Graduate student life at UR

Related resources for graduate students:

The City of Rochester

Rochester is a cultural center for upstate New York. It is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario, a short drive from the Finger Lakes area, the Adirondack mountains, Niagara Falls and Toronto, Canada. The more than 750,000 residents of the Rochester metropolitan area enjoy the year-round activities of the University-owned Memorial Art Gallery, the cinematic and photographic offerings of George Eastman House, and the events at the University's Eastman Theater, where concerts are given by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and by students and faculty of the University's Eastman School of Music. Known as the photographic and optical capital of the world, Rochester is the home of several high-tech industries. Sailing, camping, biking and skiing are some of the activities that are enjoyed in Rochester.

Housing

Any student seeking housing must decide whether to live in housing provided by the university, or to live in an apartment off campus. We have compiled some information about university housing and off-campus housing which may be difficult to find in other places.

The Climate

There are four distinct seasons in Rochester. Winter starts in late November or early December and usually ends in late March. Temperatures can be very cold (below freezing) and we usually have a total of about 90 inches of snow during this season... not all on the ground at once though! You will need to bring warm clothes (sweaters, jeans, warm coat) or you may want to buy some here. We don't expect students to "dress up" here on campus unless they want to. Most of the faculty wear casual clothing (jeans, cordoroy pants, etc.)

Spring begins in late March and goes through the end of May. This is when all the plants and trees start to bloom. We have some beautiful lilac trees in a park very near the university. The park attracts visitors from the northeast because of its beauty. Temperatures range from 45-65 degrees.

Summer begins in June and lasts until September. Temperatures during this time are in the 70-80 degree range. We very seldom have temperatures above 90. Obviously this is the time of year that people spend a lot of time outdoors, hiking, swimming, boating, etc. (Eating ice cream!!) Shorts, sleeveless tops, etc. are appropriate even for around the Math. Dept.

Fall starts in late September and ends in November. This time of year has its own beauty also: the leaves of the trees change color (red, yellow, orange) and are absolutely wonderful to see. Temperatures can be in the 50's one day and up to 75 another. Kind of up and down, but mostly warm.

Transportation

It is not necessary to have a car while living here and attending the University of Rochester. The Rochester city bus system and the bus services provided by the university will give you reliable and flexible commuting to campus as well as transportation to commercial centers in town.

If you live in one of the university graduate housing facilities, bus 70 (schedule) provides a free shuttle to campus and to the university health services center located in Strong Memorial Hospital;

The University also provides free bus service to shopping centers in the area. Special busses (schedules and other info) take students from campus to Marketplace Mall and Wegmans supermarket every Saturday and Wednesday;

Even if you do not live on campus, the university has a free shuttle (bus 72) that runs between the Eastman School of Music downtown and the U of R River campus. There are many places to live in Rochester which would allow you to use bus 72 as a free commute to campus, see our off-campus housing section for further information. Even if you are not within reach of bus 72, Rochester's many residential areas are well serviced by the city bus system, giving you many options for commuting to campus by city bus. We also have a large city-wide map of the bus lines complete with links to bus schedules.

If you do choose to commute to campus by car, you will need to secure a parking permit. Go here for more information on student vehicle registration and parking.