finals week: Eight great places to study on University of Michigan's campus

Prechter Laboratory

Don't let the "laboratory" part fool you. There are no beakers full of chemicals here. Instead, several spacious tables and chairs are arranged in this room, which has soaring windows and high ceilings. It's probably one of the best-kept-secrets on campus, as far as an isolated study spot.

"It's generally extremely quiet and there's huge windows," said social work graduate student Melanie Dark. According to Dark, there's not usually more than three or four people studying in the large room at a time.

Location: School of Education, room 2022

Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Closest coffee and snack option: The building is right across the street from the Espresso Royale on East University Avenue.

Hatcher Graduate Library Reference Room

This room is usually pretty busy, but it's also very quiet. Library and information science graduate student Leigh Stutler says students flock to it because it's "pretty" and "dead quiet" at the same time. The room is classic Michigan, with huge windows and elaborate lighting and long study tables. Reference books line the walls and there's a large mural above one window. It's not a good spot for groups, though. Students who use the room are "really focused and intend on actually studying," Stutler says.

Location: Hatcher Graduate Library, second floor

Hours: 7 days a week, open to 2 a.m. most nights during finals. Check here for details

Closest coffee and snack option: There's a coffee shop in Shapiro Library, which is next door to the Hatcher Graduate Library.

Davidson Winter Garden

This is a great spot for late-night studying and group study sessions. It's also a good place to go if you're getting the library blues and need some sunshine. The ceiling is one large skylight and huge windows let in a lot of sunlight. "I love this place, it's so open and light, which is nice when natural daylight is at a premium in the winter," said MBA student Elitza Barzacova.

Be warned, though, the spot is pretty popular. Hundreds of students filter in and out of the Stephen H. Ross School of Business each day, and many of them set up shop at one of the plush black leather sofas and chairs when studying. Freshman Cassandra Webb says the garden is her favorite place to study. She prefers to study in the presence of a crowd. "It's almost like a competitive thing, you see other people working hard and you want to, too," she said.

Location: Ross School of Business, first floor

Hours: 7 days a week, 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. most nights. Check here for details.

Closest coffee and snack option: Ross has a coffee shop on the first floor.

Rackham Reading Room

This is, perhaps, the perfect study spot. It's open to all students, but for some reason isn't quite as popular as the quiet study room in the Michigan Union or the reference and reading rooms at the Hatcher and law libraries. It boasts huge windows that soak the room in light and antique carpets and lighting fixtures that make you feel like you're studying in the jazz age (with a laptop, of course). Students have their pick between study tables dispersed throughout the room or plush leather chairs.

"It seems like a lot of people don't really know about it because it's never really crowded in there," says freshman Shanice Parson.

And while the reading room has a no talking, no cell phone rule, it's flanked by lounges on the east and west that are great for group study sessions.

Location: Rackham building, second floor

Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m to 9 p.m.

Closest coffee and snack option: The Michigan League, across the street, has a coffee shop and fast food options.

Hatcher independent study rooms

If you really, really, really want to be alone, study in one of these rooms. There's dozens of them on the sixth floor of Hatcher Graduate Library, and each has a window with some of the best views of campus. The rooms are tiny, but there's a desk with enough room to sprawl out some papers and there's a plug for your computer and a rack for your coat.

"These windows make you feel like you could stay here forever," said Michele DeLia, a information science graduate student. "You don't feel like you're holed up in a library."

If you like the rooms a lot, you can reserve one for next semester. Students can reserve a room for morning, afternoon or evening each day for an entire semester. Most rooms, however, aren't reserved, so they're open to any student in any class.

Location: Hatcher Graduate Library, sixth floor

Hours: 7 days a week, open to 2 a.m. most nights during finals. Check here for details.

Closest coffee and snack option: There's a coffee shop in Shapiro Library, which is next door to the Hatcher Graduate Library.

Social Work Library

This is more a collaborative study place than an actual library. There are independent study desks for those who want to work alone and large tables for students working on group projects. Although it's in the basement of the Social Work building, large skylights brighten the room.

Graduate student Michael Stevens, an economics major, comes to the social work library to study because he likes the openness of the room, he said.

Location: School of Social Work, lower level

Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m to 10 p.m.

Closest coffee and snack option: The building is right across the street from the Espresso Royale on East University Avenue.

The Duderstadt Center

Three a.m. and you need to study? No problem. This is the place to go. Commonly referred to as "the dude," the center is open every day, all day. It houses the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library as well as the Digital Media Commons and has a coffee shop that stays open until 2 a.m. on weeknights. It's also a great place to go if you live on North Campus and need to get out of your dorm but don't feel like making the trek to central campus to study .

Location: Duderstadt Center, North Campus

Hours: Open 24-7

Closest coffee and snack option: The Mujo Cafe, located in the Duderstadt Center, serves coffee and snacks.

The Reading Room

We would be remiss if we didn't mention what is probably the most renown study spot on University of Michigan's campus: The law school reading room. The cathedral-like room is famous for its grandeur, which can be found in its huge stained glass windows and wrought iron chandeliers. However, the law school has limited its availability to non-law students this year and there are certain times when it's available only to law students.

Location: First floor of Legal Research Building, Law Quad.

Hours: 8 a.m. - midnight