Housing & Meals

Housing in the UK is called accommodation. Once you've been accepted to the University, they will allocate you a room and send you a room offer.

York does not use specific blocks or rooms for visiting students, so they cannot guarantee a particular room type. They will allocate you into self-catered flats with other visiting students or rooms in accommodation with undergraduate students. 

You should accept your accommodation offer when you receive the email, and you should be not be asked to pay a deposit to secure the offer. The offer may state that it is for 40 or 50 weeks even if you are only a semester student - this is information you can disregard. As long as the dates listed reflect the semester you will be away, there are no issues. 

It is common for student flats to be mix-gendered. This means that you will have a single room not shared with anyone, but you will be sharing your toilet, shower, kitchen, and common area with people of different genders. Please reach out to Assistant Director Emma Meade if you have any questions or concerns about this. 

Check out the What to Bring page to understand what is included in your on campus accommodation and what you might want to travel with. 

If you need a specific room for medical, welfare, or mobility reasons, please email accommodation@york.ac.uk. To find out more about additional requirements, see their health, welfare and disability page. 

There is no meal plan for purchase at the University of York. Instead, you can pay-as-you-go for cafés and cafeterias on campus or purchase food from the grocery store. You will not be charged Holy Cross board (i.e., meal plan) on your tuition bill, which is $4,160 per semester for the standard food plan. You should instead plan to use some or all of this budget sourcing your own food during your semester or year away. 

How much you spend on food depends on your personal habits. Before you go, do some googling!  Figure out the average prices for your favorite foods and make a plan! 

For the average cost of food in York, check out the website Numbeo:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/York?displayCurrency=USD