Accommodation
Undergraduate
Following an extensive programme of refurbishment by the College, accommodation is generally now of a very high standard. Rents are fair by Cambridge standards and also in comparison with other universities. All undergraduates are expected to live in College accommodation. There are no shared rooms. Undergraduate rooms in the main College grounds range from the 18th century to the present, and therefore vary considerably in size, character and amenities. All are well furnished and centrally heated, and have wash-basins, fast internet and telephone access, access to showers, and (limited) cooking facilities. There are a few sets (large living-room with bedroom attached), but such gracious surroundings are seldom as luxurious as the modern rooms of Library Court with their en-suite facilities. Rooms are allocated to various rent bands determined by room size and amenities.
Incoming students fill in a form before arrival, indicating the type and cost of room they would prefer, and, as far as possible, these preferences are met. Continuing students choose their rooms from those available in an order of priority determined by ballot. The order of the ballot is inverted in the following year.
First-year undergraduates normally live on the main site, to help them settle into College life as quickly and smoothly as possible, and, typically, about half of the third-years choose to have rooms there. The other undergraduates live in College-owned houses in the streets surrounding the College (Jesus Lane and Malcolm Street). These are known as “external staircases”, but are simply houses whose rooms are treated in just the same way as those on the main site. Rooms on external staircases are similarly well-appointed (including internet and phone access), but these houses also have their own kitchens and, in many cases, washing machines.
Postgraduate
The College is fortunate in having a good supply of accommodation at various rental levels for graduate students. The College aims to offer College-owned accommodation to most students coming to Cambridge for the first time and to offer all graduates college accommodation at some point during their period of study, subject to availability. The maximum period which graduate students may be offered college accommodation is three years.
The College owns a number of houses around its perimeter where there is accommodation for single graduate students in terraces of smaller houses converted for use by graduates. The smallest houses would be home to three students, the largest to 16 (in separate single rooms, generally with shared facilities). All these premises are in the immediate vicinity of the College. All College owned accommodation has internet access via ethernet cable. The College has a very small number of furnished flats available for graduates with partners; these are not really suitable for young children.
Most of the accommodation in the graduate houses consists of furnished single study-bedrooms. There are a very small number of two-roomed sets. The house kitchens offer cooker and microwave facilities for the preparation of simple meals, together with laundry facilities. While the Housekeeping Department regularly cleans the communal spaces in each house, residents are expected to keep their own rooms clean and do their own washing-up and cleaning of utensils. Each of the small terraced houses consists of three (furnished) study-bedrooms with a communal kitchen/dining room. All graduate accommodation is available throughout the graduate tenancy year (from September to September).
Jesus students warmly welcome their accommodation with its close proximity both to the College and to the town centre. All college graduate houses are located within 4-5 minutes stroll of the College boundary. The majority of graduate students live nearby in houses on Jesus Lane, Malcolm Street, Park Street and Lower Park Street (where the latter properties actually back on to the College grounds). This plays a vital part in promoting the strong sense of identity for which the Jesus graduate community is noted.
