Housing Options

Are you looking for housing in New York City? Here is the lowdown on the help Columbia can offer:

Does the School offer any student housing?

The School receives a small allocation each year from the University Housing Office, and preference is given to students who are relocating to New York, with priority placed on those who are traveling the greatest distance (e.g., abroad, the West Coast, the Midwest). Although accommodations for graduate students are limited, we encourage all of our students to apply to University Apartment Housing (UAH). Even if you do not receive housing right away, UAH does maintain a waitlist and it is possible you will be offered an assignment later in the year. Types of University housing include apartment shares, dormitory-style rooms, studio/efficiency units, and one- and two-bedroom units (prioritized for couples and families). For more details about housing types, availability and costs, go to the Types of Accommodation page on the UAH site.

Can you give me some tips on finding housing off campus at an affordable cost?

Columbia University’s Off-Campus Housing Assistance (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—go to registration page.  Prospective roommates can also post and search profiles on this site.  In addition, OCHA offers one-on-one counseling for your housing search, and is supported in these efforts by cooperative relationships with two New York City real estate/relocation agencies. For further online resources, visit OCHA’s webpage “Housing Resources.”