Semester Application Deadline:

  • All Students: December 1
Doctoral Student Housing

Doctoral students are guaranteed five consecutive academic years in student housing, starting with their first semester of registration only if 1) they apply for housing by the deadline specified in the acceptance letter; 2) they remain registered and in good standing in their program. Doctoral students in good standing may request through the UAH portal an additional year at the end of their fifth and sixth years for a maximum of seven consecutive academic years in University Housing. GSAS reviews and makes final decisions on all requests.

The standard housing lease ends on May 31.

Please note: If a doctoral student does not apply for housing; declines an initial offer of housing; or chooses to leave his or her housing assignment before the five-year period ends, any subsequent request for Columbia housing may not be granted.

Beginning in Fall 2018, the Graduate School also will cover the Internet Fee for doctoral students residing in university housing.

To apply for housing, complete the application on the UAH website. For your sign-up code and PID number, please refer to your acceptance letter.

For more information about university housing, see the UAH website.

List of Eligible Programs

Doctoral students in the Arts & Sciences are eligible to apply for UAH housing.

 

Master's Student Housing

Incoming master's students in programs listed below are normally limited to two consecutive semesters of housing; up to one additional year may be granted in exceptional situations.

Decisions about housing for incoming master's students are generally made in late June or early July; students will be either approved or placed on the housing waitlist. Offers are made to those on the waitlist from July through early September.

To apply for housing, complete the application on the UAH website. For your sign-up code and PID number, please refer to your acceptance letter.

For more information about university housing, see the UAH website.

List of Programs

Master's students in the programs below are eligible to apply for UAH housing.

  • African-American Studies
  • American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Art History and Archaeology
  • Biotechnology
  • Classical Studies
  • Classics
  • Climate and Society
  • Conservation Biology
  • Earth and Environmental Science Journalism
  • East Asia: Regional Studies
  • East Asian Languages and Cultures
  • Economics
  • English and Comparative Literature
  • European History, Politics and Society
  • French and Romance Philology
  • Germanic Languages
  • Global Thought
  • Hispanic Cultural Studies
  • Human Rights Studies
  • International and World History (MA/MSc with London School of Economics)
  • Islamic Studies
  • Italian
  • Jewish Studies
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: Regional Studies
  • Mathematics with a Specialization in the Mathematics of Finance
  • Medieval and Renaissance Studies
  • Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
  • Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies
  • Museum Anthropology
  • Oral History
  • Philosophical Foundations of Physics
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
  • Religion
  • Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe: Regional Studies
  • Russian Translation
  • Slavic Cultures
  • Slavic Languages
  • Sociology
  • South Asian Studies
  • Statistics
Additional Housing Resources

University Apartment Housing  

University Apartment Housing (UAH) manages housing for students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Consult the UAH website for information about eligibility, available accommodations, and policies governing student housing.

Off-Campus Housing Assistance (OCHA)

Columbia's Off-Campus Housing Assistance (OCHA) office assists Columbia students and affiliates in their search for rental housing in the metropolitan area.

OCHA manages a database known as the Housing Registry which includes available rooms and apartments in non-Columbia-owned buildings and sublets of units in Columbia-managed housing.  Prospective roommates can also post and search profiles on this site.

In addition, OCHA offers housing search counseling and is supported in these efforts by relationships with two New York City real estate/relocation agencies.

Subletting University Housing

Students living in University Apartment Housing may apply for permission to sublet their housing unit. For more information, see the Subletting page for tenants and subtenants.