SC · Dorm dimensions
The Citadel Dorm Room Dimensions
Living off campus? See the The Citadel off-campus housing guide
The Citadel has room-dimension data for 1 residence hall. Published room sizes range from about 1200 to 2700 sq ft, with a median of 1950 sq ft. Find exact width × length and square footage for each hall below, then preview your layout in the visualizer.
Campus Housing - Office of Facilities & Engineering
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| two bedroom | — | 1200 sq ft |
| two bedroom | — | 2700 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →What on-campus housing costs at The Citadel
Heads up — this school breaks the usual rules
- Buy FLAT sheets, not a Twin XL bedding set. The official list requires “4 plain white, non-fitted, extra-long twin sheets.” Fitted sheets are wrong. The most expensive mistake a Citadel family makes is buying a conventional bed-in-a-bag — every printed, colored or fitted piece in it is unusable.
- The entire dorm-appliance aisle is off the list. Refrigerators are not authorized at all, and electrical cooking equipment is prohibited — no microwave, no toaster, no air fryer. The only cooling allowed is a passive cooler no larger than six-pack size.
- The entire dorm-decor aisle is off the list too. Nothing hangs on the walls beyond what the White Book designates — no posters, no tapestries, no LED strips, no photo collages. Approved flags only, 3' x 5' maximum, one per room, taken down for Saturday inspections.
- Freshmen and sophomores cannot have a TV. Televisions are junior and senior only, up to 32 inches. Buying one for a knob is a purchase that gets confiscated.
- Quantities are counted, not estimated — 12 white crew-neck undershirts, 12 pairs of white underwear, 12 pairs of black crew socks, 10 pairs of plain white ankle socks with no logos, six pairs of coyote brown boot socks, six white bath towels. An iron is required; an ironing board is only optional.
- Budget the Quartermaster deposit as a housing-adjacent cost. At $9,300 in freshman year it is nearly as large as room and board itself — and it is exactly why the family should buy almost nothing for the room.
Buying the standard college checklist here will waste money — check your building first.
| Hall | Style | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Padgett-Thomas Barracks One of five barracks. Cadets are assigned by company, not by price. | Barracks | $11,245/yr room and board |
| Law Barracks Same flat rate — there is no budget tier and no premium tier. | Barracks | $11,245/yr room and board |
| Murray Barracks Same flat rate; all cadets eat in the mess hall. | Barracks | $11,245/yr room and board |
| Stevens Barracks Same flat rate; every room is issued identical institutional furniture. | Barracks | $11,245/yr room and board |
| Watts Barracks Same flat rate. There is no apartment or suite tier anywhere at The Citadel. | Barracks | $11,245/yr room and board |
| Non-cadet students The Citadel does not provide on-campus housing for graduate students, and its 77 campus units are faculty and staff quarters only. Graduate, evening and veteran students find housing in Charleston. | — | No on-campus option |
Figures are 2026-27 annual, and room and board is a single flat $11,245 for every cadet in every barracks — there is no cheaper option and no way to economize. The mess hall plan cannot be declined or downgraded. The critical caveat: this badly understates first-year out-of-pocket cost because of the Quartermaster Deposit of $9,300 for freshmen ($3,124 for upperclass cadets), a mandatory prepaid account covering uniforms, books, supplies, haircuts, tailoring and laundry. Also mandatory: a Leadership Lab Fee of $1,250 freshman year, $150 a year for the electronic portrait and $45 for the yearbook. Many majors carry a school excellence fee of $1,250 per semester. Rates compiled from the university’s published housing rates, August 2026. Always confirm on the official rates page.
Who has to live on campus
All members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets live in barracks — there is no cadet commuter option and no cadet apartment tier. The Board of Visitors requires “a minimum of six semesters of residence at The Citadel—or five semesters in residence plus one semester in an approved study abroad program—for graduation.” The study-abroad substitution is the only exception named; no exemption for age, marital status, veteran status or local residency is published.
What the room already includes
Every barracks room is issued the same institutional furniture: a bunk bed, desk with shelves, half press (a four or five-drawer chest), full press, rifle rack and chair. Layouts are prescribed for both two-cadet and four-cadet rooms — cadets do not arrange their own furniture. There are no kitchens, no apartment-style barracks and no suite tier; all cadets eat in the mess hall and board is bundled into a single charge. Laundry is included — each cadet is issued a laundry bag and the service is covered by the Quartermaster Account, which also covers dry cleaning, uniforms, books, haircuts and tailoring. Uniforms, locks, a bathrobe and a shoe shine kit are issued at matriculation, and the packing list says not to bring extras.
Fridge & microwave rules
No refrigerator. No microwave. This is a hard prohibition, not a size cap: “Refrigerators NOT authorized,” with the Citadel Surgeon able to authorize an electric cooler up to 40 quarts for medical reasons in rare instances. The only routine cooling allowed is a passive cooler no larger than six-pack size, which may sit only on the full press. There is no wattage cap because electrical cooking equipment is banned outright. The one allowance: one authorized appliance per half press — a small fan, coffee pot or maker, iron or deodorizer. A coffee maker or Keurig is authorized but not required.
What you cannot bring
Refrigerators and electrical cooking equipment — the catch-all that eliminates air fryers, Instant Pots, toasters, toaster ovens and hot plates, none of which are named individually. Candles and open flames; tobacco and nicotine; folding chairs; watersport equipment, bikes and golf clubs. Wall decoration is effectively zero: “no item(s) (e.g. framed pictures, hangers for ties, calendars, flags, etc.) other than those designated in the White Book, will be hung on walls.” There is no percentage allowance — the default is nothing, so tapestries, posters, string lights and LED strips are all excluded without needing a separate ban. Size caps apply to the few authorized items: at most two computer monitors not exceeding 27 inches; a television only for juniors and seniors, up to 32 inches; an oscillating fan no larger than 10" x 13"; a speaker no larger than 12" x 24"; a picture frame no larger than 8" x 10". The packing list closes with “do not bring extra items beyond the list” — at The Citadel the list is a ceiling, not a suggestion.