Currently, on-campus housing at UMass Amherst is restricted to undergraduate students only. There is limited family housing available to at University Village. For more information, please visit the Family Housing website.
UMass Amherst’s Off Campus Housing website is the best resource for students seeking off campus housing. Students can use this website to search the list of local apartment complexes, current rental rates, and other housing resources.
Be Aware of Housing Scams:
International students are often the target of housing scams. Be aware of the following signs of potential fraud:
- The rental picture looks too good to be true or is used in multiple advertisements.
- The rental listing has grammatical or formatting errors or is copied/pasted into multiple listings.
- You are pressured to sign a lease or rental agreement without seeing the space.
- You are asked for money upfront. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) flags a request to wire money as a red flag of a potential scam.
- There is no credit check before signing the lease.
- The address is not verified.
- The rent is suspiciously low. Check the Off Campus Housing website to see a rental market range and compare the listing against the current market.
It can be helpful to speak with your department’s program manager and peers for recommendations about areas to look for housing. Additionally, speaking with members of Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs) can be helpful for providing advice and insight.
UMass Amherst guarantees housing for undergraduate students in accordance with instructions from Residential Life.
Residence Halls
UMass Amherst on-campus housing is spread across six residential areas. Each area is made up of several residence halls (often referred to as “dorms”). Click on the links below to explore the residential areas open to international students.
Central - North Apartments - Northeast - Orchard Hill - Southwest - Sylvan
Most students live with another UMass student in double rooms, but certain residence halls offer the option to live alone in a single room subject to availability and at a higher cost. All residence halls include high-speed Internet and fee-based laundry machines. For ideas and suggestions about what items to bring with you from home, visit the Residential Life website.
Undergraduate students can explore on-campus housing options on the Residential Life Undergraduate Housing website.
UMass Amherst guarantees housing for undergraduate students in accordance with instructions from Residential Life.
Break Housing
The campus closes during break periods, and “break housing” halls are the only residential spaces that remain open during Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Breaks. There is an additional cost to live in these halls.
For undergraduate students interested in special housing options, such as living and learning communities, break housing, and single-sex housing, please visit the Special Housing options website.
Eating on Campus
Students living on campus are required to have a meal plan and are automatically enrolled in the Unlimited 250 Plan (with the exception of students living in apartment-style student housing, which are self-catered). The Unlimited 250 Plan allows students unlimited access to all four campus dining commons. Students can make changes to their meal plan in SPIRE at any point before the end of the Add/Drop period.
For information about the various residential meal plans, visit the UMass Meal Plan website. Students can update or add to their meal plan by following these instructions in SPIRE.
Luggage Program
International and out‐of‐state students who will be living in the residence halls may be eligible for luggage storage if luggage is shipped to the University prior to arrival. Luggage is stored at no cost to the student. Please visit the Residential Life website for more information.
The campus closes during break periods, and “break housing” halls are the only residential spaces that remain open during Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring Breaks. There is an additional cost to live in these halls.
For undergraduate students interested in special housing options, such as living and learning communities, break housing, and single-sex housing, please visit the Special Housing options website.
There are many hotels, inns, and Airbnb's (short-stay rentals) if you arrive in the area before your long- term housing accommodations are available. You can also visit Office of Parent Services for a complete list of local hotels and lodging options.
For more permanent accommodation or yearly lease rental information, check out the UMass Amherst Off-Campus Housing Office.