The 64 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America

by | Jun 1, 2024 | Campus Tours, Uncategorized

ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

The 64 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America

Did your alma mater make the list? Here is the link to the article

By Stefanie Waldek, Katherine McLaughlin, and Elizabeth Stamp

prettiest college campuses
Photo: Peter Aaron

With their vast collections of buildings, it’s no wonder that universities are architectural gems. And though many are impressive, only some can be considered the most beautiful college campuses in the United States. Many schools have beautiful elements—like immaculate dining halls, otherworldly dorms, or jaw-dropping libraries—but the schools on the following list stun across the board. Like a well-styled outfit, from the entry arches to academic halls and manicured lawns, everything on these grounds works in harmony to create a place as beautiful as it is educational. To that end, AD recently scoured the country to find the prettiest college campuses in the United States, taking into consideration both architectural legacy and setting.

What are beautiful university campuses?

The United States, in particular, has an immense collection of colleges with impressive dorms, academic facilities, and other stately structures. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, higher education institutions started to feature beautiful unified styles—oftentimes the collegiate Gothic movement, which drew from historic English buildings, but also the federal, neoclassical, and even Romanesque movements. Campuses also had elegant landscape design, whether from well-manicured quads or more natural woodland. Quite a few colleges on our list boast campuses planned by some of the finest landscape architects of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead.

While most universities have gone on to include incredible modern builds by 20th-century starchitects (Eero Saarinen’s Ingalls Rink at Yale, anyone?), they’ve also worked hard to maintain their visual legacies. For this collection, AD looked for college campuses that have an aesthetic vision, whether that’s a unified look—like the Georgian-style buildings and structures found across Baylor University in Texas—or a well thought-out mix of aesthetics—like the modernist marvels that perfectly balance out the large number of collegiate Gothic–style buildings at Yale University. These campuses feature stunning structures that make them well worth a tour, whether you’re a prospective student or past your college days.

What college has the coolest campus?

Though all of these schools are beautiful, for a college campus to be considered the coolest, we think it has to transcend aesthetics alone. Perhaps the award should go to Mount Holyoke with its strong focus on sustainability. All new constructions on campus are built to meet LEED silver requirements, and older ones have been renovated where appropriate to conserve energy. However, a modernist devotee may push back and say Florida Southern College is the coolest—not just because of the 13 beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright–designed buildings on the ground, but because it’s the site with the highest volume of Wright structures in one place. But nature lovers might argue for the scenic setting of the University of California, Santa Cruz, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. And, of course, when it comes to cool, it’s hard to beat a campus surrounded by the energy of a big city such as Columbia. All 64 schools on this list are AD-approved; read on to decide for yourself which campus should be crowned the coolest.

  • an academic building with large white columns

    Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
    1/64

    University of Hawaii at Mānoa (Honolulu, Hawaii)

    Located right outside of downtown Honolulu within the lush Mānoa Valley, the University of Hawaii at Mānoa is the oldest of the schools within the University of Hawaii system. Though the campus has many beautiful buildings, its view of Diamond Head truly stands out.

  • an aerial view of a campus in a semidesert like climate with scrub brush

    Photo: Ben Gibbs Photography
    2/64

    St. John’s College Santa Fe (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

    The Santa Fe campus of St. John’s College features low-slung, Southwestern-style architecture. As the institution describes it, the “Santa Fe [campus] hugs the slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico.” For those looking to explore the mountains more, the campus has a number of hiking trails that lead into the surrounding nature.

    • a stately brick building with a flagpole on top

      Photo: Wikimedia
      3/64

      St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota)

      Two buildings on St. Olaf College’s 300-acre campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 1877 Old Main, shown here. Edward Sövik, a prominent institutional architect and professor at St. Olaf, designed (or assisted with the design of) 20 buildings on the school grounds. The campus, known to locals as “The Hill,” is surrounded by wetlands, woodlands, and tall prairie grass.

    • a large brick building with white trim and a clocktower

      Photo: Getty Images
      4/64

      Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island)

      Brown University in Providence blends well with its surrounding city, almost so much so that you might not even realize you’re on a campus. The Ivy League school was built at the same time as the city around it, making the transition from one to other nearly seamless. Built during the 18th and 19th century, there’s a mix of Georgian, Victorian, and Gothic buildings here.

      • a long row of redbrick gothic buildings

        Photo: Getty Images
        5/64

        Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, Massachusetts)

        Mount Holyoke, the first of the historic Seven Sisters consortium of schools, has a bucolic campus lined with redbrick buildings. The architecture firm Olmsted and Sons designed the impressive grounds between 1896 and 1922. Among the many beautiful buildings, the campus is also home to an 18-hole, Donald Ross–designed golf course.

      • stone and brick buildings in the evening light

        Photo: Getty Images
        6/64

        University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)

        In the distance, you can see a redbrick Federal-style Old Mill, which happens to be the University of Vermont’s oldest building. Erected in 1825, the building was constructed after the original from 1802 burned down.

        • a massive grey stone academic building with white trim

          Photo: Wikimedia
          7/64

          Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania)

          Swarthmore’s campus is centered around the stately Parrish Hall, which was originally the school’s only building and housed everything from dormitories and classrooms to the library. Throughout the school’s 425 acres, you’ll find many wooded and trailed areas, providing a nice mix of the natural world and the built one.

        • Chapel of the Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut during summer day

          Photo: Marc Dufresne/Getty Images
          8/64

          Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut)

          Trinity College’s “Long Walk” comprises several early examples of Collegiate Gothic architecture by British designer William Burges, the first two buildings of which were constructed in 1878. The campus also features a quad by Frederick Law Olmsted and a chapel by the same firm who designed the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Frohman, Robb and Little

          a pool. steps and a neogothic brick building surrounded by trees

          • a stone Ushaped institutional building

            Photo: Julie Thurston Photography/Getty Images
            9/64

            United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland)

            The incredible Beaux Arts Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy isn’t a museum nor even an academic building. It’s actually the largest dormitory in the world, with 1,700 rooms spread over 33 acres of floor space. Among the many beautiful buildings on campus, you’ll also find a large collection of monuments and memorials.

          Photo: Amy Drill/Wikimedia
          10/64

          Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Oregon)

          The forested campus of Lewis & Clark College makes plenty of sense given its Pacific Northwest location. While historic buildings, like the Frank Manor House, shown here, are beautiful, the newer buildings also impress with their sustainability initiatives. The campus is on top of the Palatine Hill in Portland’s Collins View neigborhood.

          • a large brick mansion with white columns

            Photo: Wikimedia
            11/64

            Belmont University (Nashville, Tennessee)

            Belmont University, which originally opened as a women’s college, sits on the former Belle Mont estate. The Belmont Mansion, shown here, is a 19,000-square-foot antebellum home on campus that’s open for tours. The campus is roughly divided into two areas, with one half surrounding a pristinely kept lawn and the other dotted with gazebos where students are often found playing music.

          • the front of a gothic chapel in the fog

            Photo: Getty Images
            12/64

            Sewanee: the University of the South (Sewanee, Tennessee)

            Another one of the prettiest college campuses in US, the massive 13,000-acre campus of Sewanee mainly features Collegiate Gothic architecture, the highlight of which is the All Saints’ Chapel, shown here.

            Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

            Wait Chapel stands out on Wake Forest’s Hearn Plaza. It was the first building constructed on the new campus in Winston-Salem in 1956—the original campus was in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

          • a large brick building with a spire and columns

            Photo: Wikimedia
            14/64

            Baylor University (Waco, Texas)

            Baylor’s campus features primarily Georgian-style buildings, including Pat Neff Hall, shown here, named after the former Texas governor who later became president of the university.

          • a red brick building with a central clock tower

            Photo: Rick Friedman/Getty Images
            15/64

            College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts)

            Noted for its incredible landscape design, the College of the Holy Cross also has a number of historic buildings, including O’Kane Hall, shown here. The area around O’Kane and its neighbor, Fenwick Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

          • a brick mediterranean revival building near a lawn

            Photo: Wikimedia
            16/64

            Rice University (Houston, Texas)

            You might mistake Rice University for being in California, thanks to the campus’s Mediterranean Revival style, but it’s actually located in Houston. Shown is the elegant Lovett Hall with Byzantine and Romanesque elements.

          • a red brick neogothic building with a clocktower

            Photo: Getty Images
            17/64

            Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)

            Vanderbilt’s campus is designated a national arboretum, with nearly 200 species of trees and shrubs. Dispersed among the greenery are a number of beautiful buildings, like Kirkland Hall, shown here, which replaced the university’s main building after a fire in 1905.

          • an italianate bell tower next to a pond in the snow

            Photo: Wikimedia
            18/64

            Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina)

            Furman University’s signature structure is its iconic bell tower. It’s actually a faithful recreation: The original, built in 1854, was left behind on Furman’s old campus, as it was too fragile to move when the university relocated to Greenville in the mid-20th century.

          • a pair of stone arched gates

            Photo: Alan Mauro / Wikimedia
            19/64

            Indiana University Bloomington (Bloomington, Indiana)

            Many of Indiana University’s buildings feature the local Indiana limestone, used in a variety of styles from Gothic to Romanesque Revival.

          • a collection of gothic inspired brick and stone buildings

            20/64

            Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)

            When WashU decided to move its campus from downtown St. Louis to more spacious grounds within city limits, it hosted a design competition for the new campus. The firm Cope & Stewardson won with a project that drew inspiration from Oxford and Cambridge, in the UK.

          • a campus of large buildings in different styles next to a lake

            Photo: Getty Images
            21/64

            Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)

            Northwestern’s location on the shore of Lake Michigan wins the university points from us, as does its range of architecture spanning from Collegiate Gothic to Brutalist.

          • a red brick building with large white columns

            Photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
            22/64

            University of Mississippi (Oxford, Mississippi)

            The Lyceum Building at Ole Miss was the first academic building established on campus, built in 1848 by architect William Nichols. It’s easily one of the most beautiful college campuses in the US, and likely the most picturesque in Mississippi.

          • a grey stone building with columns and a dome

            Photo: Wikimedia
            23/64

            University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

            Designed by Arthur Cleveland Nash and William Kendall of McKim, Mead, and White in the late 1920s, UNC’s Louis Round Wilson Library is an example of Beaux Arts architecture.

          • blooming sherry blossoms with brick gothic buildings in the background

            Photo: VW Pics/Getty Images
            24/64

            University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)

            The Liberal Arts Quadrangle at the University of Washington is lined with beautiful Collegiate Gothic buildings, but the showstoppers are the 30 Yoshino cherry trees that blossom each spring.

          • a large red brick building with columns and a large rotunda

            Photo: Wikimedia
            25/64

            Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas)

            Dallas Hall was Southern Methodist University’s first building, designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in the style of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda.

          • a large building with columns and a rotunda at the top of steps

            Photo: Wikimedia
            26/64

            Columbia University (New York, New York)

            Renowned architecture firm McKim, Mead & White designed a number of Columbia’s Beaux Arts buildings, including Low Memorial Library, shown here, which now houses administrative offices. Stunning architecture, no doubt—successfully achieving the campus feel in the middle of Manhattan gets the university extra points too.

          • a beige mansion with a black roof in a french normandy style

            Photo: John Greim/Getty Images
            27/64

            Salve Regina University (Newport, Rhode Island)

            Located in posh Newport, Salve Regina University comprises a number of Gilded Age mansions, including Ochre Court, shown here, which is the second largest estate in town after the Breakers. With these opulent roots, it’s no wonder it’s one of the colleges with the most beautiful campuses.

          • collegiate gothic brick buildings around a quad in the fall

            Photo: Wikimedia
            28/64

            University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

            Nestled into the heart of Philadelphia, Penn might not have the rolling hills of other most beautiful college campuses in the US, but it does have plenty of Collegiate Gothic architecture. Many of the school’s original buildings were designed by Cope & Stewardson, a firm that worked on a number of university projects, including ones at Princeton and Washington University in St. Louis.

          • six columns in front of a large brick building with a central tower

            Photo: Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images
            29/64

            University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri)

            The heart of Mizzou is the Francis Quadrangle, home to the six columns that are the only remaining part of the original Academic Hall, which burned down in 1892.

          • a series of gothic buildings above an amphitheater

            Photo: Wikimedia
            30/64

            Rhodes College (Memphis, Tennessee)

            Despite being located in the middle of a city, Rhodes College has a beautiful wooded campus with uniformly Collegiate Gothic buildings made of Arkansas sandstone, Vermont slate, and Indiana limestone.

          • a tall clocktower behind a tree

            Photo: Geri Lavrov/Getty Images
            31/64

            University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California)

            The campus of UC Berkeley was actually designed via a competition; the winner was French architect Émile Bénard, who assigned John Galen Howard to oversee the project. The result was a Beaux Arts campus.

          • a collection of dark red gothic buildings next to newer structures in a hilly landscape

            Photo: Getty Images
            32/64

            Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)

            Cornell’s hillside location above Cayuga Lake among scenic gorges is incredibly picturesque, and its diverse architecture impresses as well. The older buildings on campus display ornate Collegiate Gothic, neoclassical, and Victorian styles, while modernism abounds in newer areas.

          • a tall beige building with a gold dome

            Photo: Michael Hickey/Getty Images
            33/64

            University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)

            When the original University of Notre Dame Main Building burned down in 1879, it was replaced with this gold-dome structure, which has become a symbol of the school.

          • a gothic cathedral in the evening

            Photo: Getty Images
            34/64

            University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

            The University of Chicago’s campus straddles the Midway Plaisance, a park created for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, and its oldest buildings on either side of the park were inspired by those at Oxford University.

          • a gothic stone building with a green roof

            Photo: Wikimedia
            35/64

            Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, New York)

            Vassar’s 1,000 acres are filled with more than 100 buildings in a variety of architectural styles, from the Gothic Thompson Memorial Library (shown here) to Marcel Breuer’s Ferry House to César Pelli’s Lehman Loeb Art Center.

          • an aerial view of a redbrick campus near the mountains

            Photo: Glenn J. Asakawa/Wikimedia
            36/64

            University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)

            While some of the oldest buildings at the University of Colorado Boulder feature the traditional Collegiate Gothic style, the school hired architect Charles Klauder to design an entirely new architectural style for the campus. He delivered with a look called Tuscan Vernacular Revival (or, colloquially, University of Colorado style), featuring sandstone buildings with red roofs.

          • a grey stone gothic cathedral

            Photo: Getty Images
            37/64

            Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)

            There are 254 buildings on Duke’s campus, and none is more impressive than the Duke Chapel, a beacon of Collegiate Gothic architecture.

          • a massive grey stone gothic building

            Photo: Wikimedia
            38/64

            Georgetown University (Washington, DC)

            Georgetown’s Healy Hall was built by Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, who were known for designing the Library of Congress. The National Historic Landmark features both Gothic Revival and Romanesque details.

          • a bridge over a river at night with red brick buildings in the distance

            Photo: Getty Images
            39/64

            Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

            The oldest college in the United States, Harvard has an architecturally diverse campus, from the Georgian redbrick buildings surrounding Harvard Yard to Le Corbusier’s only work in the country, the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts.

          • neoclassical buildings along a long quad

            Photo: Getty Images
            40/64

            University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)

            Thomas Jefferson designed the Academical Village of the University of Virginia in what is considered one of the most important architectural projects in US history. The neoclassical campus, along with Jefferson’s home, Monticello, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

          • a red brick italianate building

            Photo: Getty Images
            41/64

            University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)

            Though the campus now covers more than 400 acres, UCLA started with just four academic buildings, including Royce Hall, shown here. The four Romanesque Revival structures were conceived by local architects Allison & Allison.

          • a massive red brick building with a central clocktower steeple

            Photo: Getty Images
            42/64

            Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire)

            The Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College features a historic building inspired by Independence Hall in Philadelphia with a modern addition by Robert Venturi.

          • a bronze statue of a man before a red brick building

            Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
            43/64

            William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia)

            Colonial in style—William & Mary and its campus were founded well before the establishment of the United States, in 1693—the Wren Building, by famous English architect Sir Christopher Wren, is the oldest college building in the country, completed in 1700.

          • a collection of Spanish style stone buildings near fountains

            Photo: Getty Images
            44/64

            Flagler College (St. Augustine, Florida)

            Flagler College acquired the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, a stunning Spanish Renaissance masterpiece, in 1968.

          • a grey stone church and nearby building on a lawn

            Photo: John Greim/Getty Images
            45/64

            Colgate University (Hamilton, New York)

            Set in the bucolic village of Hamilton, Colgate University has a serene countryside campus. Its most famous structure is the Colgate Memorial Chapel, built in 1918.

          • gothic stone buildings on a lawn with trees

            Photo: Getty Images
            46/64

            Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio)

            The historic stone buildings of Kenyon College are a marvel, lending a very collegiate atmosphere to the small liberal arts school.

          • californiastyle blond stone buildings with red tile roofs

            Photo: Getty Images
            47/64

            Stanford University (Stanford, California)

            One of the most beautiful areas on Stanford’s large campus is the Main Quadrangle, which takes on a California Mission style. Frederick Law Olmsted and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge (associates of the late Henry Hobson Richardson) worked on the design.

          • gothic stone buildings around a central quad

            Photo: Wikimedia
            48/64

            Berry College (Mount Berry, Georgia)

            When it comes to a beautiful setting, Berry college can’t be beat: Its campus has more than 27,000 acres of forests and fields, and there’s even a mountain. And it has gorgeous English Gothic architecture to boot.

          • a gothic grey stone building with a clock tower behind a massive tree

            Photo: Getty Images
            49/64

            Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)

            Princeton University has a campus that’s the epitome of Collegiate Gothic architecture. However, it also has modern buildings, including Spelman Hall by I.M. Pei, Lewis Library by Frank Gehry, and the Carl Icahn Laboratory by Rafael Viñoly.

          • an aerial view of an impressive college campus with various styles of buildings in the evening

            Photo: Getty Images
            50/64

            Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)

            Yale has one of the most impressive collections of architecture in the country. Though the majority of the campus is done in the Collegiate Gothic style, there are some modernist gems, including Eero Saarinen’s Ingalls Rink; Skidmore, Owings and Merrell’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library; Paul Rudolph’s Art & Architecture Building; and Louis Kahn’s Yale Art Gallery and Center for British Art.

          • Danforth Chapel exterior designed by Frank Loyd Wright Florida Southern College

            Photo: John Greim/Getty Images
            51/64

            Florida Southern College (Lakeland, Florida)

            Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, is home to 13 Frank Lloyd Wright–designed buildings. In fact, the school boasts the highest number of Wright structures in a single location. In 2012, the campus was designated a National Historic Landmark.

          • Pratt Institute of Art main campus Brooklyn New York

            Photo: Vespasian/Alamy Stock Photo
            52/64

            Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, New York) 

            In the heart of the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, you’ll find the Pratt Institute. Known for its architecture, interior design, and industrial design degrees, it’s no wonder the campus is stunning. Open to the public during the day and offering a park-like reprieve for local New Yorkers, the campus has over 70 sculptures across 25 acres.

          • The Immaculata Parish at the campus of University of San Diego

            Photo: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
            53/64

            University of San Diego (San Diego, California) 

            Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay, its pristine landscape—not to mention the incredible weather—automatically gives the University of San Diego a leg up. However, the beautiful collection of 16th-century Spanish Renaissance–style buildings certainly holds its own too.

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: Peter Aaron
            54/64

            Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York)

            Bard College’s bucolic campus was formed from several historic country estates along the Hudson River. The college showcases a mix of historic and modern architectural styles, including works by Robert Venturi and Rafael Viñoly. One of the highlights of the campus is the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry.

          • Prettiest College Campuses

            Photo: Carnegie Mellon University
            55/64

            Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

            Andrew Carnegie founded the institution that is now Carnegie Mellon University in 1900. The university’s Pittsburgh campus is set on over 157 acres and features an array of Beaux Arts buildings by architect Henry Hornbostel, including Hamerschlag Hall.

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: Getty Images
            56/64

            University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)

            Set on Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruz is heaven for nature-loving academics. Ten residential colleges are spread over the 2,000-acre campus, which is located in and around redwood groves.

            a pool. steps and a neogothic brick building surrounded by trees

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: Courtesy of the University of Richmond
            57/64

            University of Richmond (Richmond, Virginia)

            The University of Richmond’s idyllic campus is primarily designed in the collegiate Gothic style, with redbrick buildings spread across its lush 350-acre campus. Westhampton Lake sits at the heart of the campus and can be crossed via two footbridges linked by a scenic gazebo.

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: John Greim/Getty Images
            58/64

            Williams College (Williamstown, Massachusetts)

            Founded in 1793, Williams College’s rural campus in the Berkshires contains a mix of architecture, including the Federalist-style Griffin Hall, which was built in 1828. During the 20th century, the campus was shaped by famed landscape designers John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: Getty Images
            59/64

            Wellesley College (Wellesley, Massachusetts)

            One of the Seven Sisters, Wellesley College was founded in 1870 as a female seminary. During his early work on the campus, Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. described the picturesque site as “not merely beautiful, but with a marked individual character not represented so far as I know on the ground of any other college in the country.” Olmstead later worked on the master plan for the college with Arthur Shurcliff and Ralph Adams Cram. One of the campus’s iconic structures is Green Hall, with its 182-foot-tall Galen Stone Tower.

          • Image may contain Architecture Building Cityscape Urban Outdoors City and Aerial View

            Cameron Davidson
            60/64

            Howard University (Washington, DC)

            Located in the Shaw neighborhood of the nation’s capital, Howard University’s main campus is spread over 256 acres. The historically Black research university’s style was shaped by architect Albert Cassell, who served as the university architect and the head of the architecture department. Cassell designed many of the campus’s beloved buildings, including the Founders Library and Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall.

          • Image may contain Architecture Building Housing House Portico Clock Tower Tower and Lamp

            Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
            61/64

            Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)

            Johns Hopkins University has ten campuses spread over three continents, but the center of undergraduate life is the Homewood campus, where the School of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Education are located. The 140-acre campus is home to redbrick Federal Style buildings arranged around verdant quads. The center of the campus is Gilman Hall, which was designed by Douglas Thomas and completed in 1915.

          • Image may contain Architecture Building Housing House and Manor

            aimintang
            62/64

            Bryn Mawr (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania)

            Founded in 1885, Bryn Mawr is set on a picturesque campus partially designed by landscape architects Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted. The liberal arts college is home to Gothic revival, collegiate Gothic, and modernist buildings by architects such as Arthur Ingersoll Meigs, Walter Cope, and Louis Kahn.

          • prettiest college campuses

            Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images
            63/64

            Spelman College (Atlanta, Georgia)

            Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, today Spelman College occupies a beautiful 39-acre campus near downtown Atlanta. The HBCU features redbrick buildings in a variety of styles, including the Rockefeller Hall, which was built in 1886 and is listed on the National Record of Historic Places. The campus’s newest addition, the Studio Gang–designed Center for the Arts & Innovation, is set to open in early 2025.

          • prettiest college campuse

            Photo: Getty Images/Mel Musto/Bloomberg
            64/64

            Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

            MIT’s 168-acre campus sits alongside the Charles River and is filled with the work of legendary architects, such as Eero Saarinen’s MIT Chapel and Kresge Auditorium, Alvar Aalto’s Baker House, and I.M. Pei’s Dreyfus, Landau, Wiesner, and Green Buildings. Frank Gehry’s Ray and Maria Stata Center opened in 2004.