Campus' or Campus's? - English Recap

The word campus’s is the singular possessive form of campus. E.g., “I accepted the campus’s invitation for an open day.” Furthermore, the term campus’ can be correct when the word after it begins with “s.” E.g., “The campus’ shop is open for business.”

The following table shows the plural and possessive forms of the term campus.

Singular	Campus
Plural	Campuses
Singular possessive	Campus’s / Campus’
Plural possessive	Campuses’

Here are some examples so you can see the different forms of campus in context.

Singular: I met my wife on campus when I was nineteen.
Plural: I checked several campuses around the state before deciding to attend the University of Arizona.
Singular possessive: The campus’s sports facilities are excellent.
Plural possessive: The campuses’ proposals to host the presidential event were all rejected.

You will notice that in most cases, the singular possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and an “s” rather than simply adding an apostrophe. However, you can omit the additional “s” when the next word begins with “s.”

In formal writing, if you are following the Chicago Manual of Style or AP Style, you should use campus’s as the singular possessive form of campus.

Perhaps you still have doubts about how to use the possessive and plural versions of campus. To ensure that you don’t make mistakes with these terms again, you should read the remainder of the article.

Campus’s

The term campus’s is the standard singular possessive of the word campus. You can use campus’s to indicate that something belongs to one campus.

Moreover, campus’s is the version you should use in AP Style and the Chicago Manual of Style.

Both versions below are correct, but the one with the additional “s” is more common.

Correct: The campus’s facilities are world-class.
Correct: The campus’ facilities are world-class.

Correct: The campus’s library recently underwent a massive renovation.
Correct: The campus’ library recently underwent a massive renovation.

Correct: The campus’s administration decided to implement new guidelines.
Correct: The campus’ administration decided to implement new guidelines.

However, when the word after campus starts with an “s,” some people omit the “s” from campus’s. Just be aware that if you do this, you should be consistent in the whole document.

Correct: The campus’ sculpture was made by a former student.
Correct: The campus’s sculpture was made by a former student.

Correct: The campus’ sports facilities cater to a range of athletic pursuits.
Correct: The campus’s sports facilities cater to a range of athletic pursuits.

Correct: I visited the campus’ science department to attend a seminar.
Correct: I visited the campus’s science department to attend a seminar.

Clearly, the choice is up to you if you don’t follow a specific style guide.

Campus’

The term campus’ with an apostrophe at the end and no “s” is a correct possessive form of campus. However, it is not the standard singular possessive for the term campus.

Sometimes people use the term campus’ as a possessive when the following word starts with an “s.” However, if you do this, you must be consistent and do it throughout the text.

Correct: The campus’ security guards are quite aggressive.
Correct: The campus’s security guards are quite aggressive.

Correct: The campus’ stadium can accommodate thousands.
Correct: The campus’s stadium can accommodate thousands.

Correct: The campus’ science labs are state-of-the-art.
Correct: The campus’s science labs are state-of-the-art.

Ultimately, in non-academic writing, you can decide which version you use as long as you are consistent. However, in modern English campus’s is more standard than campus’.

Therefore, campus’s is also the version you should use if you follow AP Style or the Chicago Manual of Style.

Campuses

The term campuses is the standard plural form of campus. That means you can use it to refer to more than one campus as long as the sentence is not possessive.

For example:

I visited three campuses before I finally decided that I would go to UCL.
Of all the campuses I have seen, mine is the most impressive.
The company plans to open new branches on five different campuses next year.
These two campuses offer a dual-degree program for interested students.
Among all the campuses I visited, the one in the north had the most scenic beauty.

Furthermore, if something is owned by various campuses, you need to put an apostrophe at the end campuses to indicate possession.

Here are some examples of how to use the plural possessive form of campus:

The campuses’ requests for government funding were all rejected.
The campuses’ annual sports events were scheduled to occur simultaneously.
The campuses’ leaders met for a summit to discuss shared concerns.
Collaboration between the campuses’ research departments led to groundbreaking discoveries.
The campuses’ reputations have been enhanced by their consistently high rankings in national surveys.

Now, we trust that you feel comfortable using the possessive forms of the word campus! You are always welcome to come back to this page and review the rules.