Overview
New College is a fully-catered residential college that is home to 247 full-time undergraduate students of The University of New South Wales, including UNSW Art & Design. The College has roughly an equal number of rooms for men and women.
Sporting the New College colours
Where you choose to live can make an enormous difference to your university experience.
Living in a full-board residential college, such as New College, provides friendship and community life, academic support, an abundance of sporting, theatrical and extracurricular activities, and the chance to develop and mature in many ways. The community at New College is famous for its warmth and energy, and is a place to call ‘home’.
The Master leads the Pastoral Care Team, which includes a Dean of Residents and Assistant Dean of Residents who both live in the College, as well as Resident Advisers living on every floor. This environment makes New College ideal for students transitioning from life at home to university. Academic Tutors provide subject-specific support to residents in the form of tutorials and one-to-one help, as needed. Provision of high quality pastoral care and academic support is a priority for the College.
New College Master and residents enjoying a sporting match from the sidelines
New College is far more than just a place to live and study. Many residents end up living in the community for a number of years whilst they undertake their undergraduate program at UNSW. New College attracts students from regional, rural and metropolitan areas of Australia and the College has a strong international student presence. One of the huge advantages of catered accommodation while studying an undergraduate degree is the enormous amount of time you can save when you are provided with three meals a day, seven days a week. The weekly cleaning service is also a very useful time-saver. Accommodation contracts are for 44 weeks based on the UNSW academic calendar, with alternative-length contracts possible upon discussion with the Dean and depending on the academic program. 
Founded on Christian faith and values, the College warmly welcomes students of all faiths and none, from every culture and background, from all around the globe. While based on and influenced by Christian faith and values, we impose no test of religious belief on our resident members. As a not-for-profit, New College seeks to offer an affordable experience without compromising on quality.
New College is positioned on campus at UNSW and is centrally located, close to the Airport (15 minutes), the City (15 minutes), Coogee Beach (5 minutes), Maroubra Beach (10 minutes), and Bondi Beach (15 minutes). Also close by, within a 10-minute walk, are a large number of restaurants and cafes, shops and parks, as well as the UNSW Fitness & Aquatic Centre a short stroll away. The main UNSW bus stop and the light rail station are both located just 200 metres from the College, making it easy to get to the city, airport and beaches. Taxis are readily available.
See our location at UNSW and find out how to get to our Colleges.
Virtual Tour
Student Rooms
Rooms and Bathrooms
Our residents are accommodated within a group of eight or nine rooms. Each group of rooms is linked to a common room with a small kitchenette. The bathrooms for each group are single-sex, containing private facilities (two showers and two toilets).
Every College room includes:
- A single bed
- Linen (doona, pillows, and sheets)
- Study desk, swivel chair and a study lamp
- A built-in wardrobe (free-standing wardrobes on 4th floor)
- Bookshelves
- Air-conditioning and heating
- High-speed internet - 100mbps (download/upload) Wi-Fi and Ethernet internet access with 40GB of data included
- A window with a blind and flyscreen
Room Configurations
The typical College room on levels 1-3 is 3.6 x 2.4 m, though a small number of rooms facing the central courtyard have a slightly different configuration. The rooms on 4th floor come in a wider variety of room configurations.
During the summer holidays, residents are normally required to vacate their rooms, though there are some storage facilities in the College for residents who cannot take all of their belongings home over the break.
Cleaning Service
Each week, College rooms and common areas are vacuumed and fresh bed linen is supplied. There is also a laundry located on each floor, with coin-operated washing machines and clothes dryers. In a community space such as New College, collegians are expected to take responsibility for basic tidying of their common living areas and bedrooms, and to clean up any messes as they occur. In addition, the cleaning staff undertake a programmed and ongoing clean of all common areas and facilities.
Catering & Café
Friendly catering staff
All catering included
The New College membership fee covers full-catering throughout the entire 44 week academic year. Every resident is given weekly credit that covers all meals. If residents miss meals they are able to use left-over credit to purchase additional meals, beverages or snacks from the New College Café.The kitchen and Café provide a range of meal choices and cater for a wide variety of tastes, cultural preferences and dietary needs.
Three meals every day
- Breakfast – continental breakfast options (wide range of cereals, milk, preserved fruits, juice, yoghurt and fresh fruit) and/or hot breakfast (menu alters day to day).
- Lunch – A main meal option (meat or vegetarian), plus pasta, pre-mixed salads, cold meats & individual salad ingredients, fresh fruit, and soup of the day (winter months).
- Dinner – A main meal (2 meat options or vegetarian), a selection of vegetables, pre-mixed salads, and fresh fruit. A different dessert is also provided every evening.
Food always available in the Dining Hall
- A wide variety of breads (including gluten free). Toasters are provided.
- Condiments (honey, butter, jams, peanut butter, Nutella, Vegemite etc.)
- Coffee, tea, milk
Additional catering and services included in membership fee
- An extensive hot breakfast/brunch on Sunday mornings (in addition to breakfast & lunch)
- College Supper on Tuesday nights
- Approx. three compulsory Formal Dinners each term
- Lunchbox meals for students unable to return to the College for lunch
- Late meals (pre-plated and stored until residents can return to the College)
New College Café range
- Main meals, salads, pasta, and soup of the day (winter months) outside of the normal Dining Room meal times.
- Barista-made coffee
- Drinks, snacks and confectionery
- A selection of sweet baked items and pre-made sandwiches, rolls, and other savoury items.
All meals are prepared by the accommodation catering specialist Chartwells, the educational services division of the Compass Group. The kitchen and Café are run by a dedicated team of professional and highly trained staff. All menus are set by a Chartwells dietician.
A ‘dry’ college
New College is officially a ‘dry’ college and has been for 50 years. Social events on the College calendar provide ample opportunity for residents to drink socially outside the College. While residents may store alcohol in a locked cupboard in the College, alcohol and the consumption of alcohol are not permitted anywhere else in the building, including student rooms and common areas. Alcohol has been proven to be one of the primary contributors fuelling poor behaviour within university colleges in Australia. New College seeks to be a safe community on campus at UNSW.
Facilities
Accessibility
A ramp provides wheelchair access into the College and there is lift access to all floors. A public disabled toilet is located on the ground floor. The College has a small number of rooms that are suitable for someone with a physical disability, depending on their needs. For more information, please contact the Admissions Officer.
Bicycle & Surfboard Storage
Residents with bicycles and surfboards are able to store these in a locked, enclosed area under the College colonnade.
College Group Common Rooms
New College was built for community and the group structure is an important feature in building relationships. Each College group of approx. 17 students (half male and half female) has its own living area called a common room, including a kitchenette. All common rooms face into the central courtyard providing a connection with the wider College community. The common rooms are places to relax and meet one another outside the private rooms. ‘Group supper’ takes place in the common rooms on Sunday nights. The Resident Adviser Flats also have lounge rooms where collegians gather to socialise.
Courtyard
The New College courtyard is a huge space. It is often used by residents for BBQs, pancake breakfasts, morning teas, after-dinner suppers, dancing, playing badminton, and study. Residents are allowed to take their regular meals into the courtyard from the ground-floor cafeteria. The courtyard is covered by a glass and polycarbonate roof that allows sunlight in but keeps the rain out, making it suitable for use in all weather.
A bridge spans across the courtyard at the level of the 3rd floor and provides another space to study or relax. The Games Room, Television Room and student kitchen are all located within, or adjacent to the courtyard.
Dining Room & Café
The College Dining Room is where our 247 collegians share meals. There is also an adjoining Café, which offers additional meals, beverages, and snacks outside of the regular cafeteria meal times. The Café provides another place for collegians to relax on the lounge, with Foxtel and free-to-air television available.
Games Room
New College has a Games Room, which is a great place for New Collegians to take a break from study. The room includes a billiards table, a table tennis table, an air hockey table and a foosball table.
Internet & IT Resources
New Collegians receive onsite IT benefits such as:
- High-speed (100mbps download/upload) Wi-Fi coverage throughout the College and Ethernet internet access within rooms. 40GB of data included with top-up and unlimited plans available to purchase if needed.
- Scanning, photocopier/printing & colour laser printing.
- Support from the Computing Tutor with IT problems.
- Access to audio visual resources, including data projectors, microphones, digital and analogue mixers.
- A couple of PCs are available for student use but collegians generally provide their own computer devices.
Laundries
On each floor there are laundries with a sink and coin-operated washing machines and dryers. Ironing facilities are available in each college group.
Main Common Room and Meeting Rooms
The Main Common Room (MCR) is a large multi-purpose venue on the ground floor. It is used for social events, dancing, formal dinners, art exhibitions, College Services, and public lectures. It also converts into the College’s theatre for student productions (revues, plays, and musicals).The MCR is air-conditioned and installed with a digital sound system, data projectors, and big screens connected to Foxtel. The College also has three other air-conditioned meeting rooms for tutorials, study seminars, group assignment meetings and social events. Portable data projectors, screens, lecterns, whiteboards and other presentation aids are available to borrow from reception.
Music Room & Grand Piano
No matter what your musical interest, it will be valued at New College! The Music Room includes a grand and an upright piano, electric piano, drum kit, microphones and leads for amplification. The room provides a space for musicians to practice their instruments or rehearse as a group. The seven foot grand piano in the Main Common Room is kept locked but can be booked and used.
Pollard Gym
The Pollard Room, named in honour of Rev Noel Pollard who was New College’s first Master, has just recently been transformed into a small gym. It is well equipped for many different kinds of exercise:
- Dumbbells (1-30kg)
- Barbells and plates
- Adjustable benches
- Power rack
- Treadmill
- Rowing machine
- Yoga equipment
- Heavy bag
Reception & Security
Reception is open from Monday to Friday (excluding Public Holidays), 9.00am to 5.00pm. On weekends and after hours, a Duty Officer is on call to assist residents and casual/conference guests. Access into New College is restricted by card access.
Shed
For engineering students or others who require it, there is a Shed that can be booked and used for constructing various design projects. The Shed is equipped with a range of tools. They are available to residents who have first been trained in their safe use. The Shed is also used for set and prop construction for College theatrical productions.
Sporting Facilities & Equipment
New College residents regularly participate in different sports on a social and competitive level, including in the inter-college competition. The College doesn’t own its own sporting ground but it does back directly onto UNSW’s basketball and futsal courts and, soon, UNSW's redeveloped Village Green area.
Student Kitchen
While New College is a fully-catered community, a student kitchen is available for residents to use to bake or cook meals for special occasions.
TV Room
The TV room has Foxtel and free-to-air channels. Foxtel is also viewable on a big screen in the Main Common Room, especially during major sporting events.