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University of Notre Dame residence halls
There are 33 undergraduate residence halls at the University of Notre Dame as of 2025,[update] including 17 male halls, 15 female halls, and one mixed community. Several of the halls are historic buildings which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Residence halls are the center of the student life and some academic teaching; most students stay at the same hall for most of their undergraduate studies. Each hall has its own traditions, events, mascot, sports teams, shield, motto, and dorm pride. The university also hosts Old College, an undergraduate residence for students preparing for the priesthood.
Notre Dame's undergraduate hall system has elements of a residential college system. All first-year students are placed in one of the 32 halls upon enrollment, and students rarely switch halls. Each hall has its own spirit, tradition, mascot, sport teams, events, dances and reputation. Approximately 80% of undergraduate students live on campus, and often a student lives in the same dorm for the entirety of their undergraduate career. Even students who move off campus tend to maintain strong bonds with their affiliated residence hall. Halls complete in intramural sports, and the interhall football between Notre Dame male dorms is the only intramural tackle football that has remained at any US university.
Each dorm has its own architectural features, some of which were designed by famous architects such as Willoughby J. Edbrooke, Maginnis & Walsh and Thomas Ellerbe, and each hall has a chapel dedicated to the hall's patron saint. With the exception of Carroll Hall, the residence halls are split among six main segments of the campus: Main (God) Quad, South Quad, North Quad, Mod Quad, West Quad, and East Quad. While Carroll is officially part of South Quad, it has its own lawn by Saint Mary's Lake informally called Far Quad due to its distance from the rest of the halls. All first-year students are not only guaranteed on-campus housing, but are required to reside on campus for at least six semesters, starting with the Class of 2022.
When the first students arrived on campus in the fall of 1843, they all resided in a two-story brick building built by Sorin that spring, a building known today as Old College. In the fall 1844 the first main building (then called college building because it housed virtually the entire college) was constructed with the help of the architect Marsile of Vincennes. The structure was a four-story brick building eighty feet long by thirty-six feet wide, 4+1⁄2-story high with a small cupola (but not yet a dome) with a bell in it, in French style. The third floor housed both the student dormitories and the residences for priests and brothers; with additional dormitory space on the fourth floor. Two lateral wings (which gave the building the shape of an H) were opened in 1853. In 1865 this structure was replaced by the second iteration of the main building, which hosted student dormitories on its fourth and fifth floor. This building burned down in the great fire of 1879, but its successor, the current main building, was swiftly reconstructed and once again hosted most of the university's facilities, including student dormitories. By the mid-1880s, two lateral wings were added to each building to add dormitory space bringing the length of the building from 224 feet to 320. Like all incarnations before, these were open dormitory areas, with no private rooms. In the fall of 1890, the names of Carroll and Brownson Hall were given to dormitories in the west half and the east half of the main building respectively, and portraits of Orestes Brownson and Charles Carroll had been ordered to be placed in the respective halls. The 1892 Golden Jubilee history of the university stated that Carroll Hall was named after John Carroll, who was the first bishop in the United States.
Sorin Hall, erected in 1888, was the first dormitory built specifically to host students at the university. During the early mid-1880s, the Holy Cross priests experimented with private rooms for upperclassmen with high academic grades and the results were positive. Since the Main Building was overcrowded with students, Father Edward Sorin decided to build a freestanding dormitory to expand residential space for students and alleviate the housing shortage. It was the first of its kind among all Catholic universities and one of the first among colleges across the country.
As of 1891, juniors and seniors of the collegiate course were housed in Sorin Hall. Students between the ages of 13 and 17 were housed in Carroll Hall (west side of the main building), while those ages 17 and up were in Brownson Hall (east side). Students of different halls had little interaction outside of occasional shared classes. Pupils below 13, called the minims, had St. Edward's Hall to themselves and had their own facilities. Minims had little to no interaction with the other students.
Freshman Hall and Sophomore Halls were built in 1922 and 1923 to accommodate a large influx of students. Total college student enrollment had increased to 1,425 by 1921. Sources reported that between 600 and 1110 students lived off campus in 1922, which meant that the university was also losing revenue opportunity by not offering housing and board to such students. Additionally, administration was worried that off campus student would not be able to benefit from bonding with teachers and other students. These two buildings were meant to be temporary and were cheaply made. Freshman Hall was built for $39,600 and placed north of the Notre Dame Fieldhouse, roughly where Breen-Phillips is today, and run north to south. It was built to host 176 students in the summer of 1922, and it was constituted by a two-story white-frame building, 250 feet long and 45 feet wide. The interior walls were fiberboard while a single-story porch with four wood pillars was placed at the front of the dorm, giving an overall impression of a military barrack. Sophomore Hall was built for $69.000 in thirty-eight days in the summer of 1923. It was located east of St. Edward's Hall, running east to west. It faced the Gymnasium and was perpendicular to Freshman Hall. It was built to host 186 students in the summer of 1922, and it was a similar building to Freshman Hall, 300 feet long and 37 feet wide, and had a two-story porch. The two buildings were known as the Cardboard or Pasteboard Palaces because of their cheap construction. Occasionally, football players would run through the walls.
Long term permanent housing was also built to increase supply of on-campus housing to keep up with the quickly growing student population. Lyons, Howard and Morrissey Halls were built between 1924 and 1927 to alleviate the on-campus housing shortage due to the rapid increase in student population after World War I. In 1929, president Charles L. O'Donnell decided convert St. Edward's Hall, which until then had hosted the boarding school program for younger children, into an undergraduate residence hall (since the college population was growing and space badly needed), under the direction of professor and architect Vincent Fagan in June that year. The open dormitory was converted into double rooms, while the chapel was left untouched, and the new hall opened in September to house 207 undergraduates. Construction of Dillon and Alumni was part of an extensive building program aimed at improving educational and living facilities, and increasing supply of on-campus residential facilities.
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University of Notre Dame residence halls
There are 33 undergraduate residence halls at the University of Notre Dame as of 2025,[update] including 17 male halls, 15 female halls, and one mixed community. Several of the halls are historic buildings which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Residence halls are the center of the student life and some academic teaching; most students stay at the same hall for most of their undergraduate studies. Each hall has its own traditions, events, mascot, sports teams, shield, motto, and dorm pride. The university also hosts Old College, an undergraduate residence for students preparing for the priesthood.
Notre Dame's undergraduate hall system has elements of a residential college system. All first-year students are placed in one of the 32 halls upon enrollment, and students rarely switch halls. Each hall has its own spirit, tradition, mascot, sport teams, events, dances and reputation. Approximately 80% of undergraduate students live on campus, and often a student lives in the same dorm for the entirety of their undergraduate career. Even students who move off campus tend to maintain strong bonds with their affiliated residence hall. Halls complete in intramural sports, and the interhall football between Notre Dame male dorms is the only intramural tackle football that has remained at any US university.
Each dorm has its own architectural features, some of which were designed by famous architects such as Willoughby J. Edbrooke, Maginnis & Walsh and Thomas Ellerbe, and each hall has a chapel dedicated to the hall's patron saint. With the exception of Carroll Hall, the residence halls are split among six main segments of the campus: Main (God) Quad, South Quad, North Quad, Mod Quad, West Quad, and East Quad. While Carroll is officially part of South Quad, it has its own lawn by Saint Mary's Lake informally called Far Quad due to its distance from the rest of the halls. All first-year students are not only guaranteed on-campus housing, but are required to reside on campus for at least six semesters, starting with the Class of 2022.
When the first students arrived on campus in the fall of 1843, they all resided in a two-story brick building built by Sorin that spring, a building known today as Old College. In the fall 1844 the first main building (then called college building because it housed virtually the entire college) was constructed with the help of the architect Marsile of Vincennes. The structure was a four-story brick building eighty feet long by thirty-six feet wide, 4+1⁄2-story high with a small cupola (but not yet a dome) with a bell in it, in French style. The third floor housed both the student dormitories and the residences for priests and brothers; with additional dormitory space on the fourth floor. Two lateral wings (which gave the building the shape of an H) were opened in 1853. In 1865 this structure was replaced by the second iteration of the main building, which hosted student dormitories on its fourth and fifth floor. This building burned down in the great fire of 1879, but its successor, the current main building, was swiftly reconstructed and once again hosted most of the university's facilities, including student dormitories. By the mid-1880s, two lateral wings were added to each building to add dormitory space bringing the length of the building from 224 feet to 320. Like all incarnations before, these were open dormitory areas, with no private rooms. In the fall of 1890, the names of Carroll and Brownson Hall were given to dormitories in the west half and the east half of the main building respectively, and portraits of Orestes Brownson and Charles Carroll had been ordered to be placed in the respective halls. The 1892 Golden Jubilee history of the university stated that Carroll Hall was named after John Carroll, who was the first bishop in the United States.
Sorin Hall, erected in 1888, was the first dormitory built specifically to host students at the university. During the early mid-1880s, the Holy Cross priests experimented with private rooms for upperclassmen with high academic grades and the results were positive. Since the Main Building was overcrowded with students, Father Edward Sorin decided to build a freestanding dormitory to expand residential space for students and alleviate the housing shortage. It was the first of its kind among all Catholic universities and one of the first among colleges across the country.
As of 1891, juniors and seniors of the collegiate course were housed in Sorin Hall. Students between the ages of 13 and 17 were housed in Carroll Hall (west side of the main building), while those ages 17 and up were in Brownson Hall (east side). Students of different halls had little interaction outside of occasional shared classes. Pupils below 13, called the minims, had St. Edward's Hall to themselves and had their own facilities. Minims had little to no interaction with the other students.
Freshman Hall and Sophomore Halls were built in 1922 and 1923 to accommodate a large influx of students. Total college student enrollment had increased to 1,425 by 1921. Sources reported that between 600 and 1110 students lived off campus in 1922, which meant that the university was also losing revenue opportunity by not offering housing and board to such students. Additionally, administration was worried that off campus student would not be able to benefit from bonding with teachers and other students. These two buildings were meant to be temporary and were cheaply made. Freshman Hall was built for $39,600 and placed north of the Notre Dame Fieldhouse, roughly where Breen-Phillips is today, and run north to south. It was built to host 176 students in the summer of 1922, and it was constituted by a two-story white-frame building, 250 feet long and 45 feet wide. The interior walls were fiberboard while a single-story porch with four wood pillars was placed at the front of the dorm, giving an overall impression of a military barrack. Sophomore Hall was built for $69.000 in thirty-eight days in the summer of 1923. It was located east of St. Edward's Hall, running east to west. It faced the Gymnasium and was perpendicular to Freshman Hall. It was built to host 186 students in the summer of 1922, and it was a similar building to Freshman Hall, 300 feet long and 37 feet wide, and had a two-story porch. The two buildings were known as the Cardboard or Pasteboard Palaces because of their cheap construction. Occasionally, football players would run through the walls.
Long term permanent housing was also built to increase supply of on-campus housing to keep up with the quickly growing student population. Lyons, Howard and Morrissey Halls were built between 1924 and 1927 to alleviate the on-campus housing shortage due to the rapid increase in student population after World War I. In 1929, president Charles L. O'Donnell decided convert St. Edward's Hall, which until then had hosted the boarding school program for younger children, into an undergraduate residence hall (since the college population was growing and space badly needed), under the direction of professor and architect Vincent Fagan in June that year. The open dormitory was converted into double rooms, while the chapel was left untouched, and the new hall opened in September to house 207 undergraduates. Construction of Dillon and Alumni was part of an extensive building program aimed at improving educational and living facilities, and increasing supply of on-campus residential facilities.