Congratulations on your admission to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism! We look forward to having you with us.
One of the most important elements in your graduate school planning will be finding housing. This memo will acquaint you with some of the options available to you.
On-Campus/University Housing: Columbia Residential has limited housing for full-time graduate students from the 10 schools on its Morningside Heights campus. In late spring, the number of housing units expected to be ready for the next academic year is determined and each school is allocated a specific number of spaces for its students. Typically, the Journalism School receives an allotment of 75 beds for the 250+ Journalism students who apply for campus housing.
The Journalism School Student Life Office approves students for these slots based solely on the student’s permanent address as listed in the student’s original admissions application to the school. We do not hear appeals or allow changes.
The first approvals go to those who both need a visa to be in the United States and have permanent home addresses outside of the United States. The rest are determined using online mapping software to calculate the distance from campus to the permanent address. Those at the greatest distance get priority. It is highly unlikely we will be able to offer housing to anyone who is U.S.-based. That said; the distance at which we run out of housing varies widely from year to year, so it is in your best interest to apply.
Please note that we have no involvement in determining the type of housing students receive (studios, dorms, one bedrooms, family, etc.). Our only role is to make approvals based on distance from campus.
To access the housing portal and submit an application please take note that you must have accepted our admissions offer, paid your deposit and have activated your Columbia ID/UNI authentication. The UNI authentication process (receiving the UNI) may take 7-10 days.
Our deadline to include you in the initial housing approval process is April 15. On the application, you must provide move-in dates.
We will begin notifying students starting May 1 on whether they will be receiving a Journalism School housing allocation.
If you are an international student, requiring a VISA to study here, and have alternate housing, please notify me with your U.S. address or notify me of your intent to search for off-campus housing as soon as possible!
A word of caution, once you receive notice from Residential housing and approved by the Journalism School, you are expected to respond by the date indicated. Refusing or allowing the offer for housing selection to expire will cause you to lose the allocation and there is no guarantee you will be offered housing again.
More Housing information can be found on the Columbia Residential Webpage:
https://residential.columbia.edu/content/students/apply
International House (I House) Residence: International House is a privately owned student residence near the campus that provides housing to students from various universities and colleges in the area. There are two options available to you for applying to I-House:
1. Through the University Housing process described above (simply indicate on the form your interest in I-House and submit the required essays)
2. Directly through International House.
This second option requires that you fill out an application directly on the International House website. For complete details on the International House resources and the housing availability for I-House, please visit the website at
http://www.ihouse-nyc.org
*Please note that to maximize your chances of getting housing through International House, you should file both applications. The applications that are sent directly through the I-House system are processed separately and are not part of the Journalism School’s approval process.
Off-Campus Housing Assistance (OCHA): OCHA provides an online housing registry listing room-share and apartments in non-Columbia owned buildings located in the New York City area (mostly surrounding Columbia University). Only students who have accepted our admissions offer (by submitting their deposit) and activated their Columbia ID (UNI) are permitted to use the website. More information on the services provided can be found on the OCHA website:
https://ocha.facilities.columbia.edu/
You can find more housing search Resources on the following OCHA webpage:
https://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/housing-resources
Once our class is in place, we will put you in contact with each other via our Facebook group for the Class of 2025 so that you can work together to set up shares and find places.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Chanel Roche
Associate Director of Student Life
cr2586@columbia.edu