The Residence Life office supports language houses that represent academic departments at Reed: Chinese, French, German, Spanish, and Russian. Each house is staffed with a language scholar, who is a native speaker hired to support language development in and out of the house. The language houses are only available to returning students through an application process, with first priority given to sophomore students.
If you are a rising junior or senior, your application will be considered only after all sophomore students have been given the opportunity to have an assignment in their desired House.
| February 27 | Housing portal opens for returning students |
| Updated–March 21 | Lanuage House applications close |
| April 17 | Returning students receive housing assignments |
| May 1 | Deadline to sign housing contract |
Applying to Language Houses
To apply to live in the houses, students must submit an essay in the housing portal and address the following prompt:
Please describe your experience with the language and/or culture of the house, specific ways in which you plan to contribute to the house, and what you hope to get out of living in a Language House.
NOTE: essays must be written in English, as the housing portal does not accept non-English or accented characters.
After applications for language houses close, the application essays are reviewed by Residence Life. Students who are accepted are guaranteed a bed in the language house but must still log into the housing portal to sign a contract. Each house also has a list of alternates, who are ordered by the application reviewers. Alternates will be contacted by the residence life office as spaces open up.
Language Scholars
Reed College brings language scholars to campus each year. Each language house is supported by at least one language scholar who is a native speaker of one of the six languages (French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Chinese).
These scholars live in Reed's language houses to support the learning of language and understanding of other cultures both in the halls and classrooms. In addition to coordinating educational programs in the house, scholars are often involved in sponsoring conversation sessions, tutoring students to assist regular coursework, and giving presentations to the community on contemporary life in their places of origin.