A student dormitory is a residential space where persons attending an educational institution are housed communally, often by assignment, and often featuring shared facilities, such as bathrooms, activity rooms, or kitchens. Residents of a dormitory generally enjoy less autonomy and privacy than tenants of student apartments or other forms of leased housing.

Students are accommodated within a collective arrangement tied to their educational institution. Shared bathrooms or common rooms can reduce individual control even when bedrooms are private.

Student apartments offer the greater privacy and autonomy of ordinary apartments. Student status alone does not determine whether housing is a dormitory or an apartment.