Housing Accommodations for Fall 2025 Incoming Students

Incoming undergraduate students seeking disability-related housing accommodations beginning in Fall 2025 will need to follow both the Disability Services registration process and the New Undergraduate Students process with Residential Life.

The housing preference application is the student’s opportunity to request special housing options, preferred room types, and specific residential areas. The housing preference application will open in SPIRE on Monday, June 2nd and close on Monday, June 30^th.

Housing accommodations through Disability Services, in contrast, are granted to remove a barrier to equal access, and are determined on a case-by-case basis following our interactive review process. This process can begin as soon as the student has enrolled at UMass, and while accommodation requests can be made at any time, requests that would impact the student’s housing assignment should be made by Friday, July 4^th in order to be considered in time for the Fall 2025 housing assignments. This means the student should have completed the registration form, provided documentation supporting the request, and met with an Access Coordinator by that date.

Requests will be accepted and reviewed after this date, however Disability Services cannot guarantee that the request will be processed before housing placements are announced on August 4th. If an accommodation is approved after August 4^th, Disabilities Services cannot guarantee a placement will be available that meets the student's approved accommodation.

While Disability Services can review and determine eligibility for housing accommodations, we do not determine the specific location, building, or area of campus that students will be placed, nor do we have any influence on roommate assignments. Upon approval of any housing accommodation request, Disability Services will communicate accommodations to Residential Life Assignments, who will determine a placement which meets the student's accommodation and honors the student's preferences.

Certain accommodation requests --- such as air conditioning and visual alarms --- do not impact housing placement/locations, but do take time to coordinate and implement, therefore these requests should still be made as early as possible. 

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) also do not impact housing placement, but requests should still be made by the July 4th deadline to ensure all steps are completed and that the student is cleared to bring the animal on campus with them on their move-in date, if approved. This entails going through the Disability Services accommodation review process, and submitting to Residential Life: up to date vaccination records, an Animal in Residence registration form, and a signed Animal in Residence Policy agreement. Students should not bring an animal to campus until these steps are complete. Please note that Disability Services generally allows only one animal per residence. 

If you have any questions about receiving housing accommodations through Disability Services, please contact us.