Housing and Transportation

Housing and transportation costs in the Twin Cities are lower than the largest American cities, and about average for cities in the Midwest. The same holds true for meals, clothing and recreation.

Housing

Housing options for graduate students are abundant on the St. Paul campus but because there are always waiting lists, students will want to apply early. Two student-family housing complexes provided by the University are the Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative (612-646-7526), adjacent to the St. Paul campus, and the Como Student Community Cooperative (612-378-2434), on the intercampus bus line between the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses.

Single graduate students have the option of living in Bailey Hall (612-624-0700) on the St. Paul Campus. Virtually all rooms are doubles. Residents eat in the St. Paul Student Center cafeteria, which connects to Bailey Hall. Availability of rooms there is determined by undergraduate enrollment. Applications for fall semester should be made well in advance.

Private apartments near campus are more expensive than University housing. Apartments away (but within 10 miles) from campus are plentiful and may be considerably less expensive.

Visit Housing Services to find out more about duplexes, houses, sleeping rooms, shared units, and sublets, or contact Housing Services, Comstock Hall, 210 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-2994). Housing services also has an office on the St. Paul Campus in 190 Coffey Hall (612-625-9225). It provides the same service as the Minneapolis office during summer, but less complete service during the school year.

Transportation

Students with cars will find life on the St. Paul campus better than at many schools. Because we have the adjacent Minnesota State Fairgrounds parking lot for use by students, faculty and staff for a modest daily fee, this alleviates the usual troublesome parking problems on most university campuses around the country.

Students without cars won’t be without transportation, however. The Roseville Circulator bus system is excellent for access to apartments north of the St. Paul Campus. The Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) buses service both downtowns as well as suburban areas. The University of Minnesota and the Regional Transit Board cooperate to provide Route 52 service, providing express service from various parts of the Twin Cities to the Minneapolis campus. This service connects to the Route 13 Intercampus bus.