Application Guide

All new first-year students and transfer students admitted as a freshman are required to live on campus in the academic year of admittance and should complete the housing application in the My Housing portal. 

Students can request an exemption to live off-campus if they meet certain criteria to include: are living with a parent or legal guardian within 30 miles from campus, are admitted as a freshman transfer, are married, have a child, or are at least 21 years of age by the first day of classes. The full exemption policy and required forms can be found in the First Year Exemption Request process in the housing portal. If you'd like to request a housing exemption, be sure to complete the First-Year Exemption Request form in the My Housing portal by May 31.

Failure to complete either a housing application or an exemption request may result in either still being assigned and charged for housing or alternatively, not being guaranteed or assigned a space on campus.

We encourage newly admitted first year students to apply for on-campus housing before the priority deadline of May 31, 2024 at 5 p.m. The application is available in the Apply for Housing section of the My Housing portal starting April 16 and can take up to 48 hours to appear after you deposit to the University and set up your UD email, UDelNetID and password. All applications received by May 31 are given the same priority. After May 31, a more limited application will remain available where room-type interests and roommate requests will not be accepted, optional living-learning community applications will be closed and housing accommodation requests will be late. 

On-campus housing communities and Living Learning Communities (LLCs) provide students with unique experiences designed around academic programs, interests or identities. Many LLCs are supported by an academic department. Some LLCs are required and some are optional. The supplemental LLC application in the Housing Communities process of the My Housing portal will close on May 31 at 5pm.

You can learn which communities are available here. Locations for all communities will be released later in the summer.

About half of incoming first-year students choose to let our system’s algorithm assign them a roommate(s) based on the compatibility of their lifestyle answers in the housing application. Roughly speaking, we don't see increased roommate conflict between 'random' roommates, and it can be an excellent opportunity to meet a new friend group.

If you would like to request a specific roommate, you can create or join a roommate group of up to 3 students within the Roommate Manager section of the My Housing portal before May 31 at 5pm. If you are part of a Living Learning or Theme Housing Community, you may only be able to select other students who are also in that community and groups will be verified. While we do our best to accommodate requests, roommates are NOT guaranteed for any student even if in a roommate group.

No roommate requests can be made after the priority deadline.

First-year students will be placed in traditional or suite-style housing. Traditional halls have rooms along the corridor with communal bathrooms and are mainly located on East and Central campus. Suite style halls typically feature two bedrooms connected by a bathroom and are mainly located on Laird (North) campus. Our buildings are primarily co-ed by room, meaning that while students of the same gender share a room/suite, the floors are mixed gender. You can learn more about our buildings on the Explore Our Halls page.

Housing rates for the upcoming year are determined by the Board of Trustees in their spring meeting, and are generally released in June or July. We typically see a 3-7% increase to the previous year's rates, which are available on our website.

If you have a medical, psychological or physical condition that requires a housing accommodation, you must submit documentation to Disability Support Services no later than May 31, 2024 in addition to completing your housing application. Documentation consists of an evaluation by an appropriate professional that explains the current impact of your condition on your housing request. Questions about this process should be directed to the DSS office.

The most common accommodation submitted is air-conditioning as not all of our buildings are air conditioned. Students are not permitted to bring air conditioners into our residence halls.

For questions related to specific dietary needs on campus, please contact the dietitian at Dining Services by May 31.

Accommodations are not guaranteed, but we will do everything possible to meet requests that are made on time. Documentation received late may result in an assignment that does not match your needs. Our ability to provide an accommodation after the deadline will be extremely limited. Students who already have accommodations on file must submit updated paperwork each year by the posted deadline in order to be valid for the upcoming year. 

We will begin to work on first year student housing assignments after the priority application deadline, with those who applied by the deadline receiving priority consideration for placement. Housing assignments and roommate information for first year students will be sent via UD email addresses later in the summer. We appreciate your patience as we work to assign the thousands of new Blue Hens to our residence halls!

Only current undergraduate UD students at the Newark campus who are taking at least one in-person, credit-bearing summer course, international students who are unable to travel home, and students experiencing housing insecurity are eligible to request summer session housing with our office and should apply through the My Housing portal. Course registration and student status will be verified. Summer housing is not guaranteed as space is limited, so we encourage students to apply by the priority deadline of May 21 for the best consideration. The application will remain open after that date pending space availability.

Students only taking online classes, doing an internship or research, attending a conference, working for a UD department or doing any other activity on campus are not eligible to live in the residence halls with the summer school students. Instead, these students must either seek other off-campus housing or can inquire about summer housing options through the Conference Services Camps & Summer Housing program. Visit their website to learn more about the program, access the registration form, and contact their office with any questions.

This year, summer school housing will be located in four bedroom, four bathroom apartments at the University Courtyard Apartments (UCA). This location features a private bedroom and bathroom for each student as well as shared laundry, kitchen and living space that students are responsible for cleaning. 

Students can request roommates, but roommates are not guaranteed.

Because summer housing is located in apartments with kitchens, students will not be required to purchase a summer meal plan, and Dining Services will likely not be offering summer meal plan options.

Housing accommodations already documented or updated for the current year through Disability Support Services (DSS) will be considered during the assignment process. If a student needs to submit a new accommodation request, they should do so through DSS within one week of submitting their application and no later than the priority application deadline. Accommodations are not guaranteed. If we are unable to meet an accommodation, we will notify the student.

Students already living on campus for Spring 2024 whose summer housing would start on June 2 and also need housing between the end of the spring semester and start of the summer session can request Interim Housing within their summer application. Interim housing is not guaranteed and is space dependent, so we suggest you make the request early.

If approved for interim housing, you will have continuous housing from the end of the spring semester through the start of the first summer session. You’ll be required to move to your summer assignment on Friday, May 24 between 2-5 p.m. and will be charged an additional Interim Housing fee of $450. We’ll send approved students an email with additional instructions for the relocation process toward the end of the spring semester. If you can't move at the designated time, you are ineligible for interim housing as we cannot accommodate requests for alternate times. 

Students who no longer plan to live on campus for the summer after applying can cancel their Summer 2024 application within the Application Status section of the My Housing portal prior to checking in for their session without financial penalty.