One of the early needs identified through Emory’s master planning process was for graduate and professional student housing close to the university’s graduate programs.
Emory’s graduate student housing will support the competitiveness of the university’s graduate programs, as it is one factor taken into consideration when prospective students are contemplating their graduate school choice. The addition of graduate student housing on Emory’s main campus directly supports Emory’s Strategic Framework, and specifically facilitating Emory as an “Academic Community of Choice.”
Through focus groups of graduate students in 2020 and 2021, and a successful survey of all graduate and professional students in the fall of 2020 (29 percent response rate), the students surveyed prioritized housing based on price and proximity to campus.
The housing location that Emory is contemplating is on the main campus along Haygood Drive. The site previously included several single-family houses that Emory rented. This site is within a 15-minute walk to all of Emory’s graduate academic programs on campus.
Construction is set to begin in August 2022. The two-phased project is expected to have up to 1,000 beds (not units) with a mix of units including micro units, studios, one bedroom and two-bedroom units. These different unit typologies will allow students to select housing based on their preference for unit size, price and single versus double occupancy. Unit pricing is expected to be competitive with local market rates, and will be determined at a future date.
To facilitate a sense of community among graduate and professional students, there will be space within the housing complex for those students to study, relax, exercise, and recreate.
This site also supports graduate students’ strong preference to walk or bike instead of driving to their academic unit, library, or research space. The housing site is connected to Clifton Road and the nearby academic schools, libraries, and labs by multiuse trails. Emory developed these trails in conjunction with the PATH Foundation, and they allow pedestrians and bicyclists to reach the core of campus quickly and safely. Emory’s Cliff shuttle and rideshare programs will also serve the housing complex.
This housing is expected to be very popular with students who want to save additional costs by choosing not to have a vehicle at all. For students who do have a vehicle, most will park at Emory’s nearby existing parking facilities. There will be a structured parking deck on site with approximately 400 spaces for those students who want to pay a premium to park nearby.
This student housing is expected to be ready for occupancy in summer 2024.
Please visit this site for updates on the Graduate and Professional Student Housing Initiative. For questions, please contact David Payne, Assoc. Vice President for Planning (David.Payne@emory.edu) or Betty Willis, Senior Assoc. Vice President for Community and Government Affairs (Betty.Willis@emory.edu).