NUST's H-12 hostels are only for outstation students admitted to a school on the Islamabad campus. If your home is inside Islamabad or Rawalpindi district, you are not eligible. For students joining in Fall 2025 or later, a triple room with a shared bathroom costs Rs 11,000 a month and the mess costs Rs 20,700 a month on top.
Key facts
- 17 hostels on H-12: 8 for male and 9 for female students, capacity 4,719
- Only students at the Islamabad campus, and only from outside Islamabad and Rawalpindi districts
- New national UG students in semesters 1 to 3 get tri-seater rooms
- Triple, shared bath: Rs 11,000 per month. Mess: Rs 20,700 per month
- Apply through the UG admissions portal as a new student
Source: NUST Campus Life housing and dining page, Hostel Allotment SOP (revised 1 May 2025), checked October 2026
Who is eligible
NUST's Hostel Allotment SOP, revised on 1 May 2025 and applied from Fall 2025, sets three conditions. You must be:
- Registered for a degree at the Islamabad campus. The H-12 hostels do not cover CoEME, MCS, MCE, CAE, PNEC or NBC.
- An outstation student who got admission to a school on the H-12 campus.
- Living outside Islamabad district and Rawalpindi district.
The SOP spells the excluded areas out: all CDA sectors, DHA I to VII, Sihala, Rawat, Bara Kahu, Bahria, Chak Shahzad, Rawalpindi city, Gujar Khan, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Taxila and Wah. If you live in any of those, plan to commute.
The SOP also notes there is no hostel for Pakistani male postgraduate students. That doesn't affect you now, but it tells you how tight space is.
How rooms are allotted
Demand beats supply, so NUST allots by priority. The SOP's order:
| Priority | Who |
|---|---|
| 1 | Last year's waiting list from the first and second merit lists |
| 2 | Students on SAT international seats and foreign students |
| 3 | Students in the special categories below who are in the first merit list |
| 4 | Everyone else, by merit-list position |
The special categories in priority 3 are: specially-abled students; wards of war-wounded soldiers and shuhada, and orphans; overseas Pakistanis with residency proof; and students from Balochistan, Sindh, ex-FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan, named districts of southern Punjab (Bahawalnagar, DG Khan, Layyah, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur), named areas of AJK (Athmuqam, Hattian Bala, Haveli, Kahota) and of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (DI Khan, Chitral).
In practice, if you are from Lahore or Peshawar and land in a later merit list, a room is not guaranteed. Have a backup plan. The campus life page says allotment within each category goes strictly by application seniority. Apply the moment the portal lets you.
The hostels themselves
NUST's campus life page lists the H-12 hostels by name:
| For male students | For female students |
|---|---|
| Ghazali, Beruni, Razi, Rahmat, Liaquat, Hajveri, Zakariya (UG) | Fatima Blocks III, IV, V, Zainab, Ayesha, Khadija, Amna (UG) |
| Attar (PG and UG) | Fatima Blocks I, II (PG) |
Rooms are fully furnished. Each hostel has its own mess, and NUST lists a TV room, laundry, gym, badminton and table tennis, internet, radiator heating, 24-hour medical cover and a holiday shuttle. First to third semester national undergraduates go into tri-seater rooms.
What it costs
These are NUST's published rates for national students joining from Fall 2025 onward, per month:
| Room | PKR per month |
|---|---|
| Single, attached bath | 24,200 |
| Double, attached bath | 22,000 |
| Double, community bath | 17,600 |
| Triple, attached bath | 16,500 |
| Triple, community bath | 11,000 |
Mess is a flat Rs 20,700 a month, charged in advance. That works out to Rs 668 a day for three meals. Refundable security is Rs 25,000 for the hostel and Rs 20,000 for the mess.
Accommodation is billed six months at a time. The mess is billed monthly. So a new student in a triple room with a shared bath pays roughly this before moving in:
| Item | PKR |
|---|---|
| Six months' rent (triple, community bath) | 66,000 |
| Hostel security (refundable) | 25,000 |
| First month's mess | 20,700 |
| Mess security (refundable) | 20,000 |
| Total before joining | 131,700 |
That total is our arithmetic from NUST's published rates. After that, budget about Rs 31,700 a month for room and mess. This is separate from tuition, which is in the fee structure guide.
How to apply
- As a new undergraduate, apply for hostel accommodation online at the UG admissions portal.
- Once you are allotted a room, Finance issues a six-month challan for rent and hostel security on your Qalam account. Pay it before you arrive.
- You get a separate monthly challan for mess and mess security by email. Pay that too.
- On arrival, hand the paid receipts and a signed NUST Hostel Rules Awareness Certificate to your Hostel Manager. Missing these cancels your allotment.
Rules that catch people out
From the SOP and the mess notice:
- Defaulting gets you expelled. One semester of unpaid rent or two months of unpaid mess bills.
- Stay limits. You keep your room for the length of your degree: 4 years for most BS and BE programmes, 5 for B Arch and LLB. NUST grants extensions only in listed cases, such as medical reasons or up to one extra year for an unfinished degree.
- Mess off. Leaving for more than one day and less than 12? Apply in person on the Mess Off register at least two days ahead. Phone or email requests are refused.
- No room service. Food is served only in the dining hall unless the NUST Medical Centre advises otherwise.
Hostels at the other colleges
The colleges outside H-12 run their own housing. College of E&ME in Rawalpindi, for example, says its hostel places are limited and go first come, first served. It charges a Rs 2,000 non-refundable processing fee, and it excludes students from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Wah and Taxila. Check your college's own site as soon as you have an offer. The campuses guide shows which school is where.
If hostel costs are the problem, NUST's SOP lets enrolled students apply through the University Advancement Office on need. The scholarships guide covers the main aid routes.
FAQ
Do students from Islamabad or Rawalpindi get NUST hostel?
No. NUST's allotment SOP excludes students who live within Islamabad district or Rawalpindi district, including Wah, Taxila, Gujar Khan and Bahria.
What is the NUST hostel fee per month?
For national students joining Fall 2025 onward, from Rs 11,000 for a triple with a shared bath to Rs 24,200 for a single with an attached bath, plus Rs 20,700 a month for mess.
Is hostel guaranteed at NUST?
No. Rooms go by priority and merit-list position, and the SOP says the university has no liability to provide accommodation.
Do first-year students get single rooms at NUST?
No. National undergraduates in semesters 1 to 3 are allotted tri-seater rooms.
