When architecture and academia unite As the dog days of summer fade, students around the country return to university campuses in the annual back-to-school rush. To pay tribute to the beginning of the academic year, we?re turning our lens on university architecture.
And for architecture lovers everywhere, universities and colleges can be top-notch tourist destinations, home to stellar collections of buildings by well-known architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. They can also provide a perfect backdrop for a picnic, whether you?re on the south coast of California or traipsing through New England.
In fact, there are so many beautiful universities that we?ve no doubt left deserving candidates off this list, and have instead prioritized unique spots that go beyond institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. Instead, we?ve highlighted lesser-known campuses with architecture that represents the very best of a particular style, along with campuses that have a singular, don?t-miss building that rises above the rest.
Behold, our 17 picks for the most architecturally stunning college campus across the U.S.

Indiana University Bloomington

StevenW./Flickr
Maxwell Hall at Indiana University Bloomington.

The flagship campus of IU?s eight locations, Indiana University Bloomington boasts the largest concentration of Indiana limestone buildings in the world. Quarried in south central Indiana, this type of limestone was such a popular...