For the first time, UCSD is offering guaranteed housing to incoming freshmen for four years. According to UCSD spokesperson Christine Clark, this year’s incoming transfer students are also guaranteed two-year housing.

UCSD is the first school in the UC system to offer the four-year guarantee. The on-campus housing guarantee has always been offered to freshmen, but the length of the guarantee has varied historically from each class of freshmen, according to Housing, Dining and Hospitality (HDH) Director Mark Cunningham. For example, while the class of 2012 was guaranteed three-year housing, this year’s incoming freshmen guaranteed four-year housing.

The four-year guarantee is not extended to sophomores, juniors and seniors, but they are still eligible to apply for on-campus housing for as long as they are enrolled part-time or full-time at UCSD.

“The length of the offered guarantee is a function of housing supply and student demand,” Cunningham said. “Over the years, the campus extended housing guarantee has ranged from no guarantee to the four-year guarantee currently extended to this year’s incoming fresh-person class,” Cunningham said.

According to Cunningham and Clark, the number of students interested in living on campus has increased to 12,574 students, and Cunningham expects that the number will continue to increase and that HDH will respond to the increasing demand. Clark said that this is the largest number of students ever to be housed at UCSD’s on-campus housing buildings.

“We expect this trend to continue,” Cunningham said. “If the demand for on-campus housing continues to increase, it is possible more housing might be built.”

The UCSD housing capacity has nearly doubled, according to Cunningham, while the price for living on campus has steadily increased. The 2010-11 estimated budget for room and board was $11,522, $11,571 in 2011-12 and $11,924 this year.