UCLA Housing Options: A Comprehensive Guide
UCLA offers a diverse range of housing options for both undergraduate and graduate students. From traditional residence halls to apartment-style living, the university strives to provide comfortable and convenient living environments that cater to various needs and preferences. This article delves into the details of UCLA's housing system, exploring the different residential areas, amenities, and recent developments.
Undergraduate Housing: Living on the Hill
The majority of undergraduate students reside in the residential community known as "the Hill." This area is comprised of several complexes, each with its own unique character and facilities. Student life on the Hill is overseen by Residential Life (ResLife), formerly called "Office of Residential Life (ORL)". ResLife aims to foster a supportive and engaging environment for residents through various programs and initiatives. Each floor or community on The Hill is overseen by one or two Residential Assistants (depending on the community size). These "RAs" are student staff who work to incorporate ResLife's "Core 5" Principles into the living environment. Typically, these RAs host "programs" (events) to encourage residents to meet each other, explore LA and be academically successful. Classic programs include visiting Santa Monica, going to the Ropes Course at Sunset Rec or getting free massages during midterms.
Residence Halls vs. Plazas vs. Suites
UCLA's undergraduate housing options can be broadly categorized into three types: traditional Halls, Plazas, and Suites.
- Halls: These are traditional high-rise buildings where students are grouped by floors and share a gender-specific bathroom with 40-50 other residents. Examples include Dykstra Hall, Hedrick Hall, Rieber Hall, and Sproul Hall. Recently, the Deluxe Residential Hall format has also been introduced, which has some features of the residential plaza, such as more spacious rooms and a thermostat in each room to control air-conditioning.
- Plazas: Plazas offer similar amenities to Halls but feature more spacious rooms and either a private bathroom or a shared bathroom with an adjacent room. Canyon Point and Delta Terrace consist of solely "plaza shared" rooms, wherein two dorms (double or triple dorms) share a bathroom in a 'jack-and-jill' layout. Courtside, on the other hand, consists of only "plaza private" rooms, where 1 dorm (typically a double or triple) has one attached en suite bathroom. All 3 buildings are made up of 8 houses (each housing approximately 50-100 students).
- Suites: Suites are standalone units that accommodate 4-6 students, providing a private bathroom and living space. Hitch Suites and Saxon Suites are examples of suite-style living.
The Northwest Campus In-fill Project
Starting in 2009, the Hill underwent the Northwest Campus In-fill Project, which significantly expanded housing capacity and amenities. This project added an additional 1,525 beds, 10 faculty in-residence apartments, a 750-seat dining hall, and four residential towers. Two of these buildings, Holly Ridge and Gardenia Way, which are part of De Neve Plaza, opened February 2012. The other two, Sproul Cove and Sproul Landing, were completed in September 2013. Sproul Cove stands on the previously unoccupied ridge below Rieber Hall.
Specific Residence Halls and Plazas
- Dykstra Hall: Built in 1959, Dykstra ( DYKE-strə) was the first dorm located on the Hill, as well as the first co-ed residence hall in the United States. The hall is named after UCLA Provost Clarence Dykstra. Though classified as its own separate building, it is considered part of De Neve Plaza for practical purposes, since it is adjacent to the De Neve buildings and physically connected to De Neve Commons (which also happens to be contiguous with Acacia View and Birch Heights).
- Hedrick Hall: This building primarily houses 1st year students. This building consists of nine floors and approximately 900 people. Amenities included within this complex include a TV lounge, recreation room, study lounges and controllable AC for every individual room. The building's own dining option, "The Study at Hedrick", a takeout option connected to a 24-hour study lounge, is adjacent to the ground floor of Hedrick Hall.
- Hedrick Summit: Hedrick Summit does not have its own dining option. Hedrick Summit typically houses 1st, 2nd or 3rd year undergraduates or 1st year transfer students.
- Hitch Suites: After a one-year renovation, Hitch was reopened for the 2014-2015 academic year.
- Olympic Hall and Centennial Hall: In 2021, UCLA completed the construction of two additional residence halls on the Hill, Olympic Hall and Centennial Hall, built on an empty ridge between the Saxon and Hitch suites. Named in honor of the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles for which UCLA will provide athlete housing, this building has 9 stories and aided in accomplishing UCLA's goal of providing 4 years of guaranteed housing to undergraduate students. Named in honor of UCLA's centennial in 2019, it was completed in 2021 and is the newest addition to the Hill's residence halls along with Olympic Hall. Includes The Drey as a quick-service food option and has a Makerspace designed to encourage student creation.
- Sproul Hall and Sproul Landing: This all-suite complex consists of seven low-rise buildings, lettered E-K. Sproul Hall (left) and Landing (right). The complex's main dining facility, Bruin Plate, is located in Carnesale Commons, which opened as Sproul Presidio but was later renamed after former UCLA chancellor Albert Carnesale in October 2013. A quick-service option, Bruin Café, is adjacent to the ground floor of Sproul Hall. Conference facilities are located in the Northwest Campus Auditorium, as well as Carnesale Commons.
Dining on the Hill
The Hill is designed to be a self-contained community, with various dining options available to residents. Students are permitted to dine at any eatery on the Hill, regardless of their specific residential complex. Each complex typically has its own buffet-style dining hall and quick-service restaurants. Dining facilities include the Epicuria, formerly the Covel Commons Residential Restaurant, and quick-service option of Café 1919 adjacent to the ground floor of Delta Terrace. Front desk services, as well as classrooms and conference facilities, are located in De Neve Commons.
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Graduate Student Housing
Roughly 3,000 graduate students live in one of six UCLA-owned apartment complexes or communities. These options offer a variety of living arrangements to suit different needs and preferences.
Weyburn Terrace
In 2002, the university began constructing Phase 1 of Weyburn Terrace, a seven building apartment community with 1,387 beds, in order to recruit top graduate students from around the world. Previously, there had been no university-operated graduate housing on or near the main campus since the demolition of a graduate student-only dorm damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The project suffered numerous delays, but was fully completed before the Fall 2005 term. Weyburn Terrace enables UCLA to provide housing to approximately fifty percent of incoming graduate and professional students. It also served as housing for displaced Tulane University law students who visited at UCLA during the Fall semester following Hurricane Katrina. Weyburn Terrace provides housing for single students.
Hilgard Houses
Hilgard Houses apartments consist of two complexes located on the east edge of campus on Hilgard Avenue. Each three-story building has a central courtyard, laundry room, and subterranean parking. All 81 units are furnished studio apartments with full kitchens. Hilgard Houses also provides housing for single students.
University Village
University Village provides student community living for married students, same-sex domestic partners and single parents. Units consist of unfurnished one-, two- and three-bedrooms.
Rose Avenue Apartments
Rose Avenue has 93 unfurnished units, primarily two-bedroom, located across from the University Village complex.
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Keystone/Mentone and Venice/Barry Apartments
These are additional apartment complexes that offer housing options for graduate students.
Historical Note: Hershey Hall
UCLA's original residence hall was Hershey Hall, located on Hilgard Avenue in South Campus. It was named after Mira Hershey, who bequeathed $300,000 to have the all-women dorm built. The original Hershey Hall of the 1930s is still in use today as an academic building. A west wing addition was built in 1959.
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