Places to study on campus

Welcome to Hopkins! As a student, a lot of your time is unfortunately taken up by studying for your upcoming midterm or finishing up a problem set. Fortunately, our campus is filled with a plethora of places to study, and, depending on your mood, you can always find a new place to get some work done. 

Brody Learning Commons (BLC) and Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSE)

BLC and MSE are two of the busiest and most popular places to study on campus. You can reserve a room for group study sessions, go over math problem sets on A-Level or draw organic chemistry mechanisms on one of the whiteboards in the atrium. The reading room on the uppermost floor of BLC is a perfect place for some focused studying. Head over to Brody Cafe to pick up coffee or a snack to fuel your study session. 

Albert D. Hutzler Reading Room and The Gilman Atrium 

The Albert D. Hutzler Reading Room in Gilman Hall is the place to live out all your dark academia dreams. The stained glass windows filter light onto the wooden tables and portraits line the pale green walls. Pick up a latte from Piccola Allora — the only coffee shop on campus that takes dining dollars! If the reading room gets too quiet for you, take a seat on one of the orange chairs in the atrium, and take in the hustle and bustle of students rushing to class, meeting with their professors or crowding around a table to practice a second language. 

Olin Hall and the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy

If you're tired of studying all day in BLC, both Olin Hall and the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy have quiet spaces with lots of natural light. These academic buildings may be a bit of a trek from where most freshman housing is located, but both are calm spaces to work on papers, especially during finals season.

Mudd Hall

With its floor-to-ceiling windows, Mudd Hall is one of my favorite places to get work done before a lab. There are many different kinds of seating, including rocking chairs, high stools and sofas. Grab a coffee from the Daily Grind, find a seat next to the window and contemplate if organic chemistry is any different from drawing hexagons. 

East Baltimore Campus

If you’re at the med campus and need a place to study, head to the second or ninth floor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health or the first floor in the School of Nursing. Both of these buildings have study spaces that are accessible with your J-card. 

The George Peabody Library

Located in Mount Vernon at the Peabody Institute, the George Peabody Library was built in 1857 and houses the University's Sheridan Libraries Special Collections, which includes first editions of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The first floor has tables nestled within alcoves of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. This is a perfect spot to study away from Homewood Campus or for an aesthetic photo shoot. You may even hear the Peabody Orchestra practicing in the background.