Gender and Student Housing
The official campus record of each student’s gender designation is maintained in the MyUCSC Portal. Gender values are:
| MyUCSC Value | Definition | Housing Portal Value |
| Female (F) | Female | Trans Female | Trans Woman | Female |
| Male (M) | Male | Trans Male | Trans Man | Male |
| Nonbinary (X)* | Nonbinary | Genderqueer | Gender NonConforming | Different Identity | * In the Housing Portal these values are represented as Nonbinary/Different Identity. |
| Unspecified (U)* | Unspecified | Decline to State | Unreported | |
| Students may view and update their gender designation through MyUCSC (my.ucsc.edu). Changes made in MyUCSC are updated in the Housing Portal within 24 hours. | ||
Room and Roommate Assignments
A student’s gender designation plays a role in determining their room and roommate(s) assignment. In most cases, students are assigned roommates of the same gender. For example:
- a student with a female gender designation would be assigned to a room with other students with female gender designations.
- a student with a male gender designation would be assigned to a room with other students with male gender designations.
- a student with a nonbinary / different identity gender designation would be assigned to a room with other students with nonbinary / different identity gender designations.
This general practice is followed whether the student is assigned to housing by a Housing Coordinator or whether the student is among those who select their own housing during the Room Selection process.
Room Selection
Students can participate either as an individual or as a member of a group with other students who applied to the same community.
Make a plan! Talk to your group ahead of time about what types of rooms each person is willing to accept and who will share a room with whom. Have a plan – and a back-up plan!
- Some rooms have a gender designation — most commonly as part of a single-gender floor or apartment. Rooms that are not designated as being available only to a specific gender will take on the gender designation of the first student who selects a space in the room.
- The spaces available to a student during Room Selection are based on the student's gender, or in the case of a group, the size and gender make-up of the entire group. For example, a group of three female students would only see rooms/apartments with three spaces available for female students.
- A student may assign themself to a vacant room, or to a room shared by other students of the same gender. Apartments can be mixed-gender but bedrooms are single-gender.
Important: During the Room Selection Lottery, if you are having difficulty completing a selection because of a gender designation issue, please contact your Housing Coordinator for assistance.
Assignment by Housing Staff
Assignments for new incoming students and students on waiting lists are managed by Housing Coordinators. Students are assigned housing based on the preferences expressed in the housing application.
Individual follow-up is often needed to determine an appropriate assignment for any student whose gender is unspecified.
