GSD Student Housing

Incoming and continuing students who are enrolled full-time can access GSD housing.

HLS Housing offers 57 single occupancy rooms to GSD students. These rooms are located on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of Dane Hall. 

Academic Year 2026-2027

Your designated move-in date is the earliest day you are permitted to enter your Dane Hall residence. While you are not required to move in on that exact day, your room will be available from then on. Please plan your move-in to allow sufficient time to settle in before any mandatory program requirements, orientation, or training sessions.

Official Move-In Days (Staff Available at Dane Hall from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST)

• Wednesday, August 5, 2026
• Wednesday, August 19, 2026
• Monday, August 31, 2026 (Returning students only)

Details regarding early move-in for MArch students starting preterm on August 3 will be shared at a later date.

Move-Out Deadlines:

• General Move-Out: Friday, May 14, 2027, by 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Graduating Students: Friday, May 28, 2027, by 12:00 p.m. EDT

Official Move-In Dates & Locations
If you are arriving on one of the following official dates between 9:00 AM and 4:00 p.m. (EDT), please go directly to Dane Hall to check in:

• Wednesday, August 5, 2026
• Wednesday, August 19, 2026
• Monday, August 31, 2026 (Returning students only)

Arrivals Outside Official Move-in Dates

• Monday – Friday (10:00 AM – 4:00 p.m. EDT): Check in with Student Life at Gund Hall, Room 420.
• Arrivals After 4 p.m. (EDT) Monday through Friday, Weekends, & University Holidays: We are unable to process check-ins during these times. You must secure alternative housing until the next available business window.

Important Considerations

• No Early Move-In: We cannot accommodate arrivals before your official move-in date. If you arrive early, you must arrange your own off-campus accommodations. 
• No Storage: Residence rooms are not available for luggage or personal belongings before your official check-in date.

Residents are billed $4,488.50 per semester (Fall and Spring), plus $65* for rental insurance. These charges will be applied to your student term bill.

*Fees are estimated and subject to final verification by the insurance provider.

Room Cancellation Policy & Fees
Students may cancel by June 15^th, 2026 (11:59 PM EDT) at no cost. Cancellations after this date will incur fees that will be applied to the student’s account.

• By June 15th (11:59 p.m. EDT): No fee.
• By July 1st (11:59 p.m. EDT): $500 fee (No room charge).
• After July 1st (11:59 p.m. EDT): $1,000 fee (No room charge).
• After July 15th (11:59 p.m. EDT): $2,500 fee + fall room charge.

No. The residence hall provides single occupancy rooms for individual students and cannot accommodate partners, children, or pets. 
 

At this time, these rooms are not ADA accessible. If you require certain housing accommodations due to a disability or medical related issue, we encourage you to notify GSD Accessibility as soon as possible to discuss your housing needs. 

Dane Hall includes a gender-inclusive bathroom on the 1st floor. In addition to Dane, there are gender inclusive bathrooms available for residents in the following locations:

• Story Hall: 2nd floor, 4th floor 
• Shaw Hall: 1st floor 
• Ames Hall: 2nd floor 

Bedroom Furnishings 

• Extra-long twin bed with built-in under bed storage 
• Waste basket & recycle bin 
• Desk 
• Rolling desk chair 
• Desk lamp 
• Full-length mirror 
• Chest of drawers 
• Wall bookshelves 
• Closet with built-in shelving 
• Wireless and wired internet access 

Residence Amenities 

• Communal bathrooms 
• Communal kitchens are equipped with refrigerators, stove/oven, microwaves, and toasters. 
• Access to laundry facilities in the basement of Shaw and Dane Halls. 

Meal plans are not required. We recommend the GradPlus Meal Plan for residents.  

We are unable to guarantee placement to everyone who applies for housing. As a result, we weight all applications equally and enter them in a lottery to ensure a fair process

To participate in the initial lottery, please submit your housing application by the May 1, 2026 priority deadline. Room assignments will be determined shortly after. Applications submitted after May 1, 2026 will automatically be placed on the waiting list. Applicants will be informed of their placement status by June 1, 2026 and official room assignments will be announced by June 15, 2026.

Yes,  Harvard Universiity Housing (HUH) offers information and resources on other housing options throughout Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, and the surrounding areas. Most apartments operate on a fixed-term lease at market rate rents and include all utilities. Unlike on-campus housing, HUH allows spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, and siblings to live in its apartments. Additionally, faculty and staff may also be eligible for HUH.

Below is information you will need to know as you make plans to move-out of your HLS residence. To avoid any fees associated with an improper move-out, please read the information carefully.

Move-out dates:

• May 15, 2026, by 12:00PM
• May 29, 2026, by 12:00PM (Graduating students only)

Checking out

You are NOT officially checked out of HLS Housing until:

• Your room and mailbox keys have been properly turned in

• Your HLS residence is empty of all personal belongings

• Your HLS residence is empty of trash and recyclables

• Furniture provided by HLS is returned to its original placement in the room/suite

Key packets must be directly returned to designated GSD housing staff.

Before you move out, please collect a key return envelope from the following locations: 

• HLS Mailroom (Wasserstein Hall basement)
• HLS Facilities Office (Holmes Hall, room 4)
• Check out table (official dates only)

Labels on the key return envelopes must be clearly marked with your name and room number.

Options for returning your key packet:

• Option 1: Official Move-Out Date (Friday, May 15)
  • Drop off your keys to GSD housing staff at Dane Hall on Friday, May 15, between 9:00 AM and noon. Residents must vacate their rooms by noon on this date.
• Option 2: Early Move-Out (before Friday, May 15)
  • Drop off your keys at the GSD Student Life office (Gund 420) between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We are not able to accommodate evening or weekend check-outs.
  • NOTE: By checking out early, you are waiving the ability to dispute potential cleaning/damage fees.
• Option 3: Graduating Students Only (Friday, May 29)
  • Drop off your keys to GSD housing staff at Dane Hall on Friday, May 15, between 9:00 AM and noon. Residents must vacate their rooms by noon on this date.

Improper key return may incur fines of $50 (mailbox key) and/or $300 (room key). This includes:

• Not returning your keys at all

• Leaving your room and mailbox keys behind in your HLS residence

• Giving your keys to someone else to return them for you
• Turning in loose keys without any identification

Hand trucks are available in the Facilities Management Office all year long to assist in your move out. The Facilities Management Office is located at Holmes Hall, room four. You will need to show a photo ID to check out a hand truck.  Hand trucks not returned to the Facilities Management Office may be accessed a replacement fee of $100.

A limited number of corrugated bins will be available for your use and convenience during the spring move out. To support a spirit of sharing and community, please ensure these bins are accessible to others by promptly returning them to their designated locations on campus after use. This way, everyone can benefit from this shared resource.

• Gropius: Overhang of Holmes and Ames Hall
• Hastings Hall: Courtyard
• North Hall: Lobby

We understand that as you begin packing for move-out, your personal belongings can occasionally spill into hallways and corridors. However, for everyone’s safety, all shared spaces must remain completely clear. Items left in these areas—even temporarily—can create fire hazards and block emergency exits. Please ensure that anything placed in the hallway returns to your room promptly. Items left in corridors for an extended period of time will be removed and discarded without notice.

Students must remove ALL personal belongings from their HLS residence. Presence of any personal belongings in an HLS residence indicates a move-out is not complete and may result in a fine.

Students must remove all trash/recycling material from their HLS residence. Trash/recycling material should be brought to the appropriate location of your resident hall/apartment. Due to egress regulations you may NOT leave trash/recycling bags/material in the hallway outside of your HLS residence. Fees may apply if trash/recycling material is left behind in the HLS residence room or hallway.

HLS Housing provides trash bags to assist with the disposal of garbage from your rooms. We ask all students to properly use these bags to clear out their spaces before departure. To avoid fees, do not leave filled trash bags in your room, hallways, or lounges, as this creates egress/safety, cleanliness, and pest concerns. Instead, bring all trash to the designated disposal areas for your location.

Trash bags will be made available in the following areas; Gropius pantries, North Hall kitchens, Hastings kitchen, entrance of 3 Mellen, living room of 5 Mellen and trash closet of 1637 Mass Ave.

Please consider donating any items that no longer serve you but are still in good, usable condition. Items that are broken, missing parts, defective, excessively worn, or unsanitary should not be donated and must be properly discarded.

Please do not leave or “dump” items in lounges, hallways, or other common areas. This is not acceptable and creates unnecessary work.

Donation stations will be available one week prior to official spring move-out date.

DONATION STATION LOCATIONS:

• Ames Hall entry door under the overhang adjacent to Holmes Hall east entry
• Hastings lounge area
• North Hall lobby
• Story Hall main entry outside