University housing at UC Berkeley seeks to provide all students with safe, affirming spaces to find community. Part of this is working collaboratively and proactively with LGBTQIA+ students to insure that they feel like their floor and roommates are welcoming and inclusive, and that they have access to facilities that are designed with their needs in mind.
Unity House is a residence hall floor and theme program dedicated to providing a safe, Pride-filled community for students who identify as LGBTQIA+, and also is one of the areas on campus with gender-inclusive housing options. Unity House participation includes attending a seminar class put together by the Gender Studies Department and also includes participation in events and programs put on for the community. If you are interested in Unity House, we encourage you to apply on our housing application! Learn more about the Unity House program.
In addition, one of our housing coordinators, the Accommodations Coordinator, works with students in advance of their stay on campus to place them into communities designed to provide more support, often by placing them in a room with a requested roommate, with other students who also request Gender Inclusive Housing or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Affirming Housing, or with students who self-identify as aspiring allies to the LGBTQIA+ community.
If you are interested in requesting a Gender Inclusive or LGBTQIA+ Affirming space, please read the instructions below for more information on how to do so.
For more information, you may also get in touch with the Cal Housing Accommodations Coordinator:
If you are a student that identifies as transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, gender fluid, or non-binary, you are encouraged to fill out Phase 1 of the housing application by the deadline, and to note in the “Accommodations” section of the application that you need gender-inclusive housing. You may also choose to self-identify your gender on Step 1 of the application to let us know you identify differently than your gender assigned at birth.
Many of our residence halls are equipped with all gender restrooms or semi-private bathrooms, and so if you have a preference for a particular unit or location, most have options that may suit your needs.
Step 2: Providing Additional Information
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After indicating your needs on the housing application, students seeking gender inclusive housing or other accommodation related to their gender identity are encouraged to complete the Identity-Based Request Form.
You are not required to provide any specific information, but if there are considerations you wish for us to take into account, you may include more details; for example, if you have a preference for a semi-private bath rather than a communal bath, if you wish to be placed near the Unity House floor, or if you wish to request to be placed with a particular roommate.
Even if you have no additional information to share, please turn in the Identity-Based Request Form, so that your request is successfully followed up on by our staff. After you provide this documentation, the Accommodation Coordinator will try to locate a room that matches your request.
Step 3: Receiving a Housing Offer
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Not all students who apply for housing receive housing offers, based on our random lottery system.
Students who receive a housing offer will be notified of the offer via email, and will be given the opportunity to accept or decline the housing offer online by completing Phase 2 of the application (portal.housing.berkeley.edu). By declining an offer, a student is indicating they do not wish to live on campus, and they will not receive an offer for a different space.
Prior to receiving an offer, the Accommodation Coordinator may email you to confirm that the space you will receive is a gender-inclusive space, or to discuss alternative options if a gender-inclusive space that matched your requested needs was not available.
Steps to Request LGBTQ+ Affirming Housing
Step 1: Submitting the Application
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If you are a student who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, non-binary, Queer, questioning, asexual, or with the LGBTQ+ community and you wish to request a roommate who is another LGBTQIA+ student or a student who identifies as an aspiring LGBTQ+ ally, you are encouraged to fill out “Phase 1” of the housing application by the deadline, and to note on the “Accommodations” section of the application that you would like an LGBTQ+ affirming space.
Step 2: Providing Additional Information
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After indicating your needs on the housing application, students are encouraged to complete the Identity-Based Request Form.
You are not required to provide any specific information, but if there are considerations you wish for us to take into account, you may include more details; for example, if you wish to request to be placed with a particular roommate or near the Unity House floor.
Even if you have no additional information to share, please turn in the Identity-Based Request From, so that your request is successfully followed up with by our staff. After you provide this documentation, the Accommodation Coordinator will try to locate a room that matches your request.
Step 3: Receiving a Housing Offer
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Students who receive a housing offer will be notified of the offer via email to their berkeley.edu email address, and will be given the opportunity to accept or decline the housing offer online by completing Phase 2 of the application (portal.housing.berkeley.edu). By declining an offer, the student is indicating they do not wish to live on campus, and they will not receive an offer for a different space.
Prior to receiving an offer, the Accommodation Coordinator may email you to confirm that the space you will receive is a LGBTQ+ affirming space, or to discuss alternative options if an LGBTQ+ space was not located.
Campus Resources for Students Who Identify as LGBTQIA+
Gender Equity Center
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The gender equity center on campus is dedicated to support LGBTQIA+ students, women, and survivors of sexual violence. They are located in Cesar Chavez 202.
http://geneq.berkeley.edu/
Division of Equity and Inclusion
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Offers a broad range of resources and support for student on UC Berkeley’s campus with historically marginalized identities.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gender Inclusive or LGBTQ+ Affirming Housing
What is Gender-Inclusive Housing?
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Gender-inclusive housing is for students who are transgender, genderqueer, non-binary, gender non-conforming, or otherwise outside of the gender binary. Making this request indicates that you would be comfortable sharing your space with students of ALL genders. Your roommate(s) may not be of a gender identity that aligns with yours.
This is explicitly different than a mixed gender floor environment in that it is intended to promote safety and community for students who are trans, non-binary, genderqueer, etc. If you are not an ally or member of the LGBTQ+ community, please do NOT request gender-inclusive housing. If you are hoping to request a mixed-gender environment that is NOT gender-inclusive, please denote this in the “Profile Questions” section of your housing application.
Students requesting gender-inclusive Housing are assigned housing with others who make similar requests. There are gender-inclusive housing options in nearly all of our housing locations and room types. We try to integrate gender-inclusive rooms amidst typical all gender floors, while also clustering a few Gender-Inclusive or LGBTQIA+ rooms together to promote feelings of belonging.
What is LGBTQ+ Affirming Housing?
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LGBTQ+ Affirming housing places students in rooms with roommates who identify as either members of the LGBTQ+ community or as aspiring allies to the community on their housing application.
Students requesting LGBTQ+ Affirming housing are assigned housing with others who make similar requests when possible, of with students who note on their housing application that they are aspiring allies to the community.
There are LGBTQ+ Affirming Housing options in nearly all of our housing locations and room types. We try to integrate LGBTQ+ rooms amidst typical floor communities, while also clustering a few Gender-Inclusive or LGBTQIA+ rooms together to promote feelings of belonging. This means students in LGBTQ+ Affirming housing can live in room types, spaces, and diverse floor communities.
Students requesting LGBTQ+ Affirming housing will be assigned housing and roommates based upon the gender designation on file with UC Berkeley unless they also make a Gender-Inclusive request.
Can I request a single room related to my Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation?
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Berkeley Housing does not typically offer single rooms related to gender identity or sexual orientation based requests. Students with identity requests may receive a single in the housing lottery, but will not be granted one specifically due to their identity-based request as in most cases an alternative will address the needs identified.
How do I request roommates of a different gender identity than myself?
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Roommates of genders not the same as yours cannot be requested through the housing application "Request Roommates" tool page and must be requested using the Identity Based Request form. In order to move forward with the request, your requested roommate must also submit a request to be your roommate. Roommates of different gender identities can only live in Gender-Inclusive housing, and one or more of you must have submitted a request for Gender-Inclusive housing. This option is intended to support non-binary and transitioning students in finding supportive roommates.
I plan to have Gender Affirmation Surgery and anticipate needing accommodations in housing for my recovery. What should I keep in mind?
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If you are medically transitioning or going through gender affirmation surgery, and believe you may need reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act related to your recovery, you are encouraged to complete the ADA Accommodation Form to ensure you are assigned housing that will address your needs. Students needing privacy for surgical recovery processes, such as administering medication, changing dressings, dilation, draining, etc. are able to request access to a semi-private bathroom or other space to provide privacy during the duration of their recovery.