Boston University Housing System
The Boston University housing system is the 2nd-largest of any private university in the United States, with 76% of the undergraduate population living on campus. On-campus housing at BU is an unusually diverse melange, ranging from individual 19th-century brownstone town houses and apartment buildings acquired by the school to large-scale high-rises built in the 60s and 2000s.
Though originally a commuter school, the University now guarantees the option of on-campus housing for four years for all undergraduate students. This is a challenge considering the size of BU's undergraduate population and its urban setting. BU has met this goal every year, often by using area hotels, though since fall 2009, with the completion of its new 960-bed 26-story dorm, the school says it has accommodated all students who wish to live on campus without using hotel space.
Housing versus Residence Life
Boston University operates residences collaboratively through Residence Life and Housing. While the two areas work collaboratively, each department reports to different areas of University leadership. Housing reports to the Vice President of Auxiliary Services and is centered on providing operational and occupancy management. Meanwhile, Residence Life is structured under the Associate Provost and Dean of Students and is centered on providing day-to-day student service, support, and programs based out of local Residence Life offices located near or within each residence.Housing
Boston University Housing is based at 25 Buick Street, and employs a number of full and part-time staff, as well as students who manage the many components that support Housing at Boston University.Housing is responsible for the areas of Residential Safety, housing assignments, room changes, mail, keys, university-provided furnishings, appliances in university-owned residences, and the Terrier Card Office. Boston University Housing also works collaboratively with other departments across campus, such as Facilities Management & Planning, and within Auxiliary Services to coordinate laundry, vending, rentals, summer storage, dining services, vending services, and events & conferences.
Residence life
The Residence Life team delivers a range of programs and services to students, including specialty communities, Residence Hall Associations, the Faculty-in-Residence program, crisis intervention, conflict mediation, enforcement of residential rules and regulations, and information about campus resources.Residence Life is one of the few departments at the University with an on-call system that allows staff to be available to assist students, parents, and members of the University community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
Live-in professional staff
Residence Life employs 27 live-in workers at the "administrator" and "senior staff" level in the following roles:- Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life
- Senior Associate Director of Residence Life
- Associate Director of Residence Life for Administration
- Associate Director of Residence Life for Student and Staff Development
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for Lower Bay State Road
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for South Campus
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for Upper Bay State Road
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for Upper Commonwealth Avenue
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for Warren Towers
- Assistant Director of Residence Life for West Campus
- Residence Hall or Area Directors
Housing selection
Dining services
Boston University requires that all students living in dormitories be enrolled in a year-long meal plan. These meal plans are optional for residents of on-campus apartments. The plans offer differing ratios of meals and dining points, depending on which one is chosen. Meals are used to gain access to one of the university's three residential dining service locations at West Campus, Warren Towers and Marciano Commons on an all-you-can-eat basis, and dining points can be used at designated eateries around campus on a cash basis. A Kosher plan exists which can be used at the Kosher dining hall at Granby Commons.Large dormitories
Myles Standish Hall
BU's first large dormitory was a former hotel. The Myles Standish Hotel in Kenmore Square was built in 1925 and was purchased by BU in 1949. Today Myles Standish Hall and the attached Myles Annex together house over 730 students. A 2018 renovation permanently connected Myles Annex to the main part of Myles Standish Hall.Myles is configured as a semi-suite residence. The typical suite consists of 2 single rooms and 1 double occupancy room sharing a bathroom. Common areas include group study rooms, music practice rooms, a community kitchen and a games room.
In 2021, the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag requested Boston University to rename Myles Standish Hall to "Wituwamat Memorial Hall", after a leading Native American figure massacred by Myles Standish. President Robert A. Brown rejected this request due to the historic significance of the name. However, in May 2024, the Myles Standish name was removed, and the building was officially renamed "610 Beacon Street" after its address.
Kilachand Hall
Kilachand Hall, previously named Shelton Hall, was built as a Sheraton Hotels and Resorts-branded hotel in 1923 and bought by BU and converted to dorm space in 1954. Playwright Eugene O'Neill died in suite 401 on the 4th floor of Kilachand Hall. In his honor, the 4th floor was named a specialty housing area called the Writer's Corridor. It is said that this corridor is haunted by the playwright. The building houses 418 residents. The ninth floor consists of a study lounge that provides an impressive view of Cambridge and the Charles River. The Kilachand Hall dining hall was closed after the 2011–2012 year when a larger dining hall called Marciano Commons opened across the street.Towers
The Towers is one of the three Boston University dormitories traditionally intended for freshmen and sophomores, the others being Warren Towers and West Campus. The building comprises two towers, each nine floors high and linked at ground level by a single story structure housing common facilities. It is located on the eastern end of campus, next to Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and behind the Questrom School of Business. It appeared in the movie 21 as the dormitory which housed MIT student Ben Campbell.Warren Towers
Warren Towers is the largest dorm on campus, housing roughly 600 students in each of its three towers. Access to the building is via escalator to the fourth floor, where the building's dining hall and other amenities are located. Floors 5–18 are residential floors. The first three floors and basement house a university parking garage and street-level retail establishments.Warren Towers is a mostly first-year student residence, though there is also significant retention of sophomores. The majority of rooms are double-occupancy with identical floor plans. Additional room types include single-occupancy rooms, quadruple-occupancy rooms, and a second type of double-occupancy room with a floor plan that is almost twice the size of a standard double room.
West Campus
At the western edge of campus surrounding BU's Nickerson Field is West Campus, with three high-rises each housing well over 600 residents. They are named Claflin, Sleeper, and Rich Hall after BU's founders. Residents of West generally prefer it over other locations and cite its "campusy" feel and proximity to the Student Village complex and other athletic facilities. Student athletes are abundant here, for that reason. CGS, CFA, and SHA students also tend to prefer living at West Campus, as it is the closest dormitory style residence to those three schools.All the buildings provide students with a study room.
Danielsen Hall
Often forgotten, Danielsen Hall actually demarcates the BU campus’ easternmost limit, at its 512 Beacon Street address. Danielsen residents eat at Marciano Commons, or another dining location. However, the dorm does have a kitchen located in the basement. Danielsen, while a bit of a distance from central campus, has the advantage of being closer to the city. Newbury Street, for example is just a few blocks away. The Boston University Shuttle picks up in front of Danielsen regularly, making the distance to campus much more tolerable.Small dormitories, apartments, and suite style
Bay State Road
Once an up-and-coming neighborhood of affluent Boston Brahmins, the majority of Bay State Road is now owned by Boston University for housing and office use. Due to their small size, the brownstones on Bay State are inherently suited for use as specialty housing, and many are used in this fashion.When used as a dormitory, most of the Bay State Road residences are divided into double and triple rooms with some singles. Floors also consist of less than 10 students. Most houses have floors that share a bathroom, a room for the resident assistant on the ground floor, and laundry facilities in the basement. Some rooms have private bathrooms. While some of the houses are rather well-worn, BU has undertaken a project that each summer renovates selected residences to restore the Bay State Road houses to their 19th-century appearance and ambience.