The most beautiful college in every state

Established in 1857, the University of Arizona has since been home to many famous figures, from Kourtney Kardashian and Kristen Wiig to five-time NBA champion Steve Kerr.

Surrounded by the beautiful Santa Catalina mountains, the 380-acre campus features rows of red-bricked halls, towering palm trees lining its walkways, and a nationally recognized public garden that is home to many desert plants.

Once a 2-acre site in Oakland and now a sprawling 178-acre campus, UC Berkeley‘s college grounds have undergone several transformations over the years.

In 1863, upon acquiring a bigger space, college administrators worked with Frederick Law Olmsted, the architect of New York City’s Central Park, to design a plan for the new campus. Then, by 1890, as enrollment increased, a competition was held to appoint a new architect, where French architect Emile Bénard won first place.

While Bénard presented his formal Beaux-Arts vision for the new campus, he declined to work as the supervising architect, and John Galen Howard — who won fourth place — was instead chosen to oversee the project.

Beyond its architectural feats, the university has produced many noteworthy figures, from Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak and actor Chris Pine to “Lizzie McGuire’s” Adam Lamberg.

Elements of traditional Collegiate Gothic and modernist styles co-exist on this 261-acre campus. Modern structures, including architect Eero Saarinen’s Ingalls Rink and the glass Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, stand out against the classical buildings.

Founded in 1701, Yale University is the third oldest in the country.

Since its inception, it has produced numerous prominent figures, including politicians, such as former US presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to actors Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, and Lupita Nyong’o.

Flagler College’s 47-acre campus — recognized by Southern Living as one of the most beautiful campuses in the South — operates out of the former Spanish Renaissance-style Ponce de León Hotel.

Not only do students get to call a National Historic Landmark their classroom, but they are also only a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Located in the picturesque Mānoa Valley, this 320-acre university offers sweeping views of the volcanic rock and easy access to Waikiki Beach. As of fall 2022, more than 19,000 students were enrolled in the college, which is one of the largest and oldest of the 10 University of Hawaii campuses.

The university also classifies in Division 1 in the NCAA athletics rankings.

Situated by Lake Michigan in Evanston, this 240-acre campus — only a short drive away from Chicago — features Victorian-style halls, a Neo-Gothic chapel, and even an observatory, which per the university, was home to what was once the world’s largest telescope.

Meghan Markle, author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn, and “Game of Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin are just a few of the famous figures who went to school here.

A campus lake, a central lawn, and a 110-foot-tall Campanile bell tower are just some of the beautiful design elements at this 2,000-acre campus.

It’s also home to the most Instagrammable public garden, which, at 17 acres, includes a conservatory, a butterfly wing, and Elwood, the world’s largest concrete gnome, per the university. He stands 15 feet tall.

Established in 1798, the University of Louisville has three campuses: the Belknap Campus, which is almost 345 acres and is known as the main campus; the Health Science Center; and the Shelby Campus.

Belknap Campus, based in Old Louisville, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The main campus is known for its red-bricked buildings and a cast of Auguste Rodin’s famous statue, “The Thinker.”

The College of the Atlantic’s main campus stretches 38 acres. The college has two in-house organic farms, as well as research stations on two islands in the Gulf of Maine.

The institute is surrounded by pink granite mountains, spruce forests, and the Atlantic Ocean.

As one of the oldest colleges in the US — it was founded in 1636 — Harvard University has seen several design transformations over the years. It is also home to some historic buildings, such as Massachusetts Hall, which, according to the National Park Service, is one of the oldest surviving Harvard buildings.

Beyond the academics, one of the perks of going to school here is that you get to dine in Annenberg Hall, which looks like Hogwarts’ Great Hall, and call several Georgian red-brick buildings your classroom.

Locally known as “The Hill,” this 300-acre campus is surrounded by woodlands and prairies.

Twenty of its buildings were designed by Edward Sövik, a well known American architect, author, and professor on campus, including the 1877 Old Main, which is one of the two of the college’s buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Washington University also held a competition to pick a firm to design its new campus when it moved to slightly bigger grounds within St. Louis in 1900, when construction on its hilltop site first began.

A design project inspired by British universities Oxford and Cambridge bagged the first prize, and the firm behind it, Cope & Stewardson, went on to turn their vision into reality — think soaring towers with classical Gothic arches and lush quads.

As reported by Travel & Leisure, which named Creighton University the most beautiful college in Nebraska, elements of old and new design blend harmoniously on this campus, giving the university a distinct character.

Dartmouth is another college where old and new coexist. Within a 5-acre space are two of the institute’s oldest buildings, Wentworth and Thornton Halls, built in the 1820s. On the modern front is the Hopkins Center, which was built in 1962 and designed by Wallace Harrison, the same architect who built New York’s Lincoln Center and the United Nations building.

Beyond its architectural styles, the college is also well known for its numerous famous alums, including Pulitzer-winning poet Robert Frost, children’s author Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), and historian Annette Gordon-Reed, the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer for history.

St. John’s College is a dream destination for anyone who loves the mountains. Given its proximity to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the campus has several hiking trails, and nature is always at your doorstep.

Duke University’s architecture holds traces of both Gothic stonework and Georgian styles within its West and East campuses. Its 210-foot-tall Duke Chapel — which is frequently booked for weddings — exudes peak Collegiate Gothic style, standing out among the 254 buildings on campus.

Other highlights on campus include the Duke Forest and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

Former President Richard Nixon and several former and current CEOs, from Apple’s Tim Cook to Etsy’s Chad Dickerson, are alums.

This liberal arts institution features buildings with historic appeal: stone structures, outdoor art installations, and wooden beams surrounded by natural forests and lush green walkways.

“The Fault in Our Stars” author John Green, Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, and “The West Wing” actor Allison Janney all graduated from Kenyon College before embarking on their careers.

Originally known as the Albany Collegiate Institute, this private liberal arts institution relocated to Portland in 1938 and four years later rebranded to Lewis & Clark College after its namesake explorers.

The campus, set amid Douglas firs and rolling hills, exudes an old-school rustic charm. Notable historic buildings include the Frank Manor House, now the office of undergraduate admissions, and the Corbett House, designed by Italian-American architect Pietro Belluschi in 1929.

Built out of the consolidation of seven glorious Gilded Age estates, Salve Regina University’s 80-acre campus has many Instagram-worthy sights. The most noteworthy of these is the Ochre Court, which is the second-largest estate in town after the Breakers and serves as the university’s admin building.

Tucked away in the scenic city of Sioux Falls, and previously named by Travel & Leisure as the most beautiful college in South Dakota, Augustana impresses with its administration building, cropped quads, and towering trees.

Founded in 1911, Southern Methodist University is 5 miles north of downtown Dallas and features grand buildings, manicured lawns, and the Meadows Museum, which, according to Southern Living, houses the largest collection of Spanish art outside Spain.

There’s also Dallas Hall, the university’s first building, which is now on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Picture cozy cottages and manors nestled between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks — these are the scenes at Middlebury College year-round.

On the architectural front, Battell Hall, built in 1955, and the much-older but perfectly symmetrical Painter Hall add further charm to this campus.

A series of stunning Collegiate Gothic buildings line the University of Washington’s Liberal Arts Quadrangle, with cherry blossoms in the spring and snow-capped mountains in winter — it’s no wonder this campus is consistently named among the most beautiful in the country.

Some major talents, from academia and technology to arts and entertainment, have come out of this university, including actor Rainn Wilson, USWNT star Hope Solo, and actor Bruce Lee.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus is nestled between two lakes and has an incredibly picturesque setting. On the architectural front, some highlights include Bascom Hall, Music Hall, and Memorial Union.

The university has been home to prominent personalities across industries, including designer Virgil Abloh, former vice president Dick Cheney, and actor Joan Cusack.

Borrowing from the state’s rustic aesthetic, the University of Wyoming exudes an equally tasteful old-school charm.

Highlights include the sandstone Old Main building, one of the first buildings built on this 10-acre campus, and rows of green trees surrounding it.