Welcome to Johns Hopkins University

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Welcome

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to the Homewood campus at Johns Hopkins University! The Homewood campus is the center of undergraduate life at Hopkins.

Before we get started, let us explain how you can use this site to explore our beautiful home.

As you move through the tour, you can jump to the next stop by clicking the “Next” button.

Or, you can use the list on the left-hand side to select any location you want to view.

You can further explore any specific spot by clicking the 360s, Photos, or Video in the bottom right corner of your screen.

Be sure to click through the photos at this first stop, too, to meet the real Hopkins students who will be guiding you through this tour (and keep clicking through the stops to find out where on campus we recorded this audio!). If you are presently on campus and using this as a self-guided tour, head over to the interactive map to follow along the Self-Guided Tour trail.

Baltimore

Tour stop audio transcript

In order to understand who we are, we first have to introduce you to our home, Baltimore. Located on the east coast of the U.S., just a train ride away from major metro areas like DC, New York City, and Philadelphia, Baltimore is a vibrant city with a rich history and diverse culture. The surrounding community plays a vital role in the Hopkins hands-on learning experience, providing numerous opportunities for internships, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship. The city’s eclectic neighborhoods also offer endless entertainment options, from local shops, music venues and festivals, to renowned museums, sporting events, and dining. At Hopkins, we are lucky to experience the best of both worlds by having a residential campus within such a unique and dynamic city.

The Beach

Tour stop audio transcript

Upon entering the main entrance to campus, you’ll arrive at what is affectionately known as “the beach.” While our “beach” may not have any sand, it is certainly the most popular outdoor spot for students to hang out! On this large grassy quad behind the iconic Hopkins sign, you’ll find students lounging, studying, playing kickball, or picnicking on a warm, sunny day. This is also the site of many campus traditions, including our Spring Fair, Holi celebrations, and end of semester activities.

Freshman Quad

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The freshman quad is the hub of first-year life on campus and houses the majority of our first-year residence halls. At Hopkins, on-campus housing is guaranteed and required for the first two years, and we have both traditional community-style living as well as suite-style living. Students enjoy lounges, common kitchens, 24-hour security, programs hosted by their Resident Adviser (their RA), and more. In addition, this quad is home to the Hopkins Café, the all-you-care-to-eat dining hall on campus. All our eateries offer nutritious and sustainable food while providing options for all dietary needs. We encourage you to check out the supplemental photos and videos at this stop to get an extra look into what living at Hopkins is like and for a peek at the inside of our residence halls!

Gilman Hall

Tour stop audio transcript

Completed in 1915, Gilman Hall was the first academic building constructed on the Homewood campus. Now home to our humanities programs, Gilman remains a center of intellectual life on campus. Thoughtfully designed to facilitate discussion, you’ll find smaller seminar rooms located throughout the building among departmental offices and other facilities. The beautiful Hutzler Reading Room (known as “the Hut”) is a popular student study space, flanked by the Learning Den and the Writing Center, two of the resources offered to students for academic support. Gilman is also home to our Archaeological Museum, where students can experience hands-on learning through the study of nearly 700 archaeological objects.

Undergraduate Teaching Labs

Tour stop audio transcript

As the nation’s first and leading research university, we have many spaces dedicated to research. While much of the research at Hopkins occurs in less traditional settings, the Undergraduate Teaching Labs, or UTL, provide a centralized location for undergrads to learn important lab techniques. The building houses faculty offices, seminar rooms, and high-tech teaching labs for several departments including Chemistry, Biology, Biophysics, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Neuroscience. Here, students reinforce concepts learned in lectures by conducting real research and searching for answers to things that haven’t been discovered yet. The glass windows overlooking our tree-covered sculpture garden allow students to study in an enjoyable environment while remaining connected to the outdoors.

Brody Learning Commons

Tour stop audio transcript

Brody Learning Commons was designed, with input from students, as a space dedicated to collaborative learning. Inside, you’ll find small study rooms that can be reserved for group work, classrooms, a café with both indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a large, quiet reading room. Study rooms are equipped with whiteboard walls to encourage students to scribble their thoughts as they work together through problem sets and group projects. Brody is also home to our extensive Rare Books Collection, containing more than 60,000 volumes ranging from medieval manuscripts to 19th century German literature. Students and researchers can be found studying and translating ancient texts as they carefully examine fragile pages.

Breezeway

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The Breezeway is the large marble staircase that connects Wyman Quad and Keyser Quad. It's said that each student passes the Breezeway at least once a day as they head to class, student organization meetings, on-campus jobs, or anything else on campus! Many of our 400-plus student groups advertise their events on the Breezeway by posting large banners on the railings and passing out flyers in between classes. Student organizations at Hopkins are all student-led, meaning undergraduates are taking ownership of their experiences and contributing directly to the community and culture on-campus.

Levering Hall

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Levering Hall is a hub for student life on campus. Students can be found eating lunch in the dining hall or studying over coffee in the cozy café upstairs. The student lounge, equipped with a pool table and video gaming consoles, hosts events like movie nights and DIY crafts. Many student organizations utilize the courtyard out front to advertise their events or host fundraisers selling doughnuts, boba tea, and other treats.

Shriver Hall

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Shriver Hall is the largest auditorium on campus. It's the site of many student events, like our student organized speaker series, the Foreign Affairs Symposium and the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium. These programs have brought speakers including comedian Seth Meyers, writer and director Ava DuVernay, and Bernie Sanders to campus. Shriver is also home to the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and Shriver Hall Concert Series, as well as a common performance location for our dance, a cappella, and other performing arts groups.

Milton S Eisenhower Library

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Named after the University's eighth president, the Milton S. Eisenhower Library features 30 miles of shelf space housing over 3.7 million volumes! Here, there are spaces and resources for any kind of student, from group study rooms to quiet individual cubbies. The library also hosts an annual send-off for seniors during graduation week and frequently displays student research projects.

Clark Hall

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Clark Hall houses the Biomedical Engineering Department and Design Lab where undergraduate students work together to solve real-world engineering problems. For example, a recent design team developed a mechanical mobile stander for pediatric patients with cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injury. Since 2015, design team students have generated 11 provisional patent applications, $1 million in funding, and 6 startup companies. This open floor-plan facility features a large workspace, group meeting spaces, a rapid prototyping lab, a wet lab, and a student machine shop. This allows our students to take what they are learning inside the classroom and apply it in a hands-on setting to affect real change.

Hackerman Hall

Tour stop audio transcript

Hackerman Hall was constructed for multidisciplinary research and education. It includes spaces for students to collaborate on projects and gain hands-on experience. Here, you will find the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, where students are developing innovative robotic systems or working with the Da Vinci Surgical System. Hackerman is also home to the annual student-run hackathon called Hop Hacks, which brings together engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs to explore new ideas and create new applications.

Bloomberg Center

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Bloomberg Center is home to the Physics and Astronomy Department, as well as the Center for Astrophysical Sciences. Here, students can use the rooftop observatory and telescope or study under the direction of professor and Nobel laureate physicist Adam Reiss. Nearby is the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is the scientific home of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. This building is also home to more than 12,000 square feet of teaching lab space, a machine shop, wood shop, and a high bay with a 5-ton overhead crane. The faculty in this department are incredibly influential in the fields of condensed matter, particle physics, and astrophysics, and our students have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with them as undergraduates.

Center for Recreation and Well-Being

Tour stop audio transcript

Our campus has a lot of resources to help students stay healthy and well. Our recently renovated Rec Center is home to our fully outfitted gymnasium that includes cardio equipment, a weight room, various courts, an indoor track, pool, climbing wall, bouldering cave, multipurpose rooms, and more. The Rec Center hosts free fitness classes for students like F45, Zumba, yoga, spin, and barre and is home to a café with smoothies, shakes, and snacks to stay fueled during your workout.

Athletic Center

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The Athletic Center is home to our 22 varsity teams. Men’s and women’s lacrosse compete at Division 1 in the Big Ten Conference, and the remainder of our teams compete at Division 3 in the Centennial Conference. Our athletic complex is home to Goldfarb Gymnasium, Homewood Field, and Stromberg Baseball Stadium, in addition to many additional practice gyms and fields. In the last three years, Hopkins teams have won two national championships and claimed 27 conference titles, while Blue Jay athletes have compiled 134 All-America honors and 35 selections as Academic All-Americans. Grab a Tradition Scarf and join us in cheering on the Blue Jays – Go Hop!

Charles Village

Tour stop audio transcript

Charles Village is the neighborhood surrounding campus where our students eat, live, and hang out. It has a local grocery store, restaurants and cafes, a dry cleaner, and our campus Barnes and Noble bookstore where students and visitors can stock up on Hopkins merch. Many of our upperclassmen work with our Off-Campus Housing Office to find apartments or rowhomes in the area, many of which are just as close to our campus as our first- and second-year housing options. Right in Charles Village there are also stops for the free shuttles that take students to different parts of the city, including downtown, the train station, and other university facilities.

Film Centre

Panorama of the Film Center with equipment for students to use.

Tour stop audio transcript

The JHU-MICA Film Centre in the Station North neighborhood opened in 2015 through a partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art. The restored historic Centre Theater is home to our Film & Media Studies Program that combines film history, aesthetics, and theory, as well as aspects of 16mm film and digital video production. Inside the Film Centre you’ll find state-of-the-art equipment including a screening room, green room soundstage, editing suites, and a recording studio (where, fun fact, we recorded the audio for this tour!). Our undergrad film majors participate in the planning of film series and festivals, including the Johns Hopkins Film Festival and Maryland Film Festival.

Other Campuses

Panorama of the the library at the Peabody Conservatory in Mount Vernon.

Tour stop audio transcript

There are several Hopkins campuses throughout Baltimore, including the Peabody music conservatory, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and graduate schools for medicine, nursing, public health, business, and education. Each of these campuses is accessible via our free shuttles, making it easy for students to take advantage of the university’s expansive resources. Our undergrads can take classes at Bloomberg, conduct cutting-edge research at the hospital, or join ensembles at Peabody. Head towards DC, and you’ll find even more opportunities: the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab offers internships to Hopkins students, or students can pursue an accelerated Master’s degree at the School for Advanced International Studies.

Mason Hall

Tour stop audio transcript

Now that you’ve explored campus, we want to welcome you to Mason Hall, the home of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. We hope you’ll stay in touch with us and continue to learn about what it means to live and learn at Hopkins. If you’re able to make the trip to Baltimore, our Visitor Center is open on weekdays, and you can visit our website to check out our different programs and events. If you want to connect virtually instead, we also host live virtual events almost every single day, so there’s something for everyone. Thanks for coming on the tour!

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