Campus beauty can affect a student’s college decision, experts say.
Campus beauty and design matter.
The impact of a campus on a student’s selection of a college is influential, as exhibited by the experts, who also highlight that first impressions are affected by a campus. “For the students, the center of campus life gains significance as the place for social interactions, community engagement, and contemplation,” Kevin Mercer, grounds and landscape manager at Denison University in Ohio, explained in an email. “From, students congregation for outdoor events, studies, socializing, or other recreational works on campus green spaces to all that unites them and fosters a sense of community”. Hyman, associate vice president at SDSU, says that someone else’s idea of a beautiful college campus may be different than yours. “Overall, I think it would sum up this campus if there were one term that described it. It would be like a campus with sort of an intercultural character.” Here is the list of 20 U.S. campuses that are famous for their beauty with features including fine architecture , wonderful surroundings , and stunning scenery .
Colleges With Beautiful Campuses
- Aurora University
- Baylor University
- Denison University
- Duke University
- Flagler College
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- Indiana University—Bloomington
- Kenyon College
- Pepperdine University
- Salve Regina University
- San Diego State University
- Stanford University
- Swarthmore College
- Texas Christian University
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Vermont
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
Aurora University (IL)
The campus of Aurora University, which is about 45 miles from Chicago and the biggest, is our school’s 43-acre campus with Eckhart Hall, which houses both the school administration, its carillon, and a place on the National Register of Historic Places. The name red tile hall came from Charles E. Eckhart, a Civil War veteran, donor, and who required that each major building on campus and the hall itself featured the roof in tile red. AU’s grand entrance is followed, not less than 50 Dakotas Pinnacle linden trees and more than 140 Greenspire Asian birches. The campus grounds were included in the best of the year of the Professional Grounds Management Society in 2023, and it won the grand award in the small university and college grounds category for the schools that are 200 acres or fewer.
Baylor University (TX)
At Baylor University, you can notice numerous buildings constructed in Georgian style, therefore creating uniformity of the campus. Since 1845, the college’s campus has been centrally located in Waco in the Texas central region. The the most important Polk Hall symbol, its 23.5 – karat golden cupola, stands for (Being the) symbol of iconic landmark. The beautification of a site is a blend of interior and exterior beauty. It involves elaborate copper ceilings and a much more intrinsic work of art. Waco Creek is the waterway that moves through the campus, and it is an inspiring and cozy place students can go to.
Denison University (OH)
Founded in 1831, Denison University sits on 850 acres in Granville. The hilltop campus, designed by the Frederick Law Olmsted landscape architecture firm, has been recognized by the Professional Grounds Management Society with several national awards for its beauty and sustainable maintenance practices, including the inaugural Environmental Green Star Award in 2019, which recognizes grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence, and two grand honors in the small university college grounds category.
Duke University (NC)
Spanning nearly 8,700 acres in Durham, the Duke University campus was also recognized by the PGMS for its landscaping and beauty. The Duke Forest is home to more than 900 species of plants, including more than 100 species of trees, and more than 7,000 acres of the forest are dedicated to research and environmental study. The campus also features an oak tree estimated to be about 350 years old. Duke’s East Campus features Georgian architecture while the West Campus features Gothic architecture and the towering Duke Chapel, which features 77 stained glass windows, ribbed vaults and a 50-bell carillon.
Flagler College (FL)
Flagler College in St. Augustine traces its campus roots to 1888, when the Hotel Ponce De León was built by industrialist Henry Flagler, co-founder of the Standard Oil Company. The hotel, which features Spanish Renaissance style architecture with a tan stucco facade and red tile roofing, was an early project of architects John Carrère and Thomas Hastings, who designed the House and Senate office buildings in Washington, D.C., according to the school’s website. The interior features stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. In 1968, Flagler College was established, with the hotel serving as its main campus building.
Georgia Institute of Technology
A haven amid bustling traffic and skyscrapers in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology‘s main campus spans more than 400 wooded acres and has been recognized by various organizations for its beauty. In 2023, the PGMS awarded Georgia Tech its grand honor for urban university grounds as well as its sustainability award. Across the campus, nearly 160 buildings span Collegiate Gothic, Late Modern and Postmodern architectural styles.
Harvard University (MA)
The oldest university in the U.S., Harvard University‘s architecture offers more than a glimpse into the past. Roughly 660 tight-knit buildings make up the Boston-area campus, showcasing Romanesque, Colonial Revival, Federal, High Victorian Gothic, Greek Revival, Collegiate Gothic, Art Deco and modernist architecture. “A walker can sample almost 300 years of innovative designs in an easy stroll,” The Harvard Gazette notes. Massachusetts Hall, built in early Georgian style in 1720, is the oldest building on campus and served as an army barrack during the Revolutionary War. Today it houses a freshman dormitory and the office of Harvard’s president.
Indiana University—Bloomington
Although almost every building on the Indiana University—Bloomington campus is made of limestone, which is a stone found in the area, the campus architecture features about eight different styles. Many of the school’s earliest structures were built in the modified version of High Victorian Gothic called Collegiate Gothic style. Others structures, however, have Romanesque, Art Deco, and Modern styles showing different architectural styles used at the school. Construction of the buildings means you get that clean look and feel as students are traversing the campus on their daily journeys. Usually they should pass through the Sample Gates, which were built in 1987, and now serve as the campus’ most iconic landmark.
Kenyon College (OH)
The oldest private college in Ohio, Kenyon College was founded in 1824. Its Gothic-inspired buildings sprawl across a 1,000-acre rural campus on a hilltop surrounded by wooded areas in the central Ohio city of Gambier. Rosse Hall, built between 1829 and 1845 in Greek Revival style, is Kenyon College’s first chapel, according to the Society of Architectural Historians. A fire destroyed it in 1897, and the building was later converted to a gymnasium, then renovated in 1975 to resemble its original form. It’s now a 600-seat concert and lecture hall.
Pepperdine University (CA)
Sometimes a school’s geographic location can give the campus a leg up. One school that can stake that claim is Pepperdine University. Formed in 1937 and situated atop a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, Pepperdine gives students and faculty a view most college students don’t get. The university’s buildings “were designed to complement the ocean-side setting by using a modern interpretation of the Mediterranean Revival style,” according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Salve Regina University (RI)
Salve Regina University in Newport is home to seven mansions built during the Gilded Age, a time of remarkable innovation and extravagance which roughly spanned from 1877 to 1896. The 80-acre campus, situated at the Atlantic Ocean, also features “more than 20 historic structures that have been sensitively adapted to meet University needs while also preserving their status as treasures of the 19th and early 20th centuries,” according to the school’s website.
San Diego State University (CA)
Like many universities in California, San Diego State University features Mission-style buildings with white stucco facades and red tile roofs that blend with the city’s architecture. The campus design plays off its sunny environment, Hyman says, with open outdoor corridors lined with palm trees, flower gardens and buildings with large windows. Hyman says SDSU uses “value-sensitive design,” which aims to accommodate the values of those it seeks to attract. One way it does that is by providing skateboard-specific lanes for skaters to get across campus. “So it’s not just the beauty, it’s the character that’s displayed in the values,” Hyman says. “Whether on a conscious or unconscious level, that impacts student perception.”
Stanford University (CA)
Another picturesque California college setting can be found at Stanford University in Palo Alto, just south of San Francisco. Featuring a blend of Romanesque and Mission Revival architecture known as Richardsonian Romanesque, the general plan for the campus’ ambitious and architecturally brilliant design was conceived in 1886 by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York City, according to the school’s website. Founded in 1885, Stanford spans nearly 13 square miles and is full of grassy fields, eucalyptus groves and rolling hills.
Swarthmore College (PA)
Located southwest of Philadelphia, Swarthmore College is centered around the campus’ first building, Parrish Hall, a Victorian-era building constructed in 1868. The Scott Arboretum is a popular spot to visit, featuring gardens of hydrangeas, lilacs, tree peonies and many other trees and shrubs, according to the arboretum’s website. The campus also features an outdoor amphitheater with multiple levels of lawn-covered stone tiers shaded by tulip trees. Throughout the school’s 425 acres are many wooded areas and walking trails.
Texas Christian University
Founded in 1873, the campus of Texas Christian University features a mix of historic and contemporary buildings. One landmark on the Fort Worth-based campus is Frog Fountain, which consists of four flutes topped with stylized lotus leaves – one for each class of students, with the shortest symbolizing freshmen and the tallest representing seniors. The water flowing from flute to flute represents the sharing of knowledge from class to class. TCU won a 2023 PGMS award and in 2024 was named a Tree Campus Higher Education Institution by the Arbor Day Foundation for the eighth consecutive year, recognizing commitment to caring for the university’s trees.
University of Colorado Boulder
As visually appealing as the campus itself may be, with its sandstone buildings and tile roofs in a romantic Italianate style, perhaps one of the biggest perks of attending the University of Colorado Boulder is the view of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. Fans attending evening games at Folsom Field are often greeted with a sunset just behind the mountains, creating a picturesque setting for college football. Those with outdoor hobbies like hiking or skiing can feel right at home in Boulder.
University of Notre Dame (IN)
Inspired by Notre Dame Cathedral in France, many of the buildings on the University of Notre Dame‘s campus in South Bend are modeled after Gothic architecture. At the center of campus is the 187-foot tall Main Building, with its iconic gold dome. Topped by a 19-foot-tall, 4,000-pound statue of Mary, the current building was built in 1879 after the previous one was destroyed by fire. Originally a center for teaching, dining and residences, Main Building today primarily houses offices for administration, though some classrooms remain. The Fighting Irish football team wears golden helmets as a nod to the dome.
University of Vermont
Founded in 1791, the University of Vermont is the fifth-oldest university in New England. Its 460-acre campus features buildings constructed in various architectural styles. The Old Mill – home for the economics, English, geography and political science departments–is one of the oldest buildings on campus. The university’s first college building once occupied that site but was destroyed by fire in 1824, according to the school’s website. The campus sits near Lake Champlain in the middle of Burlington, in northwest Vermont. Snow typically covers the campus in colder months, while vibrant and colorful trees line the campus in the fall.
University of Virginia
Founded by former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia’s iconic red brick buildings and white columns were inspired by Greco-Roman architecture and Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladia, according to the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit landscape heritage advocacy and education organization. Anchored by the famous Rotunda, Jefferson’s Academical Village has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university’s Charlottesville campus also features examples of postmodernist architecture.
University of Washington
Situated next to Lake Washington in Seattle, the University of Washington gives students a big-city experience along with a taste of just about everything associated with the Pacific Northwest – lush greenery next to a large body of water with views of mountains in the distance. From various spots on campus, particularly Rainier Vista, you can view Mt. Rainier to the south. Each spring, 30 blossoming Yoshino cherry trees line the liberal arts quadrangle with a bright shade of pink. Other green retreats include the rhododendron- and azalea-filled Greig Garden where, University of Washington Magazine notes, “they ‘unpaved’ a parking lot and put up Paradise.”
