How to Apply for Housing
Apply for housing at UC Berkeley through our Housing Application portal:
- Use your CalNet ID to apply for housing after you accept your offer of admission.
- Students may choose a Full Academic Year or Spring-only contract.
- Contracts are sent via email, so make sure your email address is up to date on your Cal Central profile.
- Summer housing options are available through a separate application.
- Most residence halls close over Winter Break.
For additional application resources, visit:
- How to Apply for Housing: New Students
- Housing Application Tutorials
- Dates & Deadlines
- ADA Accommodations & Identity-Based Needs
Housing Application Timeline
|
Application Deadline |
Receive Housing Offer |
|
|
Continuing UC Berkeley Student |
Feb. 15 |
March (multiple rounds continuing through April) |
|
First-Year Students / Fall Program for First-Year Students |
May 2 |
Late May (multiple rounds continuing through August) |
|
Transfer Students |
June 2 |
Late June (multiple rounds continuing through August) |
|
January Start/ Global Edge/ Global Management Students |
October 1 |
Starting in November |
Housing Assignment Process
Housing assignments are made based on a random lottery number system to eligible applicants who apply by the stated deadline. After each housing application deadline, each application is processed and assigned a random lottery number. Applications are then reviewed by the Housing office based upon their lottery position and room assignments are made according to the highest preference available (based on the preferences the student provides on the housing application).
After sending the initial (and largest) round of offers, we continue to release housing offers in multiple rounds, which helps us fulfill roommate requests and assign housing as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you do not receive an offer in a round, you will receive an email notification and your application remains under consideration for future rounds. To keep you updated on our process, we will send you an email update and tips each time we send out a round of offers.
Students receiving housing offers are given a deadline (usually within about 5 days of the offer date) by which they must accept or decline their placement. Once that deadline has passed, we will then assess remaining spaces and release the next round of offers. We continue sending housing offers in multiple rounds through early August.
It is important to know that since continuing UC Berkeley students apply and reserve their housing spaces in February for the following academic year, some desired room types may not be available to new students.
If a continuing student does not receive a housing offer during the multiple rounds of continuing student housing offers, our intention is to recommence continuing student housing offers in July, following the conclusion of the new admit housing offer rounds, subject to space availability. The Housing Office sends status updates to students on our housing waitlist via email.
The majority of campus housing residents live in triple residence hall rooms.
Newly Admitted Students: First-Year, Fall Program for First Semester Students, Transfer, and Graduate Students
New students (undergraduate and graduate) must accept their offer of admission and create their Berkeley campus identification (CalNet ID) before they can access the housing application portal.
- First-year undergraduate students will usually be offered a contract for a triple room, the most common occupancy option.
- For a guide to the housing application process for undergraduates, see: How to Apply: New Students
Continuing Students
Housing is increasingly available for continuing students: most who apply with flexible preferences will receive an offer. Berkeley continues to actively expand campus housing, with new buildings opened in 2020 and opening in future years.
- Continuing students who apply for housing by the deadline are assigned a random lottery number. The Assignments Office uses these lottery numbers in conjunction with the student’s top five preferences to assign spaces to applicants. If your first choice is unavailable, we will look at your second, third, etc.
- In order to broaden your chances of receiving a housing offer, you will want to agree to consider an offer that is not among your top five preferences.
- More details related to applying for housing as a continuing student—including how to select a roommate—are covered in our Continuing Student FAQs
Students with Families
Family housing applicants who have not yet received CalNet credentials will need to self-register. Students applying for family housing should apply using their CalNet ID whenever possible.
New Tenured and Tenure-Track UC Berkeley Faculty
Applicants need to create an account through a self-register process.