Does UMBC have a general first-year residency requirement, and does admission itself assign housing?

DIRECT ANSWER

New-student university guidance reviewed October 19, 2026; individual scholarship, program, license and reservation conditions remain separate.

UMBC describes no general first-year residency requirement, and university admission alone does not assign an on-campus room. Its new-student housing process has a separate housing contract, reservation and applicable program conditions. Check Residential Life for the student’s completed contract and housing status, and ask the relevant program about any scholarship or program-specific residence obligation. The general policy does not establish that every student may disregard an individual housing requirement.