The best college dorms in Tennessee for 2027 combine a variety of halls, strong amenities, and a clear path from first-year housing to apartments. This guide covers 25 Tennessee schools, from small residential colleges like Bryan and Johnson to large universities like the University of Memphis and East Tennessee State.

This guide follows the University Magazine ranking list for Tennessee and uses the published University Magazine rankings methodology for institution-level context. Each section summarizes housing details from the school’s own pages so you can compare halls, room types, and requirements before you apply. For more state guides, browse our best dorm rankings and broader university rankings.

The Best College Dorms in Tennessee 2027

 

1. Johnson University

Johnson University offers undergraduate housing in Johnson Hall and Brown Hall, both built around two-person rooms with a private bath, internet, personal temperature controls, and movable furniture. Each hall has two full-sized kitchens and laundry facilities, which is a practical plus for students who want to cook on campus.

A live-in residence director oversees each hall, and each wing has two resident assistants. Roommates are paired from a housing application about interests and habits, and students can request a specific roommate. Married and nontraditional students have duplexes, townhouses, and Bell Hall apartments. See the Johnson University housing page.

 

2. Union University

Union University is a residential campus in Jackson that rebuilt much of its student housing after the 2008 tornado. Baptist Press reported that the university opened 14 housing buildings during the recovery, giving the campus a largely modern housing stock of residence halls and apartment-style complexes.

Because Union’s current hall list was not available on a page we could confirm, treat the details here as background and check the Union University Jackson campus page and the housing office for current hall names, room types, and live-on rules before you apply.

 

3. Lincoln Memorial University

Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate offers traditional halls, suites, and apartments. Liles and West Halls are traditional community halls with shared bathrooms. Lafrentz Poole Hall is co-ed with private rooms and baths, mostly for upperclassmen. Pope, Mitchell, Dishner, Shelton, and Langley offer three private bedrooms, each with a private bath, plus a shared living room and kitchen.

The Village (Burchett, McClelland, Norton, and Peters) houses six students in three bedrooms with a shared living room and kitchen. Full-time undergraduates on the Harrogate campus must live on campus unless they are 21 or older, live with a parent within 65 miles, or are married. Residents join a non-commuter meal plan, and a $300 deposit applies, per the LMU undergraduate catalog.

 

4. Freed-Hardeman University

Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson houses women in Porter-Terry, Hall-Roland, Dixon, Scott, and Bradfield Halls, and men in Benson, Sewell, Farrow, and Paul Gray Halls. Styles range from suites with private baths to traditional rooms with community bathrooms. Sewell is the newest men’s hall and has a study room and an activities room with a kitchen and pool tables. Upperclassmen with 90 or more credit hours and a 2.50 GPA can apply for four-bedroom apartments in Tyler Hall for women or Woods-East Hall for men. Students must live on campus unless they are over 23, have 120 credit hours, or are married. Laundry is free in every hall. See the Freed-Hardeman housing page.

 

5. Lipscomb University

Lipscomb University in Nashville offers seven housing options with a clear progression. Elam Hall is community-style for first-year women; High Rise and Sewell are community-style for men; Fanning is suite-style for women; and Johnson Hall mixes community and suite rooms for upperclass women. Bison Hall is hotel-style, and The Village is apartment-style for upperclassmen. Honors College students live in Elam or High Rise Hall. Every hall has WiFi, free laundry, kitchen access, common living areas, and furnished rooms, along with live-in resident assistants and a residence hall director who run weekly community events. See Lipscomb campus living.

 

6. Southern Adventist University

Southern Adventist University in Collegedale builds housing around community. Thatcher Hall for women and Talge Hall for men include chapels, kitchens, recreation rooms, and laundry rooms; Talge also adds a weight room and indoor bike storage. Thatcher also has a cafe and cardio room.

Upperclassmen can move to Southern Village, where four students share a two-bedroom apartment with a bathroom, living room, kitchen, and laundry room, with housing separated by gender. Single students 23 and older, graduate students, and students with families have separate options. Southern says most undergraduates live on campus by design. See Southern Adventist housing.

 

7. Belmont University

Belmont University in Nashville organizes housing by class year. First-year halls include Heron and Kennedy for women, Maddox and Pembroke for men, and co-ed Patton and Bear House, Potter, Thrailkill, and Wiseman Suites, with styles from historic suites to premium suites and community rooms. Upperclassmen choose apartment-style options such as Belmont Commons, Hewlett, Wiseman Apartments, Dickens, Hillside, Horrell, Russell Apartments, and Benz Apartments, or suites in Russell and Benz. First-year students start in a freshman hall and can move to an upperclass community by sophomore or junior year. See Belmont residential communities.

 

8. Lee University

Lee University in Cleveland houses students in men’s and women’s residence halls, plus townhomes and apartments for upperclass, married, and nontraditional students. Named options include Atkins Ellis, Carroll Court Apartments, and New Hughes Hall. Resident directors, resident assistants, and resident chaplains support each hall.

Non-local freshmen and sophomores must live on campus. To move off campus, students need a 2.0 GPA, no outstanding accountability hours, and one qualifying condition such as 60 credit hours, four semesters on campus, or age 21. New students apply for housing after admission through the housing portal. See Lee University residential life.

 

9. University of Tennessee at Martin

The University of Tennessee at Martin runs its housing through the Office of Residence Life and Housing, which staffs halls with resident assistants and hall directors. Browning, Cooper, and Ellington Halls are among the named residence halls, and the office lists a Housing Options section for the full set.

We couldn’t access the detailed room-type and amenity pages, and student news reports that Browning Hall is slated for demolition. Check the UT Martin residence life page for current halls, apartments, and rates before you apply.

 

10. Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University in Nashville has one of the state’s most structured residential systems. All first-year students live in The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, which has 10 houses, including Crawford, East, Hank Ingram, Gillette, Memorial, Murray, North, Stambaugh, Sutherland, and West, each led by a residential faculty head of house.

Warren and Moore Colleges house sophomores, juniors, and seniors with resident faculty directors and graduate Fellows. Other options include living-learning communities such as Mayfield Lodge and McTyeire International House; traditional halls on Branscomb Quadrangle and Alumni Lawn; and suites in Carmichael Towers and Morgan, Lewis, and Chaffin Place. See Vanderbilt residences.

 

11. Tennessee Technological University

Tennessee Tech in Cookeville organizes halls into quads. Capital Quad includes Browning and Evins for men, Cooper and Dunn for women, and Ellington, Warf, Maddux, and McCord, with Maddux and McCord reserved for engineering majors. Pinkerton Quad includes Jobe, Murphy (Honors), M.S. Cooper, Pinkerton, North, and South Halls. North and South Halls give every room a private bathroom, while traditional halls use communal restrooms. Room types include singles, super singles in Murphy Hall, doubles, and triples in some halls. Several halls offer winter break housing. See Tennessee Tech residence halls.

 

12. Tusculum University

Tusculum University in Greeneville has six housing options. Katherine Hall is the largest, with double and triple rooms and community baths in each wing. Welty-Craig is a co-ed hall for upperclassmen, and Haynes Hall is a historic men’s hall built in 1914. The Charles Oliver Gray Complex has three women’s halls. Mastrapasqua Hall and Apartments offer six three-story buildings with 56 students each, featuring five-person units with a living room, mini-kitchen, four private bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a washer and dryer. Laundry is free in every hall, and every floor has at least one resident assistant. See Tusculum residential life.

 

13. East Tennessee State University

East Tennessee State University in Johnson City offers large traditional housing, with Lucille Clement Hall as the example on its official pages. Clement has five floors for 464 students, is co-ed by floor, and has bathrooms and showers on each wing, kitchens on floors one, three, and four, and a laundry room on the first floor. Rooms include two movable loft beds, desks, chairs, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and two Ethernet jacks. Residents have access to the Basler Center for Physical Activity and Greene Football Stadium, and the hall includes the Joan Dressel Resource Study Room. See the ETSU Clement Hall page.

 

14. Austin Peay State University

Austin Peay State University in Clarksville has about 2,000 beds across 11 new or newly renovated halls. Eriksson Hall and Governors Terrace North and South are Georgian-style buildings around a grassy quad, with a cafeteria, kitchens, a lounge on each floor, and free Wi-Fi. Castle Heights is a 416-bed hall overlooking campus. Sevier Hall is a freshman-only women’s hall for 188 residents, with suite-style double rooms, air conditioning, laundry on every floor, and a kitchen on the second floor. Hand Village offers apartment-style living. See Austin Peay Sevier Hall.

 

15. Trevecca Nazarene University

Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville features University Commons, a seven-story building for nearly 300 students with apartment-style rooms, full kitchens, a convenience store, a fitness room, and a rooftop terrace with skyline views. Traditional halls include Tennessee, Georgia, and Johnson Halls for women and Benson Hall for men. Upperclassmen can apply for apartments: Bush and Redford for women, and Shingler and Wise for men, with credit-hour requirements. Residents get an extra-long twin bed, desk, chair, and chest of drawers, and laundry is free. See Trevecca residence halls.

 

16. University of Memphis

The University of Memphis has nine residence halls, eight on the main campus. Shirley C. Raines Centennial Place houses about 780 students in traditional rooms and apartments with kitchenettes, and the Living Learning Complex is for incoming freshmen with singles, doubles, music practice rooms, and laundry on every floor. Rawls and Smith Halls serve women, and South Hall serves men with suite-style baths and a 24-hour study lounge. Upperclassmen can choose Carpenter Complex or Victory Park, each with a bedroom and private bathroom. Living Learning Communities add faculty support and tutoring. See Memphis residence halls.

 

17. Carson-Newman University

Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City opened West Campus Commons in January 2025, a twin-building complex for roughly 525 students with a lounge, food options, a large study area, and study rooms. It sits across from a renovated recreation park with basketball, volleyball, pickleball, soccer, and softball facilities.

Burnett Hall houses first-year women, Sarah Swann Hall is a historic 1904 hall for upper-class women, and Heritage and Alumni Memorial serve men. Juniors and seniors can live in Greenbrier and LeConte apartments in two-person and four-person layouts. See Carson-Newman residence life.

 

18. Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers University in Memphis is a small residential campus. Its catalog says all first-year students and sophomores are required to live on campus unless they receive an exemption, which keeps a large share of the student body in the residential community. Rooms are singles and doubles, and assignments consider class rank, years of residency, and agreement date, with some spaces held for first-years and transfers. Housing is not included during fall, Christmas, and spring breaks. The catalog page does not name individual halls, so check the CBU residence life policy.

 

19. LeMoyne-Owen College

LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis is a historically Black college with a small residential footprint. Trade press has reported that the college built and opened a new residence hall, which expanded on-campus living for a school that historically served many commuting students. We could not confirm hall names, room types, capacity, or live-on rules from an official page, so this entry is intentionally brief. Check LeMoyne-Owen’s housing office and the report on the new residence hall before relying on details.

 

20. Rhodes College

Rhodes College in Memphis offers halls and on-campus apartments. First-year housing is mostly co-ed in Glassell (164 residents), Williford (125), Robinson (88), and Blount (60). Bellingrath, Voorhies, and Trezevant house women, while Robb, White, Ellett, and Townsend house men. Upper-class students choose West Village, Stewart, Spann Place townhouses, East Village (200 residents), or Parkway Hall, which has 40 apartments with full kitchens and connects to West Campus by a bridge. Suite-style rooms are in Blount, Glassell, Robinson, Voorhies, and West Village. See Rhodes residence halls.

 

21. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

UT Chattanooga offers Stagmaier Hall as its main residence hall and a large set of apartments: Boling, Decosimo, Guerry, Johnson Obear, Lockmiller, Palmetto Place, Stophel, UC Foundation, and Walker. It also runs residential colleges, living learning communities, and themed learning communities. Boling Apartments, built in 1975, have 115 apartments and 411 bed spaces; each resident has a private bedroom, and the housing fee includes electric, water, internet, and laundry. Each apartment has a kitchen and living room. See UTC Boling Apartments.

 

22. Bryan College – Tennessee

Bryan College in Dayton is a small Christian college where most students live on campus. Its residence halls include Arnold Dormitory, built in 1972, and Woodlee-Ewing Dormitory, completed in 1984. The college has published renovation plans to replace carpet with hard-surface flooring in Arnold, update bathroom fixtures and furnishings in both halls, and replace original built-in furniture with modular pieces. Because plans change, confirm current hall status on the Bryan College renovation page.

 

23. Maryville College

Maryville College offers about 800 beds. Copeland, Davis, and Gamble are co-ed first-year halls with community bathrooms, lounges on each floor, and two resident assistants per floor. Gamble’s third floor hosts a Global and Community Engagement community. Upperclassmen choose Gibson and Lloyd suites with two baths, Carnegie Hall suites with an elevator and historic parlor, Pearsons wellness hall, or Beeson Village apartments for eligible juniors and seniors. Upperclass halls offer 24-hour visitation and carpeting. See Maryville residence halls.

 

24. Cumberland University

Cumberland University in Lebanon has five residence halls with furniture, cable, laundry access, Wi-Fi, and meal plans. Justin Potter Hall houses 81 first-year women, and Edward Potter Hall houses 105 first-year men; both are traditional, with a shared bathroom per hallway.

Upperclass students with 30 or more credits can choose Lurton Hall for men or Jackson Hall for women, each with four-suite quads and three bathrooms per suite, or co-ed South Hall with four-person suites, an elevator, keyless entry, study rooms, and ping-pong tables. See Cumberland residence halls.

 

25. Sewanee – The University of the South

Sewanee offers one of the state’s widest hall selections. Coed halls include Ayres (opened 2016), Smith (opened 2013, mostly first-years), Humphreys (2003, 118 students), St. Luke’s (1887, about 115 students), Hunter, Cleveland, Cannon, Courts, Benedict, and Trezevant, with Benedict, Courts, and Trezevant built around courtyards.

Elliott houses 55 men, Johnson houses about 56 women, and Phillips houses 26 upperclass women with singles and doubles. Hodgson is reserved for upperclass students. See Sewanee residence halls. Housing rates, hall closures, and requirements change each year, so check each school’s housing office before you apply. Use this list to narrow your options, then compare halls, room types, and costs on the official pages.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best college dorms in Tennessee for 2027?

Johnson University, Union University, and Lincoln Memorial University lead this University Magazine list for 2027, followed by Freed-Hardeman, Lipscomb, and Southern Adventist. All 25 schools are ranked below with housing details from official sources.

Which Tennessee colleges require students to live on campus?

Lincoln Memorial requires full-time undergraduates on the Harrogate campus to live on campus, with exceptions; Freed-Hardeman requires it unless students are over 23, have 120 credit hours, or are married; and Christian Brothers requires first-years and sophomores to live on campus.

Which Tennessee school has the most distinctive residential system?

Vanderbilt houses all first-year students in The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and upperclass students in residential colleges such as Warren and Moore.

Which Tennessee schools have new residence halls?

Carson-Newman opened West Campus Commons in January 2025, and Trevecca’s University Commons is a seven-story building for nearly 300 students.

Which Tennessee schools offer apartment-style housing?

Belmont, Rhodes, Southern Adventist, Tusculum, Memphis, and Chattanooga all offer apartment-style options, mostly for upperclassmen.

Top 25 Best College Dorms in Tennessee 2027

1. Johnson University
2. Union University
3. Lincoln Memorial University
4. Freed-Hardeman University
5. Lipscomb University
6. Southern Adventist University
7. Belmont University
8. Lee University
9. University of Tennessee at Martin
10. Vanderbilt University
11. Tennessee Technological University
12. Tusculum University
13. East Tennessee State University
14. Austin Peay State University
15. Trevecca Nazarene University
16. University of Memphis
17. Carson-Newman University
18. Christian Brothers University
19. LeMoyne-Owen College
20. Rhodes College
21. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
22. Bryan College – Tennessee
23. Maryville College
24. Cumberland University
25. Sewanee – The University of the South

 

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