Assignment Priorities

Topics on this page:

• Academic Year Assignment Priorities for Graduate Students
  • Guaranteed First-year Housing for New Students
  • Coterminal Students
  • After the First Year
  • Housing Assignment Priority Levels
  • Housing Assignment Priority Levels legend
  • Additional information about Priorities
• Academic Year Residence Priorities for Law Students
• Academic Year Residence Priorities for GSB Students
• Summer Assignment Priorities

Academic Year Assignment Priorities - Graduate Students

Guaranteed First-year Housing for Graduate Students

If you are enrolled in a Stanford graduate degree program for the first time, you are guaranteed housing for your first year of study if

1. you apply by the Lottery deadline and
2. you select “Assign me to any residence for which I am eligible” as your final application choice.

• Students will not be automatically assigned to Munger or the GSB Residences, due to their price, unless those options are specifically listed on the application.
• Students may be assigned to any other residence including triple occupancy 2-bedroom apartments and all off -campus apartments.
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• This assignment priority is effective only during the first academic year of graduate study.
• If you have previously received a graduate degree from Stanford and are beginning a new graduate degree program, you are considered a continuing graduate student.
• It cannot be used in later years even if you are admitted to an additional degree program.
• Students beginning a second graduate degree program are considered continuing graduate students.
• First-year students who apply after the deadline or have restricted housing choices will lose the first-year guarantee but will still be considered for housing before continuing students and students with no priority.

Coterminal Students

• Stanford undergraduates who are admitted into a co-terminal graduate program are considered continuing students and will have low assignment priority in the Lottery.
• Coterminal students must use their four years of undergraduate housing before applying for graduate housing.

After the First Year

Students will receive the following housing priority years based on the degree program in the Lottery. Students may renew after the first year dependent upon their degree program. Students must have a medium assignment priority level to renew. 

• Continuing Doctoral degree candidates (PhD, JSD, DMA) have six years of housing priority. After their first guaranteed year, they can renew in place or participate in the Lottery with limited priority for five additional years.
• Continuing MD candidates have four years of housing priority. After their first guaranteed year, they are can renew in place or participate in the Lottery with limited priority for three additional years.
• Continuing JD candidates have three years of housing priority. After their first guaranteed year, they can renew in place or participate in the Lottery for two additional years.
• Continuing Master’s candidates in Single Graduate and Couples without Children Housing are only guaranteed housing for the first year of the program. After the first year, they are not able to renew and may enter the Lottery but will have no priority for assignment.
• Continuing Master’s candidates in Students with Children Housing have two years of housing priority. After the first year, they can renew in place or participate in the Lottery with limited priority.

Housing Assignment Priority Levels

Additional Information about Priorities

• There is no distinction between years within the limited housing priority. For example PhD students in their second year have the same housing assignment priority as students in their third, fourth, fifth, and sixth years.
• Students who have medium priority years remaining may renew their apartment by the Lottery deadline each year if they remain in continuous occupancy and meet eligibility requirements.
• Students entering the Lottery with a medium priority will be assigned after the first-year students if there are spaces remaining.
• Students entering the Lottery with a low priority will be assigned after students with a medium priority if there are spaces remaining.
• Students whose studies extend beyond the priority years allocated for their degree program can apply for housing but will be assigned after all students with assignment priority.
• Housing years are based on the academic calendar (autumn through the following summer).
• Your housing years include those spent as a single graduate student, couples, and/or students with children.
• Housing years include those lived in on-campus housing, University-assigned off-campus housing, and Housing Stipend Awards.
• Only housing contracts kept during Autumn and Winter Quarters are counted toward the total number of years in housing. Cancelled assignments and occupancy beginning in spring or summer don’t count.
• If you are enrolled in a joint degree program, your housing years will reflect the highest degree. For example, if you are a JD/MBA, you would be considered a JD student with a total of three years of housing priority.
• The number of assignment priority years given does not increase cumulatively per degree. If you were a Master’s student with one year of assignment priority are beginning a doctoral program, you are given five additional years of housing priority, for a total of six assignment priority years. If you were previously a Master’s student and lived in housing for at least one year and are beginning a new Master’s degree program, you will have no additional priority years provided.
• It is your responsibility to verify that your priority level is correct on your application and to contact Housing Assignments before the Lottery if there is a problem.
• The number of years that students will be able to renew their housing is being reviewed and may change during your time at Stanford.

Academic Year Residence Priorities - Law Students

Law students have priority to half of each type of the apartments in Munger Graduate Residence in this order:

1. New first-year JD law students
2. New transfer JD law students
3. All other first-year law students (LLM, JSM, JSD, PhD, etc.)
4. Continuing law students currently living in Munger (for their specific apartment type)
5. Continuing law students not living in Munger

What you should know about the Law student priority to Munger:

1. The Munger Graduate Residence priority is only activated for each type of Munger housing option when you specifically list it as a choice on your application.
2. Since the law students receive priority to 50% of each type of housing, you should list all the different types of housing choices to maximize your chance of being assigned to Munger.
3. There are a very limited number of couples housing options in Munger. We are rarely able to assign all the law student couples who want to live only in Munger. If you want to live in university-assigned Couples without Children Housing, consider listing apartments in Escondido Village and off-campus apartments as well.
4. There are also a very limited number of two-bedroom apartments for single students in Munger. Single students interested in Munger should also list the four-bedroom or studio options.
5. If you apply for housing as a group, and if you have a law student priority but others in your group do not, you may be split from your group as your priority does not transfer to group members. You can use the group retention feature to void your Munger priority. If you would like to maximize your chances of getting assigned to Munger, do NOT use the group retention feature.
6. The law student priority is active all year through all rounds of housing assignments.

Academic Year Residence Priorities - GSB Students

GSB students have priority to the GSB Residences in this order:

1. New MBA admits
2. New MSx admits
3. New PhD admits
4. Continuing MBA students
5. Continuing MSx students
6. Continuing PhD students

What you should know about the GSB student priority student priority to the GSB Residences

1. The priority for the GSB Residences is only activated when you specifically list it as a choice on your application.
2. There are a very limited number of couples housing options in the GSB Residences. If you want to live in university-assigned Couples without Children Housing, consider listing apartments in Escondido Village, Munger, and off-campus apartments as well.
3. If you apply for housing as a group, and if you have a GSB student priority but others in your group do not, you may be split from your group as your priority does not transfer to group members. You can use the group retention feature to void your GSB priority. If you would like to maximize your chances of getting assigned to the GSB Residences, do NOT use the group retention feature.
4. The GSB student priority is active all year through all rounds of housing assignments.

Summer Assignment Priorities

• Enrolled students have priority over non-enrolled students for summer housing in the event that there is not enough space to house all applicants in a given category of housing.
• Students living in Single Graduate and Couples without Children Housing who reside in buildings with academic year contracts receive an automatic priority to move into a similar apartment for the summer.
• Students assigned to Single Graduate, Couples without Children, or Students with Children Housing for the following Autumn Quarter may be assigned to a summer residence that they did not list as a choice on their application in order to match their summer assignment to their autumn assignment.