Student Housing and Residential Life

Live-On Requirement and Eligibility

Important Update to Live-On Requirement Policy: 

Sophomore Live-On Requirement Suspended. With increased demand for on-campus housing due to increased enrollment for Academic Year 2025-2026, Cal State Monterey Bay is suspending the Sophomore Live-On requirement. No sophomore students will be required to live on campus during the 2025-2026 academic year. Sophomores do not need to complete and submit an exemption form.

Live-On Requirement

In accordance with the CSUMB Student Housing Policy we will prioritize first-year freshmen for on-campus housing. 

Live-On Requirement Exemptions

Some common exemptions include:

  • Currently active or military veterans
  • Married, domestic partner, or have legally dependent children
  • Independent student status for at least a number of years prior to the academic year as defined by FAFSA
  • Medical or disability circumstances that cannot be accommodated
  • Age 21 or older by a date prior to the academic year
  • The student is to live at a permanent address in proximity to the campus with a relative or guardian

If you plan to live off-campus and meet the exemption criteria, please fill out our Live On Requirement Exemption Request form so we can review your request. 

Prospect Students and Supporters walking along a path between Promontory buildings

 

Eligibility

Requirement Details
Full-time Enrollment 12 units for undergraduates, as defined by the program for graduates/post-baccalaureates.
Degree Pursuit Must be pursuing a degree at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Dropping Below Units This may result in License termination but not financial release.
Payment History Payments must be up-to-date. 
Notification Upon Withdrawal/Disenrollment If you withdraw or are disenrolled, you will be responsible for notifying SHRL immediately by filling out the Cancellation Form.

Please review the Eligibility (section 3) for more details.

Open University students are not eligible for on-campus housing.

  • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older, a full-time student at CSUMB, and meet at least one of the following requirements:

    • Marriage
      • A state certificate of marriage.
    • Domestic partnership (according to CA State Family Code 297)
      • A domestic partnership shall be established in California when both persons file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State pursuant to this division, and, at the time of filing, all of the following requirements are met:
        • Domestic partners are two adults who have chosen to share one another’s lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring.
        • A domestic partnership shall be established in California when both persons file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State pursuant to this division, and, at the time of filing, all of the following requirements are met:
        • Neither person is married to someone else or is a member of another domestic partnership with someone else that has not been terminated, dissolved, or adjudged a nullity.
        • The two persons are not related by blood in a way that would prevent them from being married to each other in this state.
        • Both persons are at least 18 years of age, except as provided in Section 297.1.
        • Both persons are capable of consenting to the domestic partnership.
    • Dependent child under 18
      • A copy of the child(ren)'s birth certificate and/or court documentation of custody stating that the individual is the primary caretaker.