Undergraduate accommodation

Room allocation

Queens' College provides three years of accommodation for undergraduate students on the central college site. 

Prospective first year undergraduates will be asked to complete a form indicating their preference for the different types of accommodation likely to be available to them. As far as possible, rooms will then be allocated according to these choices, with a mix of sexes and subjects in all buildings. It is impossible to guarantee that the College will be able to satisfy everyone's preferences though and students may find they have been allocated a room which is not one of their top choices. The majority of first year undergraduates are housed in bedsits in Cripps Building, the most modern of Queens' buildings on the main site.

Second and third year students choose their own rooms according to the position they draw in a random room ballot. The room ballot and allocation system was devised and is overseen by the students themselves. This works well, with some people choosing to share a room set in order to obtain bigger rooms for the same price as a smaller single.

Students who require four years of College-provided undergraduate residence will be offered the opportunity to apply for College accommodation away from the central site through the graduate room ballot process. This year off site can be either the 3rd or the 4th year, depending on where the student wants to be in their 4th year. Details of this ballot are circulated in April/May each year.

General information

The character of the rooms on the central site varies greatly depending on the building although all have central heating, washing facilities and close access to showers, toilets and basic kitchens (gyp rooms). An increasing number of rooms also have en-suite facilities but the level of demand for these is such that it is not possible to provide en-suite accommodation to all students who request it.

Bedrooms are typically furnished with a single bed, wardrobe, drawers, shelves, desk, office chair, study lamp, bedside table, bedside lamp, easy chair/s and waste paper bin. An exact room inventory will be available to students on arrival.

Bed linen is not provided but can be ordered from Housekeeping. An order form will be sent out along with any offer of accommodation. Internet connection and a telephone point are available in all central site rooms.

All bedrooms are centrally heated during the 70-day periods of residence in the Michaelmas and Lent terms and students must pay appropriate central heating charges. Details of these and other charges are available in the document "Schedule of Fees and Charges to Members".

Gyp rooms (kitchens) are available in all buildings on site. Gyp rooms are equipped with a refrigerator and electric rings and are only intended to provide for light cooking. No ovens are provided and self catering is not encouraged on the central site.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served cafeteria-style in the Buttery in the Cripps Dining Hall every weekday during term. The Buttery is open to all college members (not just those living on the central site). On Saturdays and Sundays a brunch is served instead of a separate breakfast and lunch. In addition to the Buttery, a Formal Hall dinner is served most evenings with waitress service. Food is also available in the college bar and conservatory.

View a typical cafeteria menu.