UF Graduate and Professional Student Moving Guide

A household move, not the undergraduate scramble

Moving to Gainesville for graduate school or a professional program at the University of Florida (UF)? Your move is not the undergraduate August scramble. Graduate and professional students usually move a full household — real furniture, books, a desk setup, often a partner or a child — into an unfurnished apartment or house, and many start in January, May, or midsummer. A labor-only crew fits that move: Military Veterans Moving People (MVMP) — "Gainesville Movers" — charges $150/hr for 2 movers, $225/hr for 3 movers, or $300/hr for 4 movers ($75 per mover per hour, 3-hour minimum). Call 352-328-6215.

Our crews are mixed teams of veterans and civilian professionals — never "all-veteran."

A woman in a graduation cap looking up happily.

A Big Population That Moves Differently

About 19,000 graduate and professional students

UF is not only an undergraduate school. The university's fall 2025 figures list 14,894 graduate students and 4,184 professional students, out of 63,148 students in total, across 16 colleges and more than 200 graduate programs — roughly nineteen thousand people on graduate, lab, clinical, and professional-school calendars.

Three differences shape almost every move in this group:

• The load is a household, not a dorm room. Graduate housing on and off campus is usually unfurnished. Expect a bed, a sofa, a desk, bookcases, and kitchen gear — a truck or container load, not a car load.
• The start date is not always August. Fall classes run August 20 to December 2, 2026, and spring classes run January 11 to April 21, 2027, with Summer C in May through early August. New cohorts arrive in each window.
• The stay is longer. A multi-year degree rewards bringing furniture you already own and placing it once, correctly, on move day.

Your School Decides Your Side of Campus

Law, business, vet med, health sciences, research

UF's campus covers about 2,000 acres, and its professional schools sit in different corners of it. Pick housing for your building, not for University Avenue.

Law — northwest campus. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law is at 309 Village Drive. Law students who want a short trip to Holland Hall often look just west and north of campus, or in the graduate villages below, which sit minutes from the law school.

Business — central campus. Graduate business programs in the Warrington College of Business work out of Hough Hall at 1404 Union Drive, home to the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and specialty master's programs, with more than 2,100 graduate students across master's and doctoral programs. Midtown and downtown both work for this location — see our West University and Midtown guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/west-university-%26-midtown and downtown guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/downtown-gainesville

Veterinary medicine and health sciences — south campus. The College of Veterinary Medicine is at 2015 SW 16th Avenue, with the UF Small Animal Hospital nearby on the same street. The health-science center clusters around UF Health Shands Hospital at 1600 SW Archer Road. Students and trainees there often live along Southwest 34th Street or Archer Road — our Southwest 34th Street guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/sw-34th-street-guide and Archer Road guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/archer-road-moving-guide cover those corridors, and incoming residents should also read the medical residency relocation guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/medical-residency-guide

Research programs — everywhere. Doctoral and master's students work in labs and offices across campus. For them, bus access and a quiet street usually matter more than a five-minute walk.

Where Graduate and Professional Students Actually Live

Villages, The Continuum, and quieter corridors

On campus: the graduate and family villages. UF Housing runs apartment villages for graduate students and students with families, including Corry Village, Diamond Village, and Tanglewood Village. Corry Village offers one- and two-bedroom unfurnished apartments near the center of campus, minutes from the College of Law and Lake Alice. Diamond Village, on the southeast side near Shands, the College of Medicine, and the College of Dentistry, offers unfurnished apartments with full kitchens and suits health-science students and families. Tanglewood Village offers one-bedroom flats and two-bedroom townhomes on the south side. Because these units are unfurnished, plan crew time for furniture, not just boxes. Confirm dates directly with UF Housing; do not assume an undergraduate hall schedule applies.

The Continuum — downtown edge. The Continuum at 491 W University Avenue describes itself as UF's official housing partner for graduate and professional students and faculty, in partnership with the Department of Housing and Residence Education. It sits between campus and Downtown Gainesville, offers furnished apartments with elevators and restricted access, and is the closest thing this market has to a purpose-built graduate tower. Confirm elevator and parking rules with the leasing office before you book a crew.

Off campus: quieter corridors win. Many graduate students skip the per-bedroom towers on West University Avenue and choose:

• Garden apartments along Southwest 34th Street and Southwest 62nd Boulevard — larger floor plans, surface parking, and a bus ride to campus.
• Houses and duplexes in the Duckpond historic district northeast of campus — whole-unit leases, yards, and a short drive to UF and the hospitals.
• Single-family areas farther southwest, including Haile Plantation, for students with families who want a house.

The trade is simple: you give up a walk to University Avenue and gain space, parking at your door, and neighbors on work schedules.

The Lease Difference: Whole Unit vs. By the Bedroom

Joint lease vs. per-bedroom lease

Undergraduate Gainesville runs individual leases — one contract per bedroom; e.g., Alight Gainesville, 725 NW 13th Street, standard term Aug 15, 2026–Jul 30, 2027. Graduate housing often works the other way: a joint lease on a whole unit — everyone responsible for the full rent and move-out condition.

Move implications: one plan for the unit, not four bedroom plans; decide in writing who owns shared furniture and who takes it at move-out; if a partner joins later, stage heavy furniture on the first move.

GRU (Gainesville Regional Utilities, city-owned): electric, water, wastewater, gas, and telecom on one local account for most city addresses; whole-unit lease = you usually open the account; furnished unit = confirm in writing what's included.

A Graduate Move Plan That Fits a Program Calendar

Six steps, from program date to work corner

(1) Start from your program date — orientation, lab, or first class differ; work backward from the earliest must-be-here date. (2) Confirm housing type + furniture status in writing. (3) Confirm building rules with the leasing office — elevator reservations, gate codes, parking, move-day hours; get answers before the truck is loaded. (4) Book labor for the household you have: studio of boxes = 2 movers; two-bedroom with bookcases/desk = usually 3. Rates $150/$225/$300 per hr, 3-hr min; call 352-328-6215. (5) Use the bus while the truck works — RTS (Regional Transit System) is Gainesville's city bus; UF students ride prepaid under the university contract; check the current RTS map. (6) Set up the work corner first: bed/bathroom/kitchen night one; desk/chair/internet day two.

Lease-gap moves: storage guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/gainesville-storage-guide , UF move-cycle guide https://veteransmovinghelp.com/uf-move-cycle-guide , student moving checklist https://veteransmovinghelp.com/student-moving-checklist , resources directory https://veteransmovinghelp.com/moving-resources

How Labor-Only Help Works for a Household Move

You rent and drive — we load and unload

You rent and drive the truck or container; we supply the crew that loads and unloads it. You are the carrier. That suits graduate moves: drive a rental truck from another state, ship a container ahead, or move locally from a first-semester rental into a longer-term house.

Military Veterans Moving People (MVMP) carries general liability insurance and workers' compensation. On a labor-only job there is no cargo insurance — your belongings travel on your truck or container, under your arrangements. Wrap books, electronics, and office gear accordingly; point out fragile boxes before loading starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Graduate and professional student FAQs

How much does labor-only moving help cost? $150/hr for 2 movers, $225/hr for 3 movers, $300/hr for 4 movers — $75 per mover per hour, 3-hour minimum. A 2-mover move starts at $450. You rent and drive the truck or container. Call 352-328-6215.

How is a graduate move different from an undergraduate move? An unfurnished full household, a joint whole-unit lease vs. per-bedroom leases, and start dates spread across January, May, summer, and August.

What graduate and family housing is on campus? Corry Village (center campus), Diamond Village (southeast, near Shands), and Tanglewood Village (south). All are unfurnished — confirm dates with UF Housing.

Where should I live for my school? Near your school: Law, 309 Village Drive (northwest); Business, Hough Hall, 1404 Union Drive (central); Vet Med, 2015 SW 16th Avenue (south, near Shands, 1600 SW Archer Road).

What is The Continuum? 491 W University Avenue — UF's official housing partner for graduate and professional students and faculty. It is furnished; confirm eligibility, floor plans, and elevator/parking rules with the leasing office.

When should I book for a January or summer start? As soon as your housing date is firm. Quieter than August, but starts cluster around term dates — spring classes start Jan. 11, 2027; residency training starts July 1.

What insurance is included? General liability and workers' compensation. There is no cargo insurance on labor-only jobs — you are the carrier — so pack fragile items, electronics, and research materials accordingly.

Can you unload an out-of-state truck or shipped container? Yes — that is the core of the labor-only service. Book 2, 3, or 4 movers by the hour. For access planning, see apartment moving labor https://veteransmovinghelp.com/apartment-moving-labor

More Gainesville Guides for Graduate Students

Hub, resources, and neighborhood guides