Residence Campus

As part of the One Simmons initiative, Simmons plans to consolidate the academic and the residential campus by constructing a new Living and Learning Center (LLC) on the main campus. The new Living and Learning Center breaks ground in fall 2022 and is projected to open in 2027. The Living and Learning Center will be a vibrant epicenter for the entire Simmons community, providing modern living, athletic, study, and dining spaces for students and the opportunity for greater connection, wellness opportunities, and events. 

All floors have a designated Resident Advisor (RA) – carefully selected student leaders who live in the halls with their peers and serve as a resource. They provide support, help resolve roommate conflicts, relay important housing updates, and create fun social and educational events to bring residents together and help them make friends at Simmons. There are many activities that are held on the Residential Campus including: Movies on the Quad, BBQs, Campus Activities Fair, and Spring Carnival. 

Simmons History

• Until the late 1940s, most Simmons students were commuters. Of the 145 students in the first Simmons class, only 25 lived in the dormitory. During the early years, the term “commuter” almost exclusively referred to a student who lived at home with their parents.

• For their first three years at Simmons students lived in small houses on the residential campus; only seniors lived in the big residence halls. No more than 40 students could live in the “small houses.”

• House mothers lived in the dormitories with the students where they kept order and acted as mentors, attempting to ease the transition from home to college. In the early years students going on dates were required to bring along a chaperone.

• Between 1920 and the 1950s, freshmen students lived in several large old houses on Cypress and Francis streets in Brookline (almost two miles away). Freshmen would gather in groups for their “interminable walk” to and from class in the Main College Building.