Residence Hall Life
As your student will soon learn, residence halls are more than just a place to sleep and eat. Students study, hang out with friends, participate in cultural and recreational activities, and learn to live in a community setting in the residence halls as well.
There are eight university-owned and operated residence halls at UCSB, which house over 5,000 students: San Rafael, San Nicolas, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Catalina, and Manzanita Village, which includes Los Robles, La Patera, and Las Encinas houses. Additionally, privately-operated residence halls from Tropicana Housing are located in Isla Vista.
Residence halls are each staffed by a live-in resident director (RD), assistant resident director (ARD), and resident assistants (RAs) who are extensively trained in assisting students with a wide variety of concerns. Students live in groups of around fifty students and have a designated RA serving as a resource for information or personal assistance. RAs also coordinate social, educational, and recreational activities within the residence halls.
Two students are generally placed in each residence hall room, but single and triple rooms do exist. Roommates are assigned based on the personal information they have submitted to Housing and Residential Services and specific requests are honored if both parties submit matching requests.
Some residence halls have special interest floors called Living Learning Communities that group students with similar interests together, such as the Women's Leadership Community, Black/African-American Scholars, and Outdoor Adventure. A complete list is available at the Living Learning Communities Web site.
Answers to parents' and students' most common questions are available at the residence halls' FAQ.