Residential Life provides several options for students who are looking for safer space and/or LGBTQ+ community in the residence halls.  The options for first year students are slightly different than for returners. All students can opt-in to gender-inclusive housing on their housing contract.

Prospective Student Housing FAQ (last updated spring 2021)

Incoming First Year Students

Most first year UVM students live in one of seven themed learning communities.  Learning communities bring students with similar interests together.  Each community is expected to address core issues of social justice and inclusion.  As you explore each learning community you will find information about the buildings the community occupies including gender-inclusive restroom and shower information (look for the sidebar on the righthand side of the page).

Learning Community & Roommate Preferences

Incoming students should rank their learning community preferences in their housing and meal plan contract.  You can also list one or two roommate preferences.  Don't worry if you don't already know someone you want to live with, many lgbtqa+ students meet someone at orientation to room with as they get to know folks in their learning community.  You will have a chance after orientation to go back into your contract and specify your roommate preference.  If you have concerns about finding a roommate as an lgbtqa+ student, email us and we will try and match you with a student in the same situation.

Returning Students

Please contact Res Life and/or the Prism Center if you have questions or concerns about your learning community's environment for queer and trans people.

Residential Life statement on Gender-Inclusive Housing

Res Life also has options for students with unique requests, including summer housing and academic break housing.  Please visit Res Life for more information.

Learn about efforts to provide gender-inclusive restrooms at UVM.

View the campus map filter for gender-inclusive restrooms in public UVM buildings.  Toggle the filters in the left-hand menu to view gender-inclusive restrooms in private buildings.

LGBTQ+-affirming mental and physical healthcare services are available through the Center for Health and Wellbeing as well as Counseling and Psychiatry Services (CAPS).  

During the academic semester, students can access drop-in counseling in a safe and identity-affirming environment at the Prism Center.  Days and hours vary by semester and interested students should consult our full calendar for up-to-date information.

Visit Student Health Services to find out more about primary care, sexual health, and transition-related care available to students. 

UVM LivingWell, as well as the UVM Women and Gender Equity (WAGE) Center, offers a variety of gender and sexuality based programming and support throughout the academic year.  

Prism Center staff are available to answer questions or respond to concerns students may have about seeking care as a queer, trans, or LGBTQ+ person.

All students, staff and faculty at the University of Vermont can indicate their lived name and pronouns to the University community regardless of whether or not they have legally changed their names.  You can also update your email address to reflect your lived name.  Please visit the Knowledge Base for instructions on updating your info.

It will take 24-48 hours for the change to populate through to all the other systems. In a few rare cases, the lived name might still not appear in all locations.

If you find that your pronoun or lived name is not showing up correctly somewhere on campus, you can submit a help ticket with the Tech Team. The Prism Center can also advocate for you and work with other Offices to fix errors when they occur.

For information about legal name and gender marker changes on identity documents in the State of Vermont, please see this guide (link will take you to an external site).

The Prism Center Clothing Closet is a free, on-campus resource intended for UVM students who can't afford or can't safely obtain identity-affirming clothes and other supplies. The clothing closet is currently available in the C170 student lounge. Clothing swaps and workshops are held throughout the year. To request identity affirming items such as binders and gaffs, please fill out the request form (requires UVM sign in) to let us know what you need.  THE FORM IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR THE END OF THE SEMESTER AND WILL REOPEN IN SPRING.  Someone from our office will be in touch to confirm the details. Requests are accepted during the academic year. Make a donation to help support this program .

The Prism Center operates a small fund to assist students facing emergency situations or urgent needs, particularly if the student may be at risk of leaving the University. Students should apply through the UVM Emergency Grant Program's simple online application. Awards from this fund typically range from $50-$500 and preference is given to queer and trans applicants.

William “Bill” Meezan ’67 (1947-2016) and his husband Mike Brittenback, have been long-time supporters of the Prism Center and LGBTQ+ students of UVM.  They established the Meezan-Brittenback Student Emergency Fund in order to support queer and trans students during times of financial hardship.

At UVM, sexuality and gender identities are also an academic priority.

All students can take exciting classes on LGBTQ+ subjects, present their work, and compete for awards.

Sexuality and Gender Identity Studies (SGIS) is an undergraduate minor housed in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program.

Every year, students present their work on these topics at UVM's Race, Gender, and Sexuality Conference.

And we recognize students for outstanding coursework on LGBTQ+ issues; check out the Daniel-McCarter Award and some recent winners.

Just a few of our recent courses:

• CLASSICS Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greece
• ENGLISH  Gender, Sexuality, and Identity in American Poetry
• ENGLISH  Queer Writing
• GENDER, SEXUALITY, & WOMEN'S STUDIES       Intro to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
• HUMAN DEVELOPMENT  & FAMILY STUDIES        Sexual & Gender Identities
• HEALTH    LGBTQ Health Disparities
• HISTORY  Queer Lives: LGBT History
• HISTORY  Sex in Modern History
• POLITICAL SCIENCE  The Politics of Sex         
• POLITICAL SCIENCE   LGBT Politics and History
• PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE    Sex Research  
• SPANISH  Sexual Dissidence in Latin America
• SOCIOLOGY  Sociology of Sexualities

• Interfaith Center
• Mosaic Center for Students of Color
• Women and Gender Equity Center

• Community Health Centers of Burlington: Transgender & LGBTQ Health Clinics
• Pride Center of Vermont
• Out in the Open (serving rural LGBTQ+ people)
• Outright Vermont (serving LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-19)
• SafeSpace (at the Pride Center of Vermont)
• Vermont CARES
• Vermont Diversity Health Project