Allocation Criteria

Students from the UK/Ireland

• Mode of Attendance

  Priority is given to applications from registered full-time students and prospective students of Ulster. Consideration will only be given to part time students, or students on affiliated courses at the University, where the demand from full time students is satisfied.

• Year of Study

  (a)  First Year Students: priority is given to new First Year students.  However, we cannot guarantee accommodation (demand usually exceeds supply), so further selection criteria are applied:

  Conditional Firm Offers (CFs)/Unconditional Firm (UF): students made a conditional or unconditional offer of an academic place will be guaranteed an offer of residential accommodation provided they make Ulster their Conditional Firm (CF) or Unconditional Firm (UF) choice (through UCAS) and complete and submit the accommodation application by the 7th July. Offers of accommodation will be made once a student is accepted on to a course of study at the University.

  (b)  Returning Students: a proportion of residential places are set aside for Returning Final Year and Post-Graduate students.  Again, all such students cannot be guaranteed accommodation as demand exceeds supply, and other criteria will be used to determine which applicants can be offered places.  Previous residence periods (if any) may be taken into consideration in this process (for example, previous disciplinary action whilst living in residences).

  (c)  Care leavers – care leavers are guaranteed accommodation throughout the duration of their study at Ulster providing they meet the terms laid out under 2 (a) and 2 (b) above.

• Personal Circumstances

  (a)  Students with Families: most accommodation is in the form of single study bedrooms.  However, on some campuses there are two person apartments and applications for a family apartment can be considered where suitable accommodation is available. If you require further information you should contact the campus Residential Services office.

  (b)  Age: generally, students in accommodation are over the age of 18 years in the year of admission to University.  Students under 18 years are permitted to apply for accommodation however should note that the university will not operate in locus parentis over you and will treat you in a similar manner to students over 18.

  (c)  Friendship Group: if you wish to share a house or apartment with particular students whom you already know, this may sometimes be possible to arrange provided you let us know well in advance.  Each member of your friendship group must complete their own online application indicating that they are agreeable to share with all other members of the friendship group.

• Date of Application

  The date a fully completed application is received is an important consideration.  For example, where other criteria have been met by a number of applicants, the one received first will be given priority.

• Distance from Campus

  Student accommodation is in high demand across campuses so students whose home address is within 20 miles of the campus may not qualify for accommodation if there is significant shortage of accommodation resulting in the university having to prioritise students travelling from further distances.

• Students with Disabilities

  A proportion of residential places are set aside for students with additional needs/disabilities.  These needs may range from relatively common medical conditions (such as asthma) to mobility-related conditions that may necessitate ground floor or adapted accommodation.  Special provision may be made available for students with particular disabilities.

  If you have mobility difficulties or other extenuating circumstances your application will be considered sympathetically. It is advisable that you check out availability in advance to ensure that it is suitable/adaptable for your requirements.  It is also recommended that if you have not already done so that you should contact AccessAbility. An AccessAbility Adviser will assess your individual support requirements to help ensure that all appropriate support is available to you at the university.

International Students

At Ulster, we recognise that deciding to move to another country to study is a big step and, as well as coping with your academic work, you will be adjusting to living and working in a different environment.  We appreciate the importance that international students place on their accommodation needs when settling quickly into a new environment far from home *.

Therefore, we offer certain guarantees of accommodation as follows:

• Full time Students from Overseas

  Full time Students from Overseas (These are students from outside the European Union): are guaranteed an offer of accommodation in the first year of study.  This guarantee only applies to students who are categorised as “overseas” for fee purposes, have firmly accepted an offer of a course of study for a minimum of one academic year, and whose completed accommodation application is received by 14tht August in the year admission is sought. Applications may be made throughout the year, but the guarantee does not apply after the 14thAugust deadline.

• Visiting/Exchange Students from Outside the European Union

  Visiting/Exchange Students from Outside the European Union: if you are a student from outside the EU and you apply under the Exchange, ISEP, or Junior Year/Study Abroad programmes to study at Ulster for a single semester only, you will be guaranteed an offer of accommodation for Semester 1 provided that your completed application is received by 14th August in the year of admission. An offer of accommodation for Semester 2 will be guaranteed provided a completed application form is received by 14th December in the year of admission.

• Other Students from Outside UK/Ireland

  Other Students from Outside UK/Ireland (This applies to student within the European Union): if you are a student on Exchange or other programmes (for example, Socrates) you may be offered accommodation provided there are vacancies remaining.