Residence Life

Residence Life seeks to help students develop as individuals and as members of the university community in the setting where they spend most of their college life, their residences. In addition to providing a place to sleep and study, this office creates and maintains an academic, social, and cultural learning environment that supports Puget Sound’s educational goals. This environment is designed to help students make the adjustment to living away from home by assuming adult responsibility for their personal development and their living conditions. University residence hall rooms, houses, and other small-scale units place students in relatively close contact with roommates from different parts of the country and the world and from different backgrounds. We regard these conditions as an opportunity to develop new relationships, to learn cooperation skills, and to value differences among people of various backgrounds.

During spring semester, a housing assignment process takes place for all non-Greek continuing students. The university’s residences accommodate nearly 1,650 students, approximately 70 percent of the eligible student body. First-year students meeting the application deadline are guaranteed housing, and continuing students are offered a variety of housing options from the available on-campus spaces. One-third of continuing students choose off-campus accommodations near the university in Tacoma’s picturesque North End.