Housing Accommodations
A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Disability access is afforded to ensure full participation in all aspects of student life, including university housing. We strongly encourage students seeking specific housing accommodations to engage with Student Disability Services (SDS) as soon as possible. If you are interested in applying for accommodations due to a disability-related need we would encourage you to complete the accommodations application process.
Students are strongly discouraged from providing Housing & Residence Life (HRL) with disability accommodation requests and related documentation as SDS processes and fields disability related requests.
SDS accommodations are approved individually and may not be generalized based on student similarities (e.g., same diagnosis). Please note that not all conditions meet criteria as a qualifying disability or result in a reasonable accommodation approval.
SDS approves specific housing features as an accommodation to provide equal access to eligible students with disabilities. Requests for a specific room, residence hall, suitemates, and/or roommates are not accommodations provided through the SDS office, as specific placements within a residence hall are outside the purview of SDS. Should students have questions about a specific placement or their ability to be housed with specific individuals, they should contact Housing & Residence Life (HRL) as they will best be able to assist by sharing placement options and room change policies.
Examples of housing accommodations include: a single room, semi-private bathroom, access to a kitchen, a ground-floor room or placement in a building with an elevator, installation of a vibrating and visual alert system, or air conditioning.
Requesting Accommodations
As a reminder, students must complete all of the required Housing & Residence Life forms by the deadline to be eligible for a housing accommodation. Students submitting requests for housing accommodations must complete the housing application in early May after accepting your offer of admission. Please indicate on the housing application that you will work with SDS on an accommodated housing request.
Students can initiate their request for housing accommodations through SDS by completing the Student Disability Services Request Form.
The deadline to submit requests for accommodated housing for the 2023-24 academic year is June 16, 2023. Students who submit requests for Housing accommodations after this deadline will be placed on a waiting list and assigned to rooms that meet the approved access need as they become available. Openings may not occur within the first year of living on campus.
Housing Room Selection Process
Eligible students who have approved housing accommodations through Student Disability Services must still participate in room selection if they are required or wish to live in on-campus housing. Housing & Residence Life will provide specific housing accommodations to any student who does have an active accommodation letter from Student Disability Services.
Students with approved housing accommodations may only select from bed spaces that are available during room selection. In the event that a student cannot select a bed space that meets their approved accommodation(s), they should select any available space and follow-up with Housing & Residence Life by emailing housing@uchicago.edu as soon as possible. In these instances, Housing & Residence Life will work directly with the student to re-assign them to a space that meets their approved accommodation(s). Depending on the accommodation, this may mean re-assignment to a different House or residence hall, although Housing & Residence Life will do their best to minimize those types of instances.