Gender Inclusive Housing is a partnership between the LGBT Resource Center, Residential Education and USC Housing. Gender inclusive housing seeks to affirm USC students of all gender identities, including transgender, genderqueer, and gender nonconforming students. We seek to support and affirm gender diversity at USC and acknowledge the limitations of traditional single-gender housing based on the gender binary. Gender inclusive housing allows students, regardless of gender identity/expression or biological/legal sex, to be assigned to the same room in one of the gender-inclusive designated 2-bedroom, 4-person spaces within the following apartment communities: Rainbow Community (located in Century Apartments), Cardinal Gardens, or select USC Village apartments.
Who can take advantage of this program? This program is intended for students who wish to share an apartment with other students regardless of gender identity/expression or biological/legal sex. It is not intended for people with partners or spouses—they are encouraged to apply to Family Housing.
HOW TO APPLY FOR GENDER INCLUSIVE HOUSING
Students who wish to apply for gender inclusive housing can do so within the USC Housing application. During the application, each student will be asked if they are interested in any Special Interest Communities or Gender Inclusive Housing. To apply, please make sure you select gender inclusive housing as an option you are interested in and follow the instructions to fill out the supplemental application.
ROOMMATE SELECTION
Roommate Selection
If you have someone in mind that you would like to room with, please list that individual on your Housing application and make sure that they list you as well. Returning students will be able to self-select their roommates during the Housing Renewal Process. For freshmen students, if you do not have a roommate selected, the roommate matching process is coordinated through the LGBT Resource Center. Students will be paired based on the answers to the questions listed on the Special Interest Housing Portal. For any questions please email lgbt@usc.edu
What happens if one of the roommates cancels their assignment or leaves mid-year?
If one student cancels or leaves during the year, the remaining students in the unit can request another roommate to fill that space. If there is no student identified, the space will be held and used for another student who needs housing and positively affirms living in a gender inclusive space.
Roommate Conflicts
If a student has a conflict with a roommate due to their identity, the student should contact their Resident Assistant (RA) who will conduct a roommate mediation. For higher-level issues, RAs will work with the Residential College/Community Coordinator (RCC) to ensure that students get the support and resources they need. RCCs are full-time professional staff members who work with the Resident Assistant teams and live on-site.