» Chapman Housing

First-year housing

At Chapman, living in campus housing is required for your first three years for first-year students entering in fall 2024 or later. However, you can opt-out from this requirement if you plan to live with a parent or guardian within a 30-mile radius of Chapman's Orange Campus.

That means that you will have a space in the residence halls or Chapman-owned apartments for your first three years here. Living on campus also makes it easier to:

• Make friends.
• Find clubs to join.
• Get to your classes.
• Participate in on-campus events and activities.
• Engage with your field of study and get involved in research.
• Take advantage of campus amenities like the library, IT/tech support and plenty more.

Research shows that living on campus also improves academic performance, graduation rates and overall sense of fulfillment in college.

In addition, Housing Grants are awarded to select students living in Chapman residence halls and apartments. Awards are determined by your FAFSA form and family’s financial situation.

First-year housing tour

The majority of our residence hall rooms are triples (three students to a room). Each dorm room either has its own bathroom or shares a bathroom with another dorm room. However, when two dorm rooms share a bathroom, there will be a maximum of four students placed across those two rooms (i.e., at most four students will share a bathroom).

You can view multiple 360 photos of residence halls in this virtual tour:

Living-Learning Communities

At Chapman, your residence hall is a Living-Learning Community. This means you will live on the same floor as other students in your college/field of study.

So while you won’t get to pick your own roommates as a first-year student, you’ll live with and learn alongside other students who are passionate about what you’re passionate about and find lifelong friends and colleagues along the way.

Continuing student housing (sophomores, juniors, seniors)

Once you’re a sophomore, you have the option of moving out of the residence halls and into continuing student housing.

Our continuing student housing is just a short walk (or shuttle ride!) away from campus. You’ll be able to pick where you live and who you live with.

Continuing student housing tour

See more of our housing for continuing students using this 360-degree tour:

Transfer Housing

As a transfer student, you are not required to live in Chapman housing. However, if you want to, housing is guaranteed your first year. You can learn more on our Transfer Housing Options page.

Choosing Roommates

First-Years

As a first-year student, you won’t get to choose your roommates. But that doesn’t mean you will be living with someone totally random. Your roommates will be in the same college/field of study as you (after all, that’s what Living-Learning Communities are all about).

And a large portion of the housing application contains questions about your lifestyle preferences so that we can match you with compatible roommates who:

• Wake up/go to sleep at around the same time as you.
• Have study habits similar to yours.
• Like keeping the room about as clean (or messy!) as you do.

Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors

You can choose your roommates when you move into continuing student housing.

Student Staff

Our residence halls are staffed by students who are here to support you in any way you need. Your support team will include:

• Resident advisor (RA) — RAs are here to help you succeed beyond the classroom. Go to them if you ever have questions or feedback about your residence hall or community.
• Fenestra Community Coordinator (FCC) — FCCs are here to support the “learning” part of your Living-Learning Community. Go to them if you want to connect with people, projects and research in your field of study.
• Office Assistant (OA) — OAs provide support to students and families, usually over the phone. You can learn invaluable administrative skills and customer-relationship techniques as an OA. OA work is usually reserved for students with Federal Work-Study awards.

You can also apply to any of these positions if you are interested in working in the residence halls and want to get involved.

Safety

At Chapman, we take safety seriously. Even though Orange is a safe, suburban city, we have plenty of safety programs on campus, such as:

• The Healthy Panther Initiative for personal health and safety
• The Operation Safe Ride secure ride service
• The Panther Guardian mobile app
• The P.E.E.R. health education program

Ask a Student

Still have questions about the Chapman experience? Our student ambassadors are here to help. Feel free to reach out!