Assignment Guarantee and Priorities

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
• Autumn Assignment Priority for Students Living in Housing
• Academic Year Residence Priorities for Law Students
• Academic Year Residence Priorities for GSB Students

Academic Year Assignment Priorities - Graduate Students

Regardless of your priority level, we are strongly encouraging all matriculated graduate students who need housing to apply for the Lottery. 

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, the GSB Residences, off-campus subsidized housing (except Oak Creek Apartments) or premium studios (for single students), due to their price and distance from campus, unless they specifically list those options on their application.
• Students may be assigned to any other on-campus residence or Oak Creek Apartments.​
• 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.
• First-year students who apply after the deadline or have restricted housing choices will lose the first-year guarantee, but will still have high priority and will be considered for housing before continuing students and students without priority.
• Knight-Hennessy Scholars will have an additional assignment priority their first year in the program. It cannot be used in later years if you choose not to apply for housing in your first year.

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Coterminal Students

• Stanford undergraduates who are admitted into a co-terminal graduate program are considered continuing students and will have two years of low assignment priority in the Lottery.
• Coterminal Stanford undergraduates who have completed their senior year may apply for housing in the Graduate Housing Lottery.
• We anticipate that we will be able to accommodate coterm students seeking graduate housing as long as they are willing to accept any assignment within graduate housing, including off-campus subsidized housing.
• Coterm students who have not completed their senior year should participate in the undergraduate assignment process for 2023-24.
• Coterms who have completed their senior year may choose to apply for undergraduate housing.

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After the First Year

Students will receive the following housing priority years based on the degree program in the Lottery. Students living on-campus may renew after the first year dependent upon their degree program. Students must have a medium assignment priority level to renew. Students living in subsidized off-campus housing are generally not able to renew their housing contracts. However, students assigned to Oak Creek in 2022-23 are able to renew for the 2023-34 year, if otherwise eligible. We will review if it will be possible for Oak Creek residents to renew for 2024-25 in the spring of 2024.

• 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 medium priority for five additional years.
• Continuing MD candidates have five years of housing priority. After their first guaranteed year, they can renew in place or participate in the Lottery with medium priority for four 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 with medium priority 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 low 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 medium priority.

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Housing Assignment Priority Levels

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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 who have medium priority years remaining and who are living in subsidized off-campus housing will have a special off-campus priority in the 2023 Lottery and will be assigned before first-year students.
• Students entering the Lottery with a medium priority will be assigned after first-year students.
• Students entering the Lottery with a low priority will be assigned after students with a medium priority.
• 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.
• Student spouses and partners in couple and family housing use a priority year even while the contract is in under their partner’s name.
• 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. Canceled 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 and 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 housing priorities are reviewed as needed and may change during your time at Stanford.

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Autumn Assignment Priority for Students Living in Housing 

During the Lottery, if a student has a lottery number and priority level strong enough to be assigned in the first round, we assign that student back to their original housing assignment (if desired) before making any other assignments. This is done to reduce the number of student moves within university assigned housing over the summer months. If we don't do that, a large number of current students would be forced to change residences within university housing. As we process subsequent autumn quarter assignment rounds, we continue to allow students to remain in place if their lottery number is strong enough to be assigned in that round. For students who are not in housing or are changing assignments, assignment order is driven by both a students’ Lottery number and their overall priority level, while the location a student is assigned to is driven by their individual housing choices and what spaces are available for assignment. We will continue to do our very best to assign students within this rubric to meet their housing needs.

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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 one-bedroom couples housing options in Munger. Law student couples who want to live in Munger should also list the premium studios. To increase your chances of living in university-assigned Couples without Children Housing, consider listing apartments in Escondido Village and EVGR.
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.

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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 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 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, EVGR and Munger.
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.

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