Student Life FAQs

While first-years are not allowed to have cars on campus, the University offers numerous transportation options including Zipcar, ridesharing, carpooling, bicycling, and on-campus shuttles, which are integrated with public transit and other modes of transportation. Visit our Campus Transportation page for more information.

Set one foot on the UM campus and you’ll feel it—a vibe that celebrates life, learning, and daily activities that are anything but routine. With exceptional dining options and residential halls, a bounty of social, cultural, and academic activities, and sporting venues, UM is a home away from home, a place where students who live on or commute to campus can stretch their comfort zones and expand their horizons. Visit our Student Life page for more information. 

Our student organizations empower you to participate in a diverse and broad spectrum of backgrounds and interests while helping to shape the UM experience for yourself and your fellow students.

Student groups coordinate campus-wide events, including Homecoming, intellectual symposiums, and the annual 'Canes Film Festival, which features films written and directed by UM film students. Other events, such as International Week, give students the opportunity to experience music, traditions, and cuisine from around the world.

Visit our Student Life and the Student Activities & Student Organizations pages to learn more about getting involved.

The Department of Student Activities and Student Organizations staff serves as a resource for student leaders, programming boards, and more than 300-registered student organizations through advising, leadership development, and organizational support services.

Whether you attend an on-campus play, participate in a community service project, or plan Homecoming festivities as a member of the committee, you are helping to shape the UM experience for yourself and your fellow students.

UM currently boasts more than 2,500 students in our 26 fraternities and sororities. Visit our Greek Life page for more information.

Membership in UM's Frost Band of the Hour is open to all UM students regardless of their major. Visit our Band of the Hour page for more information.

Yes, UM has an Army and Air Force program.

Visit our Traditions page to learn more about our Hurricane traditions.

For a snapshot of our most recent notable achievements that took place at UM, visit at our Points of Pride page. 

Located in one of the most artistic and adventurous cities in the world, UM celebrates creativity and originality through 50 internationally acclaimed degree programs in art and art history, cinema, interactive media, music, arts presenting, theater, and more. Our ambitious art students have unparalleled opportunities to study and showcase their brilliance in gleaming galleries, including the Lowe Art Museum on campus, beautiful performance venues, flexible theatrical spaces, technologically advanced labs, lecture halls, and libraries. Visit our Arts and Culture page for more information.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) is the primary University office responsible for the coordination of auxiliary aids and services for students with disabilities. ODS provides academic accommodations and support to ensure that students with disabilities are able to access and participate in the opportunities available at UM. Visit our Camner Center for Academic Resources for more information. 

Yes, the Counseling Center is the primary provider of mental health services for UM students. The Counseling Center provides short-term individual, couples, and group therapy as well as psychoeducational outreach programming and consultation. Urgent care and limited career and psychological assessment are also available. Psychiatric services are available to those under the care of a Counseling Center therapist.

Yes, the Student Health Service provides primary care, specialty care, and pharmacy services to eligible UM students. You are not required to have the health center-sponsored insurance plan to utilize our services. Appointments for all types of visits are available at mystudenthealth.miami.edu. Services are also available on a drop-in basis.

The Department of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) provides information, services, acclimation, and culturally relevant activities to support international students and scholars and ensure their success. 

UM offers undergraduate on-campus housing in five residential colleges, Lakeside Village, and the University Village, which is our on-campus apartment complex for upperclassmen. Explore more about our residential communities. 

To see the different room layouts we provide at the residential colleges, visit our Room Layouts page for more information. 

Living on campus is a chance to live and interact with culturally diverse students and receive support and enhanced learning opportunities through live-in faculty and student affairs staff. 

Each residential college has live-in faculty members, an area director/assistant area director, and student staff who support and promote student well-being, safety, academic achievement, student learning, and development. 

Numerous social, educational, cultural, and recreational programs are offered throughout the academic year. Visit our Department of Housing and Residential Life page for more information. 

Nonlocal first-year students admitted to the fall semester are required to live on campus for two academic semesters (local students reside in Miami-Dade and Broward counties). For more information about on campus housing please visit the Department of Housing and Residential Life page. 

UM Dining Services offers a variety of food options conveniently located throughout campus and open during hours that work with your busy schedule. 

Our Dining Services program offers a variety of services that meet the individual student’s schedule of classes and dietary needs. First-year students living on campus are enrolled in the 7-day all-access plan. Visit our Meal Plans page for more information.

UM requires all undergraduate students living in its residential colleges during the fall and/or spring semesters to purchase a meal plan. However, upper-class students living on campus in Lakeside Village Apartments and University Village Apartments can enroll in any available meal plan or elect to not enroll in a meal plan as they have access to a kitchen.

The Department of Orientation and Commuter Student Involvement offers a variety of services and programs for students commuting to UM from home in Miami-Dade or Broward counties. Visit our Department of Orientation and Commuter Student Involvement page for more information.

The University of Miami Police Department (UMPD) is dedicated to providing a safe and secure environment for all members of the University community. Visit the UM Police page for more information.