Make the World Your Campus

Your daily life in seven different world cities extends your academic learning into the urban context. Unlike life on a sheltered campus, at Minerva you are immersed in the neighborhoods and communities surrounding each residential location.

The sites are deliberately selected for their relationships to the urban environment, including proximity to vibrant neighborhoods, transportation options, parks and recreation areas, as well as convenient access to shopping, food, and other services. You will have daily opportunities to experience the best of each city: the flavor of local ingredients in your home-cooked meals, the social scene at neighborhood restaurants, parks, and cafés, and the allure of world-renowned cultural institutions and entertainment venues.

Through participation in recreational, cultural, and community activities, residential life lets you experience each city as a local citizen. Together with your classmates in each residence hall, you will explore diverse cultures, discover new interests, and forge enduring relationships.

Residence Halls

Instead of investing in maintaining the expensive buildings, campus facilities, and amenities found at other top universities, Minerva uses the vast resources of major world cities as its infrastructure. We lease residential buildings and focus our resources on developing relationships with the businesses, government entities, and cultural institutions surrounding them.

This approach has three benefits. First, it enables lower tuition costs because your tuition is not used to acquire real estate, construct edifices, or operate numerous campus facilities. Second, it offers the increased options and higher quality of a competitive marketplace; the goods, services, and institutions available in major cities — from farmer’s markets, restaurants, and fitness facilities to museums and theaters — are better, more varied, and more competitively priced than those owned and operated by universities. Third, it enables us to maintain our focus on your education, not the operational pressures of multiple campus amenities.

Your secure, centrally located residence halls become the hub of your educational, cultural, and social experiences. While the buildings are all equipped with high-bandwidth, wireless internet and include space for sleeping, cooking and eating, and studying, they are also well situated for easy exploration of each urban locale. Through frequent interaction with the diverse communities surrounding each residence, you will gain a deeper understanding of the different people and cultures of the world.

Student Affairs

Each residential location is managed and staffed by a dedicated group of student affairs professionals. This team is responsible for operational aspects of student life, such as visas, student identification cards, and room assignments, as well as supporting the development of basic life skills, such as healthy and nutritious cooking and eating, maintaining wellness practices, and financial literacy.

Health, Wellness, and Safety
An integral part of an effective learning environment is your mental and physical wellbeing. Through formal programming on topics ranging from exercise and nutrition to preventing sexual assault, you and your cohort learn key techniques for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping yourselves protected.

You will also have ready access to nearby clinics and medical facilities, and dedicated mental health professionals, who are on hand for private, confidential consultations, as needed. While you may never need these basic healthcare services, they are a critical part of the Student Services function. Additionally, every residence hall incorporates security measures appropriate to the location.

Residential Assistants 
Residential Assistants (RAs) are important members of the Student Affairs and Operations team in each city location, addressing operational functions and wellness needs within the residential setting. RAs receive ongoing training in order to support their peers and help provide a safe and secure environment for all Minerva students. The RA role is a unique work study position that allows selected students to gain valuable work experience, promote a culture of wellness, and provide important contributions to the residential experience for all students.