Graduate students often juggle intense academic expectations, off-campus living, and additional life responsibilities such as work or caregiving. Whether you’re commuting from 5 miles or 50, this guide is designed to help you navigate housing, finances, and campus support as a commuter or off-campus graduate student.
Graduate School Resources
New Graduate Student Orientation
Orientation is open to all incoming Fall graduate students and those who started their studies in the preceding Spring and Summer. This comprehensive Orientation program will give you information and strategies you will need to complete Graduate School successfully and happily. The deans and staff will answer new students’ most frequently asked questions and offer tips on professional skills, funding, and resources. The orientation is in two parts, virtual before you arrive, and in person the day before classes begin.
Explore
Global Gatherings
At the International Center you can make friends from other countries, practice a foreign language, and find fun social events.
Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS)Concerns or Questions
If you have specific student support concerns or questions, you can also contact the Dean’s Office in the Graduate School or Student Support and Advocacy Services. The Office of Community Standards/Student Conduct may be able to help as well.
On-Campus Housing Options for Graduate Students
Graduate students at URI have access to a range of off-campus and university-managed housing options designed to support their academic focus and personal needs. One of the most convenient and community-oriented choices is the University Graduate Village Apartments—a complex of multi-bedroom units located just off Route 138, across from the Boss Ice Arena and URI Athletic Complex. This quiet, walkable community welcomes graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and non-traditional undergraduates, including those with families. Each apartment features a full kitchen with a stove, oven, and refrigerator, while residents enjoy access to amenities such as a shared Community Center and Community Garden. Utilities such as electricity and internet are billed separately, and optional services like cable and phone can be arranged through local providers.
Due to high demand for these apartments, the waiting period can be 6 months or more during peak demand times. They may not guarantee that an apartment will become available for you by a specific date.
You may view ads on the University of Rhode Island URI Graduate Village Facebook page and the Graduate Student Association webpage for people seeking roommates in the University Graduate Village Apartments.
URI exclusively partners with Off-Campus Partners (a subsidiary of Apartments.com) to offer a database of property offerings for students, faculty, and staff in the immediate area. Listings are continuously updated. This database is separate from the Office of Housing and Residential Life (HRL) and Fraternity Managers Association (FMA), where landlords advertise their properties to students, staff, and faculty at the university.
URI does not verify the accuracy of the listings on the site above and is not responsible for issues related to or arising out of these listings. Further, the university does not investigate or endorse the accuracy of any listings, the quality of the facility, or the individuals, companies, or firms associated with these listings. If you use these services, you do so at your own risk.
For additional housing resources in the area, the Graduate Student Association has an online bulletin board where people post notices when they are looking for a place to rent, are looking for roommates, or are trying to rent a place that they own. You can view other people’s ads and post your own.
Rhode Island has a unique housing market. Many housing options near the beaches are available for 9-month academic year rental. In the summer months, the rent for these properties dramatically increases to serve as vacation rentals. Annual leases are more common in regions north of campus, further away from the ocean. Students must often expand their housing search regionally as near-campus rentals are limited. Some students live as far north as Providence and Massachusetts or Connecticut. In expanding your housing search, knowing the region’s transportation resources will be important in making a decision that is workable.
💡 Need help understanding your lease or finding roommates? Curious about transportation or dining plans? Check out the Resources below.
Near Campus Options
Below are options near the Kingston campus to consider. These may also be listed on offcampus.housing.uri.edu but may be worth monitoring if near-campus housing is desired.
Summer Housing in the Traditional Residence Halls
Graduate students who meet the eligibility requirements can live in the residence halls (Kingston campus) over the summer. More information can be found at https://web.uri.edu/housing/apply/summer-housing/. Please note that a meal plan is not required during the summer months. Kitchen facilities are available in the on-campus housing used during the summer.
Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge that we gather as the University of Rhode Island on the traditional land of the Niantic and Narragansett people in past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. This calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit as well.
Notice about Stipends
Stipends are intended to pay for basic living expenses for a single student (no dependents) to meet their basic needs (housing, utilities, food). It is unlikely that students will be able to support others or save while earning a stipend. Students may find it instructive to review the living wage calculator for our location while making housing decisions: https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/44009.
Graduate students who live off campus, whether commuting from nearby towns, balancing jobs, or supporting families, face unique financial pressures. URI offers flexible and accessible funding options to help you succeed.
Assistantships & Campus Employment
State-Based Grant & Scholarship Programs
- Rhode Island Foundation Scholarships
Offers over 150 privately funded scholarships, including many open to graduate students who are Rhode Island residents. - Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance
Includes the Graduate Incentive Tuition Waiver, designed for in-state students at public institutions (check URI reciprocity or eligibility for commuters from MA). - Connecticut Office of Higher Education Scholarships
Programs include need-based state grants and veteran/educator aid that may apply to part-time or commuter students.
Tuition Reimbursement from Employers
Many large employers in RI, MA, and CT (e.g., Lifespan, CVS, Electric Boat, school districts) offer tuition assistance or reimbursement for employees pursuing graduate study. Check with your HR department.
Workforce & Career-Based Funding
- Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) Training Funds
Job centers may fund graduate coursework that leads to high-demand careers. Contact:- RI Department of Labor & Training
- MassHire Career Centers
- American Job Centers (CT)
- AmeriCorps Education Awards
If you have served in AmeriCorps, you may be eligible to use your Segal Education Award toward URI graduate tuition. - RI Reconnect / Back to Work RI
Programs offering tuition help for adults returning to school or retraining. Some support graduate or credential-based programs.
Housing, Cost of Living, and Living Expenses
Mileage Reimbursement for Clinicals/Fieldwork
Some programs or external funders offer mileage stipends for commuting to practicum sites. Check with your program director or employer.
Flexible Opportunities for Commuters
Professional Development Grants
Funding to attend conferences or participate in remote workshops—often reimbursable and not limited to campus-based students.
Part-Time Enrollment & Financial Aid
Many graduate programs allow for part-time enrollment while maintaining financial aid eligibility. URI’s Enrollment Services can help you understand your options.
Plan & Stay Informed
Net Price Calculator
Estimate the cost of attendance, including tuition, required fees, books, supplies, meals, commuting costs, parking permits, and off-campus rent
Listserv & Email Announcements
Graduate students are encouraged to subscribe to the Graduate School Google Group to receive important announcements and up-to-date information.
Living off campus doesn’t mean being off the grid. Whether a stipend-based role on campus, scholarships for commuters, or emergency help when you need it, find the financial options that work for your lifestyle. Commuter and off-campus graduate students often face high living and transportation costs alongside tuition. These regional resources can help bridge the gap and reduce the financial burden of grad school.
Graduate students who commute, live off campus, or have caregiving responsibilities often juggle school, work, and family life. URI offers resources designed to support your well-being, keep you connected, and help you thrive academically and personally.
Childcare & Parenting
- BrightStars (RI) – www.brightstars.org
A statewide resource to help families find and evaluate licensed childcare providers and early education programs in Rhode Island. - Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP – RI DHS) – dhs.ri.gov
Financial assistance for eligible working or student parents to afford childcare. - Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) – www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-early-education-and-care
Includes childcare financial aid and provider search tools for MA residents. - Connecticut Office of Early Childhood – www.ctoec.org
Offers family supports, child development resources, and a provider lookup tool.
Lactation Rooms
Kingston Campus
Robert L. Carothers Library, Room 237
- Comfortable, quiet, secure room, centrally located, with sink, mirror, radio, informational resources and lending library
- Hours: Library hours apply.
- Register and pick up key at the Reference Desk.
Memorial Union (ground floor down hall to left of snack shop)
- Small, clean, lockable room with chair & table within ground floor women’s restroom
- Mothers must bring their own equipment
- Hours: 7:30 am to 12:00 am.
- Room is open—walk-ins only; sign-in required.
Pharmacy Building, Room 284 (opening January 2012)
- Small, clean, lockable room with sink, chair & table, mirror
- Mothers must bring their own equipment
- Building hours apply.
- Room is open — walk-ins only; sign-in required.
Narragansett Bay Campus
Ocean Science & Exploration Center (OSEC), Room 017
- “Mother’s Room” on ground floor.
- Clean, comfortable, lockable handicap-accessible room with chair & table, sink, shower, some informational resources.
- Mothers must bring their own equipment.
- Building hours apply.
- Room is open — walk-ins only; sign-in required.