Berklee College of Music houses approximately 1,500 students in five residential areas, all in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood and all within a few blocks of the college’s Massachusetts Avenue buildings. There is no sprawling campus here: the dorms are converted brownstones and mid-rise buildings on city streets, and the differences between them come down to bathrooms, air conditioning, lounges and, crucially for a music school, whether the building has practice rooms. This guide covers every one of them.
What Housing at Berklee College of Music Looks Like
Berklee’s Office of Housing and Residential Education runs five residential areas: 12 Hemenway Street, 98 Hemenway Street, 150 Massachusetts Avenue, 160 Massachusetts Avenue, 270 Commonwealth Avenue and a cluster of five historic brownstones on the Fenway. Room types across the system are singles, doubles, triples and quads, with singles largely reserved for medical accommodations, so most students should expect to share. Beds are single, lofted or bunked depending on the building. Fitness centers exist in only two buildings, 270 Commonwealth Avenue and 160 Massachusetts Avenue, but any current on-campus resident may use them during the fall and spring semesters when the halls are open.
What 12 Hemenway Street Is
The smallest of the residences, 12 Hemenway Street has a total capacity of 114. It is air conditioned, offers singles, doubles, triples and quads, and has community bathrooms with some private ones. There is a community kitchen and a lounge on each floor plus several more on the ground floor. The one drawback for a musician: there are no practice rooms in the building.
What 98 Hemenway Street Is
98 Hemenway Street holds 130 students in the same mix of room types. Rooms get window-unit air conditioners during the summer rather than central air. Bathrooms are community-style with some private ones, there is a community kitchen, a single lounge in the basement, and, unlike its neighbor at number 12, practice rooms on site. There is no fitness center, but residents can use the ones at 270 Commonwealth Avenue and 160 Massachusetts Avenue.
What 150 Massachusetts Avenue Is
150 Massachusetts Avenue is the largest residence, with a total capacity of 453, and the only one where every room has its own private bathroom. It is air conditioned and offers singles through quads with single, lofted or bunked beds. There is no community kitchen, one lounge on the third floor, and practice rooms in the building. It is also where the Housing and Residential Education office itself is located.
What 160 Massachusetts Avenue Is
160 Massachusetts Avenue houses 369 students in doubles, triples and quads only; there are no singles. Beds are single beds only, with no lofted or bunked beds except in the quads. Bathrooms are community bathrooms on each floor, there is no community kitchen, and there are six lounges in total spread over every other floor. The building has practice rooms and one of Berklee’s two fitness centers.
What 270 Commonwealth Avenue Is
270 Commonwealth Avenue holds 260 students. Air conditioning is partial: rooms on some floors have units, as does the basement. Room types run from singles to quads, with common bathrooms, lockable single-user bathrooms and some private bathrooms. It has the richest lounge provision of the group, with one lounge per floor, a TV lounge on the first floor and a large basement lounge, along with a community kitchen, practice rooms and the second fitness center.
What the Fenway Residence Halls Are
The Fenway residence halls are five historic brownstones at 24, 26, 32, 40 and 54 Fenway, with a combined capacity of 200. They are largely reserved for entering Boston Conservatory at Berklee students. Rooms include singles, doubles, triples, quads and quints, with window-unit air conditioners in summer, common and lockable single-user bathrooms plus some private ones, and one community lounge per building. There is no community kitchen and no practice rooms, so Conservatory students practise elsewhere on campus.
Tips for Choosing a Dorm at Berklee
- Prioritise practice rooms. 98 Hemenway, 150 and 160 Massachusetts Avenue and 270 Commonwealth Avenue have them; 12 Hemenway and the Fenway brownstones do not.
- Decide how much a private bathroom matters. Only 150 Massachusetts Avenue guarantees one in every room.
- Check the air conditioning. 12 Hemenway, 150 and 160 Massachusetts Avenue have it throughout; 98 Hemenway and the Fenway halls rely on summer window units; 270 Commonwealth is partial.
- Want to cook? Community kitchens are in 12 and 98 Hemenway and 270 Commonwealth only.
- Do not count on a single. Singles are largely reserved for medical accommodations in every building.
- Take the virtual tours. Each hall’s page on the housing site links to one, which is the best way to judge room sizes in a converted brownstone.
Conclusion
Berklee’s dorms are six addresses across five residential areas, and the choice is mostly about amenities rather than location, since all sit in the same Back Bay blocks. For most Berklee College of Music students the practical short list is 150 Massachusetts Avenue for private bathrooms, 160 Massachusetts Avenue or 270 Commonwealth Avenue for a fitness center on site, and 98 Hemenway for a smaller building that still has practice rooms. Entering Boston Conservatory students will most likely be placed in the Fenway brownstones. Rates and application dates are published separately by the housing office.