On-Campus Residency Requirement

During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. Exceptions:

  • A certain number of seniors (up to a cap – currently 125) may request to be released from the residency requirement; the process for this takes place in the fall of the student’s junior year.
  • Married students who wish to have a non-student spouse in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal and showing legal proof of the marriage – see the Housing for Married Students policy below.
  • Students who wish to have their child or children in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal – see the Housing for Students with Children policy below.
  • Students who are 23 or older as of the start of the fall semester, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal. See the Non-Traditional-Age Students & Housing policy below.
  • Other students who believe they have extenuating circumstances that would necessitate their living off-campus, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal.
  • Students who are on a study-away program are not allowed to reside in campus housing during the term(s) they are studying away.
  • During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing, and married couples without children where both spouses are actively enrolled at Williams simultaneously may live together in a double in student housing. The College does not allow married couples where one spouse is actively enrolled at Williams and the other is not, to live in campus-owned student housing together. A married student who wishes to have a non-student spouse in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal and showing legal proof of the marriage.

    If neither campus-owned student housing nor release from the residency requirement in order to secure one’s own non-college-owned housing is deemed viable by the College for a married student, OCL will collect pertinent information from the requesting student and will work with the College’s Real Estate office to determine if anything in their housing stock is available that would work for the student. If so, the student would be offered whatever unit the Real Estate office selects, to accept or reject. If not, the student will need to decide whether to accept release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer from the Real Estate office is extended & accepted, it is expected that this will be the student’s housing assignment until the student’s graduation from Williams as long as the student’s enrollment at Williams is continuous.

  • During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. However, the College does not allow students who are parents to live in campus-owned student housing together with their child/ren. A student who wishes to have their child/ren in residence with them, may request to be released from the residency requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal and showing legal proof of parentage.

    If neither campus-owned student housing nor release from the residency requirement in order to secure one’s own non-college-owned housing is deemed viable by the College for a student who is a parent, OCL will collect pertinent information from the requesting student and will work with the College’s Real Estate office to determine if anything in their housing stock is available that would work for the student. If so, the student would be offered whatever unit the Real Estate office selects, to accept or reject. If not, the student will need to decide whether to accept release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer from the Real Estate office is extended & accepted, it is expected that this will be the student’s housing assignment until the student’s graduation from Williams as long as the student’s enrollment at Williams is continuous.

  • During regular academic periods (fall semester, Winter Study, spring semester), all currently-enrolled Williams students are required to reside in campus-owned student housing. However, students who are 23 years old or older as of the start of the fall semester may request to be released from the residence requirement by submitting a Housing Appeal.

    If neither campus-owned student housing nor release from the residency requirement in order to secure one’s own non-college-owned housing is deemed viable by the College, OCL will collect pertinent information from the requesting student and will work with the College’s Real Estate office to determine if anything in their housing stock is available that would work for the student. If so, the student would be offered whatever unit the Real Estate office selects, to accept or reject. If not, the student will need to decide whether to accept release or to live in regular student housing on-campus under its parameters. If an offer from the Real Estate office is extended & accepted, it is expected that this will be the student’s housing assignment until the student’s graduation from Williams as long as the student’s enrollment at Williams is continuous.