Residence Life
From the formation of lifelong friendships to the discovery of new interests, a lot happens in Reed housing. Our on-campus residential community provides a safe and welcoming environment to support students in their academic pursuits, personal growth, and participation in an interdependent community.
Housing
Reed’s residence halls are designed to bring people together and are clustered into neighborhoods. First-year students live in first-year neighborhoods while sophomore, juniors, and seniors live in upper-division neighborhoods. Reed’s housing program cultivates the skills students need to promote conversation, resolve conflict, build community, and spark friendships.
Housing Highlights
- All of our residence halls are open to students of any gender.
- Students are able to select their own roommates if they wish. They are able to select roommates of any gender and can do so as an incoming or returning student.
- All communities on campus have access to full kitchens, as well as ample common spaces for group studying and spontaneous conversation.
Find and Build Your Community
Each community on campus is unique, but all communities share these hallmark experiences:
- Communities start the year by setting norms and guidelines for their space, including quiet hours, norms for common area and bathroom use, and hopes for community events.
- Communities are supported by a student House Adviser. House Advisers (HAs) provide guidance for communities, host events, and remain available to help connect students to resources on campus. Unlike other institutions, House Advisers do not “write up” residents, but instead, focus on education regarding campus policies.
- Each building is also supported by an Area Coordinator (AC), our professional live-in staff members. ACs supervise HAs, provide important information to communities, and are available to help troubleshoot any problems students may encounter.
Interest-Based Housing
Interest-Based Housing is offered to all our incoming students. Reed recognizes that marginalized groups are often expected to live within communities that do not represent them, their culture, or their identity. Through Interest-Based Housing, students explore their identity, learn about challenges faced by our marginalized groups on campus, and create friendships and community based in healing and allyship. Reed currently offers two Interest-Based Housing communities: Students of Color Community and Queer Collective.
Neighborhoods Designed to Support You
Neighborhoods are designed to provide students with the resources they need to successfully navigate life at Reed.
First-year neighborhoods
- These neighborhoods are primarily focused on helping incoming students transition to Reed.
- All first-year and sophomore students live on campus for their first and second years at Reed. After the second year, students who wish to live on campus participate in Room Registration, held during the spring semester, to determine the choice of rooms.
- Academic Support provides Humanities 110 tutors in your building the night before HUM paper due dates to make accessing help easy!
- Programs and events are focused on having fun and finding friends on campus - from neighborhood BBQs to floor-specific board game nights.
Upper-division neighborhoods
- These neighborhoods are for sophomores, juniors, and seniors and primarily focused on supporting existing friend groups and personal goals.
- The Center for Life Beyond Reed provides workshops for students who want to take advantage of opportunities like winter and summer internships and job shadowing.
- Friend groups are able to work with their House Adviser to plan and host events for their communities.