Graduate Student Housing

There is an ongoing crisis in the price and availability of housing for graduate students at UMCP. The GSG is committed to pursuing the issue of providing safe, affordable housing for graduate students. We believe that the lack of housing for graduate students will ultimately impact the University's ranking.

Useful links:

• Grad Housing Tenants' Association a group for University students who live in Graduate housing (Graduate Gardens and Graduate Hills).
• Information on stipends and housing put together by Rob Sherwood, a GSG Assembly member.
• Information for developers of grad student housing. This includes a series of in-depth studies by the University and others.
• Rethinkcollegepark.net, a fantastic site run by Rob Goodspeed (grad student) and David Daddio (undergrad).
• Operating agreement between SMC and the University for Graduate Gardens and Graduate Hills (.pdf file).

Recent events:

• February 23: GRADUATE GARDENS RESIDENT ASSAULTED AND ROBBED IN BUILDING FOYER
• January 25: GSG Officers lobby in Annapolis as a part of Annapolis 101. Fact sheet on UMCP graduate students is distributed to all legislators. Diamondback coverage of Annapolis 101 here.
• December 8: Diamondback runs front-page story on graduate housing concerns.
• November 27: Washington Post publishes article on East Campus. Includes quotes from GSG President on lack of acceptable housing for grad students.
• November 9: East Campus RFP Part B Released. Plan calls for 450 "affordable" beds for graduate students. Cost would be $600/person for a 4BR apartment, or $950/person for a 2BR apartment.
• November 6: Rethinkcollegepark.net highlights graduate student housing as a top priority.
• October 30: GSG co-sponsors Community Housing Forum.
• October 10: Diamondback runs editorial: Graduate school problems resonate throughout university.
• October 9: GSG President speaks at University Senate meeting regarding housing and teaching workloads. Click here for PowerPoint presentation. Diamondback coverage here.
• October 5: Student assaulted at Graduate Hills. Read Diamondback coverage, including quotes from VP Kyle Gustafson.
• October 4: Kyle, Laura, and Devin meet with Chancellor Kirwan, Vice Chancellor Vivona, and Chief of Staff Katy Ryan regarding lack of safe, affordable graduate student housing.
• September 19: President Laura Moore and Vice President Kyle Gustafson send open letter to Board of Regents and key USM officials. The letter details concerns regarding the Board of Regents' recent decision to choose luxury seating in Byrd Stadium over safe, affordable housing for graduate students.
• September 14, 2006: University President Mote gives State of the Campus address at University Senate meeting. Graduate Senator Lisa Pfeifer questions Mote on lack of safe, affordable housing for graduate students. Mote responds that the University will continue to be "relentless" in pursuing the issue, and projects are now in the works to provide more housing to graduate students. Read Diamondback coverage here.
• September 7, 2006: President Laura Moore and Vice President Kyle Gustafson attend Board of Regents retreat open meeting. Laura and Kyle give press release to individual Regents and key USM officials, including Chancellor Kirwan.
• August 24, 2006: Naming rights to Byrd Stadium sold for $20 million to Chevy Chase Bank. Read Diamondback coverage here.
• June 23, 2006: Board of Regents decides to allocate $35 million of debt towards luxury seating at Byrd Stadium.
• May 18, 2006: Capital Budget Workshop. Presidents of the 13 state universities and institutions make presentations on funding priorities. Ultimately it was decided that $35 million of debt would not be allocated towards the building of a graduate student dorm at UMCP.
• February 14, 2006: Diamondback reports on plans for a graduate student dorm near campus.

Graduate Hills and Gardens

Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens remain the sole University-sponsored graduate housing complex. While the property belongs to the University, it is privately run by Southern Management Corporation (SMC). A portion of the revenues then reverts to the University. These monies were previously used to pay bonds and other general expenses, however these monies now go towards graduate student needs. The contract between the University and SMC allows for mid-lease rent increases and also allows SMC to advertise to new graduate students. A GGGH Tenants' Association is addressing these and other issues. If you are interested in joining, contact our Vice President for Student Affairs, Kyle Gustafson, at gsg-vpsa-=AT=-umd.edu. Click here to get on the email list.

Graduate Housing at UMCP's Peer Institutions

UC Berkeley
Most UC Berkeley graduate students live in rental housing in Berkeley and surrounding communities within five miles of campus

UCLA
University Apartments South offers housing designed especially to meet the needs of families, married students, graduate students, and Same Sex Domestic Partnerships.

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Daniels Hall, Goodwin & Green Apartments., Orchard Downs Apartments, and Sherman Hall

University of Michigan
University Housing is not guaranteed for graduate students, and the majority of graduate students seek a variety of off-campus housing options. Generally, demand for on-campus housing for graduate students exceeds the supply.

University of North Carolina
Baity Hill at Mason Farm is a community for married students, families, and single graduate students.

Strategic Planning at Other Universities

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Report of the Strategic Housing Planning Committee (1995)

Stanford University
Planning for graduate housing - letter from Provost Rice (Oct 1998)

The Pennsylvania State University
Three-step plan to expand graduate student housing (Oct 2000)

University of California, San Diego
Planning for the East Campus project (Jan 2003)