Students living at home

Each year over 300 new undergraduate students choose to live off campus, mainly at 'home' with family, a partner, friends or alone. Some students live in York and others are spread across the region and beyond. There are many advantages of not living in 'student' accommodation, including saving money and being able to fulfil family commitments.

Information on your College

There are ten undergraduate colleges at the University and all students both on and off-campus are part of a college community.

As a non-resident first year student you will be allocated to one of the following colleges, depending on your department of study:

Alcuin College - Health Sciences and the Hull York Medical School (HYMS)
Goodricke College - Computer Science; School for Arts and Creative Technologies; York Law School; Department of Sociology
James College - Archaeology; Biology; Environment and Geography; Maths; Psychology; School of Physics, Engineering and Technology
Vanbrugh College - Chemistry; Economics; Education; English; History; History of Art; Language and Linguistic Science; Music; Philosophy; Philosophy, Politics and Economics; Politics; Social and Political Sciences; School for Business and Society

You'll have access to social spaces and facilities including: microwaves, kettles and storage lockers.

Colleges also offer opportunities in Welcome Week and beyond to meet other students, take part in sports, attend wellbeing workshops and participate in the inter-cultural competency programme.

How to make best use of time spent travelling:

If you are travelling to and from University most days, try to make your commute as enjoyable and productive as possible by:

Making sure you know the quickest way to travel to University.
Ensuring you get the best deal on public transport costs.
Having public transport enquiry numbers (eg National Rail etc) in your mobile.
Making the most of your journey time, if using public transport, by using it for University reading, note taking etc.

Overnight Accommodation:

We offer subsidised overnight accommodation on campus for full-time undergraduate students registered with a term-time address outside of the York Ring Road. We hope by offering this it will enable you to attend more evening social events and will also reduce any anxiety relating to arriving on time for early exams/assessments.

Through this initiative you can stay in a single ensuite room in Franklin House, Alcuin College for £29.40 per night (compared to the standard price of £78 per night). You can book up to 15 nights in one academic year.

Subject to room availability you can book this subsidised accommodation for any night during term time. You are encouraged to book as early as possible in order to increase likelihood of availability.

If you would like to book subsidised accommodation please email STEM at reception@stem.org.uk with the night(s) you would like to book, STEM will then contact us to confirmed your eligibility.

For the purpose of this subsidised accommodation arrangement, information relating to your booking (including your name and date of stay) will be shared between STEM (who manage Franklin House) and Student Support.

Useful information for commuters:

The SCONUL Access Scheme allows University of York library users to borrow or use books and journals at other libraries belonging to the scheme. This means that you could potentially use a library that is located closer to your home and not need to rely solely on the library located on the University of York campus.

The digital interactive Campus map can help you navigate the University. There’s a variety of coffee shops and eateries, food preparation areas and showers available across campus as well as places to pray and reflect.

Many staff and students choose to cycle to university and across the city. There is very limited parking on campus but travelling by bus is one of the most convenient ways to commute.

Some off-campus students choose to relocate to the city for their studies. There is useful information on the private sector housing webpage and this Guide to York Student Areas.

For more information relating to support for new and current student please visit student communities webpage