Living on the Colburn School campus grants you easy access to classrooms, practice rooms, and Colburn Café. We offer many programs and services to help you acclimate and succeed in our supportive environment, whether you’re coming from the rural Central Valley of California or a village in Eastern Europe.
First- and second-year undergraduate students in the Colburn Conservatory of Music are required to live in the residence hall unless married, over 21, or living with a parent or legal guardian in the Los Angeles area. Third- or fourth-year, post-baccalaureate, and transfer students can opt to find their own living arrangements. Our Residential Life Office has resources available to help find suitable housing.
The Student Handbook and Catalog contains all the rules and regulations for living on campus, but here are a few key areas students should be aware of:
Everyone planning to move into the residence hall must complete these forms and return them to the Residential Life Office.
2025–26 Required Forms
Our professional staff focuses on maintaining a safe and supportive atmosphere. They also create programs to encourage community participation. Check our Residential Life calendar as well as bulletin boards on each floor of the residence hall for details on upcoming events. A team of student residential advisors also serves as a resource for everything regarding on-campus life. Members are on call weekdays from 6 pm to 9 am and 24 hours a day over weekends. Plus, the Security Command Center is available 24/7, located in the third floor Olive Building Lobby or at 213-621-4500.
Manager of Residence Life and Summer Housing: Erica S. Smith, 213-621-4553
Residential Academy Coordinator: Cynthia Kamurigi, residentialacademy@colburnschool.edu
Our resident hall suites are available as doubles, triples, or quads, and are furnished with everything you’ll need: extra-long twin beds; desks/chairs; nightstands with lamps; and wardrobes. There is also a shared common area with a TV, sofas, and kitchenettes. The laundry room is located on the second floor of the Olive Building.
Space for Music Academy students is limited. Academy residents are not permitted to entertain guests in their suites and may not leave the Colburn School campus without permission from the Residential Life Office. Visit this link for an Academy Off-Campus/Curfew Extension Request Form. Students younger than 18 years old have a nightly curfew of 10 pm in accordance with Los Angeles city statutes. Staff members conduct nightly bed checks.
Violations of any of these policies are considered serious and are grounds for disciplinary action, including probation and expulsion from the residence hall and/or school.
Student safety is always our top priority. To ensure only authorized individuals enter the hall, we require all residents to wear ID badges visible on a lanyard at all times while on the Colburn School campus. Failure to wear proper identification could result in disciplinary action. Lost badges should be immediately reported to security at security@colburnschool.edu. A $25 lost/broken fee will be charged to the student’s account.
Our residence hall is your temporary home, and we want you to feel comfortable. That also means you have a responsibility to maintain the suite in top condition. There are no janitorial services for suites, so students are expected to do their own cleaning, including bathrooms. Staff will conduct inspections at both move-in and move-out, and Academy students undergo weekly room inspections.
Of course, there’s bound to be an occasional minor repair required, and we’ll fix it. However, students will be held financially responsible for serious damage or failure to report problems. The Residential Life Guidebook has a full listing of standard dormitory damage charges, but here are a few examples:
Patch & paint wall damage (small-large): $75–$350 Smoke detector: $75 life safety fine; $75 materials fine Thermostat: $150 Door, interior: $600 Toilet, water closet: $500 Floor, carpet tile common area (per square): $50 Shower curtain rod: $110 Toilet seat: $60 Toilet paper dispenser: $75 Above standard cleaning, billed per hour: $27.50 per hour
Residential students can opt in for a meal plan at our Colburn Café. Students living off campus also may sign up for a weekday meal plan.
Because students are not allowed to store items in practice rooms or studios, we’ve included instrument lockers on some of the residence hall floors, and students are invited to reserve a unit and lock depending on availability. A second locker may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will be held responsible for damages.
Having a car while living on campus allows you to explore the greater Los Angeles area; however, parking is at a premium. We have a limited number of spaces in the Olive Building parking garage available to students living in the residence hall. Each academic year, we hold a lottery for these spots.
Lucky lottery winners must purchase an “R” (resident) permit for level P3 of the Olive Building parking garage. The $275 per semester fee may be paid in monthly installments.
Students living off campus who wish to secure parking privileges may purchase a “NR” (non-resident) permit for $200 per semester, also payable in monthly installments. This grants them access to non-reserved spaces on an as-available basis, including for school events and to use practice facilities.
Students who get around by pedal-power may park their bicycles in the rack in the Olive Building parking garage on level P1. Be sure to purchase a high-quality lock. The school does not assume responsibility for damaged or stolen bikes.
There are definite advantages to living in the Colburn School residence hall, such as easy access to practice rooms and around-the-clock security. To maintain a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for all residents, we expect everyone to act responsibly, make healthy choices, and demonstrate respect for others as explained by our code of conduct. Read the entire policy in our Residential Life Guidebook, but here are a few highlights:
Alcohol: The Colburn School is a dry campus. All alcohol products are banned.
Smoking: The Colburn School is a smoke-free campus. Smoking of any kind is forbidden.
Drugs: We observe all California state laws regarding illegal and prescription drugs. The possession, sale, manufacture, and/or use of illegal drugs is prohibited anywhere on campus. Our staff and faculty care about the health and safety of students and can provide assistance for those who may need counseling or other services related to drug use or addiction.
Weapons: Students and guests are not permitted to have weapons on campus at any time. This includes firearms, martial arts weapons, swords, knives (except small eating utensils and reed-making tools), cap guns, ammunition, or other weapons that may cause harm or cause fear in the community.
Sexual assault policy: Simply put, any kind of sexual assault is not tolerated at the Colburn School. Under Section 94385 of the State Education Code, the school has a written procedure to ensure victims of sexual assault on campus or during school-related functions, be they students, faculty, or staff, will receive treatment, counseling, and pertinent legal information. The Colburn School encourages victims to report assaults to the police as well as school administrators. If assailants are members of our campus community, they will be subject to school discipline in addition to criminal investigations.
Discrimination and sexual harassment: We cannot stress enough our commitment to cultivating an environment where all our students, faculty, and staff feel comfortable and safe. That means discrimination of any kind or any action that is determined to be harassing, coercive, or disruptive emphatically will not be tolerated. This includes any action, language, or comments based on a person’s race, sex, national origin, religion, disability or perceived disability, sexual orientation, gender expression, or other legally protected characteristic. Threats, intimidation, and hazing are also prohibited.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted sexual advances or visual, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. All incidents should be reported to the Dean/Director, or another school administrator if the Dean/Director is not available.
Quiet hours: This comes down to being considerate of others in the residence hall. Quiet hours run from 9 pm to 9 am every night so students have a conducive environment for studying and sleeping. Only on rare occasions, when a practice room is not available, may a student receive permission to practice instruments in their bedrooms during quiet hours. Also, practicing in communal areas of a suite is prohibited.
Emergency response: In addition to our Security Command Center located in the third floor Olive Building Lobby and at (213) 621-4500, emergency/duress (blue light) phones are placed throughout the Olive Building, including residence hallways and parking garages. These buttons initiate a direct connection with the Security Command Center. Additionally, panic buttons that alert security are located in Olive Building practice rooms.
Violations of the Colburn School student conduct policy can result in various consequences, starting with meeting with the manager of residential life, progressing to warnings, probation, and removal from the residence hall and possible expulsion from the school.
Students can treat themselves to various food offerings at any of the numerous local restaurants, from fast food to eateries featuring international cuisine.
Several delivery services will bring you meals from restaurants in and near downtown Los Angeles.
Uber EATS, ubereats.com PostMates, postmates.com GrubHub, grubhub.com Door Dash, doordash.com
And of course, there’s our Colburn Café. It cooks up breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday through Friday, brunch on the weekends, and Sunday dinners.
Colburn School 200 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012 213-621-4553 housing@colburnschool.edu