Amid the graduate school's celebrations commemorating its centennial this year, some graduate students in need of University-provided housing are trapped playing a game of musical chairs.
And no one — either in the graduate student government or in the graduate school administration — knows how many will be left standing next fall.
Because of an unexpected increase in demand for on-campus housing during the past few years, the University was unable to provide rooms for 114 graduate students when they came to campus this fall, according to assistant director of graduate housing Patricia McArdle.
Graduate Student Government president Lauren Hale explained that many graduate students did not know they did not have University housing until they arrived on campus. Some had to sleep on couches while they hunted for new living arrangements, she said.
And even though about one-fifth of graduate students choose to live off campus, some as far away as New York, it was a difficult situation for those who were forced off campus.
"It is inhumane for the University to expect students earning $10,000 a year to spend $800 a month on housing," GSG press secretary Karthick Ramakrishnan said.
He and other graduate students want the University to make providing graduate students adequate housing a top priority because of the importance of their teaching and research. They plan to bring up this issue at Monday's U-Council meeting.
Director of Housing Stephen Miller said the graduate student housing shortage reflects a larger problem with Princeton's housing system.
"University housing is at almost 100 percent" capacity, with housing for faculty and staff almost as crowded as for graduate students, Miller said.
He explained that the housing office has done everything possible to meet graduate student demand. Administrators have placed graduate students in housing meant for faculty and staff, in undergraduate dorms and even in leased housing off campus.
Miller also sought rooms at nearby institutions associated with Princeton, including the Princeton Theological Seminary, but none had spaces available.
According to Ramakrishnan, many graduate students with the lowest housing priority — the fifth-year students — will not have housing next fall. The graduate school assigns priority based on reverse seniority.
Jim Vere, the GSG secretary, said, "Next year will probably be the first year that enrolled fourth-year students are denied University housing."
Ramakrishnan said he is worried University administrators are more concerned with providing housing to accommodate the 500 additional undergraduates slated to come as part of the Wythes plan, rather than with finding living arrangements for the graduate students who need it now.
Nevertheless, Dean of the Graduate School John Wilson said the University has been searching in Princeton and nearby communities for available housing, but they have had only "very modest success to date."
Supply and demand
The housing crunch comes as the University has steadily expanded the size of the graduate student body during the past few years.
Last year alone, the number of first-year through fourth-year graduate students jumped by 150 to 1,884 students. Much of the increase came within the science departments, Vere said in an e-mail.
"Unexpected success by science and engineering departments in procuring outside grants has meant that these departments admitted unexpectedly more students, and that seems to have largely precipitated the current problem," he said.
The increase in the size of the graduate student body also is connected to the University's growing faculty because new professors tend to bring with them a few graduate students to help with research and teaching.
Wilson said University housing officials failed to take into account area housing prices and local availability when they made the decision to increase selectively the size of several academic departments.
"The recent economic boom has driven up housing costs and made off-campus housing less readily available or affordable," he said.
Wilson explained that they had "assumed more housing would be available in Princeton and the surrounding communities" when they decided to admit more graduate students.
The rise in off-campus housing prices has caused graduate students to seek to remain in University housing units for longer periods of time, Wilson explained.
He added that, in past years, graduate students have wanted to move off campus after a few years at the University.
The last time graduate enrollment numbers were as high as they are now — in the early 1990s — the University was able to meet demand because enough students were able to find affordable off-campus housing, McArdle explained.
"This summer, we had a significant decrease in our cancellation rate [of students no longer seeking housing] — by approximately 50 percent. This decrease, in addition to the larger enrollment numbers, had a significant impact on our ability to house all those who requested housing," she said in an e-mail.
Provost Jeremiah Ostriker said the mounting demand for housing is a serious concern for the University.
"It is vitally important for Princeton to promptly and effectively address the shortage of graduate student housing. The offices of the Provost, the dean of the graduate school and the vice president for facilities are working together to address this issue on a timely basis," he said in an e-mail.
The housing department is doing everything it can to build or acquire new housing, Miller said, but "it takes time to do it properly."
He urged graduate students to file their applications for housing on time. He said administrators cannot guarantee housing for those who miss the deadline.
McArdle agreed with Miller. "All first-year graduate students who apply by April 15 are guaranteed a place in housing," she said.
In the meantime, the housing department has worked to make the graduate school and the academic departments that admit the students aware of the housing shortage, McArdle explained.
Wilson said graduate school admission officers "plan to control admission for next year very closely."
And in the longer term, the University will build housing for graduate students, he added.
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