15 High-Tech College Campuses

Universities are using advanced technology on campus.

Universities are often some of the first places to adopt new technological advancements, and access to the latest technology can enhance the college experience for students. While schools with a reputation for strong science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known collectively as STEM, programs are typically the most high-tech, other universities have also embraced new technology to adapt to the changing needs of students and the job market. Whether it’s in classrooms, laboratories, research centers or other campus spaces, here are 15 National Universities that provide students with high-tech features and programs to help improve functionality and inspire innovation. National Universities, a U.S. News classification, offer a full range of undergraduate majors, some master’s and doctoral programs, and are committed to producing groundbreaking research.

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is using modern technology to help make its campus more functional and energy efficient. The school has smart devices in four locations on campus that include sunlight and temperature sensors, carbon dioxide detectors and particulate counters. Ranked No. 1 in the 2025 U.S. News list of Most Innovative National Universities, ASU plans to use the data to learn how to make the campus safer and more environmentally friendly. With an eye on becoming “climate positive” and a more sustainable university, ASU is working to make all university vehicles electric, with charging stations across campus and wireless technology used to track the vehicles and transmit data through the cloud. ASU also developed solar-powered golf cart trackers, which are used to help locate carts designed specifically for students with disabilities.

California Institute of Technology

Technology and scientific innovation run deep throughout California, especially in Pasadena on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. More than 300 technology companies are based in Pasadena, according to the city’s website, and at the center of the region’s innovative spirit is Caltech, which attracts some of the most promising young entrepreneurs and scientists. Ranked No. 7 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, Caltech is home to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where researchers use advanced robotics to study the earth’s atmosphere and parts of space still relatively unknown to humans. Students conduct research in the lab and may also study at the Resnick Sustainability Institute, where they can research climate change and methods to develop sustainable energy. Caltech students develop so many inventions that the school created a department to help them navigate patenting their products and taking them to market.

Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

The No. 4-ranked school on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania seeks to equip students with the latest technology to conduct research, especially in robotics. In fall 2023, the school launched the Academic Cloud Lab, a remote-controlled, fully functional lab where researchers conduct experiments by using lines of code to generate operations, which are sometimes performed by robots and at other times by humans. Data is then returned to the researchers, typically within a day. It’s the world’s first academic cloud lab, according to the school’s website. The school’s Moonshot Mission Control, a command center in the School of Computer Science’s Gates Center for Computer Science, allowed students to control a student-made nano rover, named Iris, that traveled to the moon on the United Launch Alliance rocket in January 2024.

Colorado School of Mines

One of the main features for science- and technology-minded students at the Colorado School of Mines is the Mines Interactive Robotics Research (MIRROR) Lab, where students blend “artificial intelligence, cognitive science and human-robot interaction with robotic and augmented reality technologies,” according to the school’s website. A variety of research and testing goes on in the MIRROR Lab, like studying how robots can handle various social norms and how they adapt their moral reasoning and ethics in various contexts and communication settings. The lab is primarily for computer science research for both undergraduate and graduate students, but it often has testing where anyone at the university can sign up to interact with the robots.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Located in the heart of Atlanta and ranked No. 2 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, Georgia Institute of Technology attracts some of the brightest technology- and entrepreneurial-minded students. With initiatives like CREATE-X, a start-up incubator, and spaces for students to develop and test prototypes of their inventions like the Hive Makerspace and the student-run Flowers Invention Studio, the campus has become a creative playground for young innovators. Open to all students regardless of major, the Invention Studio is where students can develop prototypes of products, from electronics to metal working. A highlight each year is the Inventure Prize, for which six teams demonstrate products they created for judges with a business background. The event, broadcast on local public television, is like “‘American Idol’ for engineers,” says Raghupathy Sivakumar, Georgia Tech’s vice president of commercialization and chief commercialization officer.

Georgia State University

Georgia State University ranks No. 5 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, and the heart of the school’s spirit is the university library. The crown jewel of the library is the Collaborative University Research and Visualization Environment (CURVE), a technology-rich research and study space available for all students for a variety of purposes. CURVE’s centerpiece technology, the interactWall, is a 24-feet-wide touch screen designed for visual and data-centered research projects. CURVE also includes seven other work stations, including a 4K work station available for faculty and students to work with large images and data sets. Each work station provides access to various specialty software packages to fit users’ data or research needs.

Johns Hopkins University (MD)

Ranked No. 10 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland is a leader in the science and medical research fields. The Applied Physics Laboratory focuses on advanced research in data science, AI and machine learning, while the Science + Technology Park near the school’s medical campus is a mixed-use redevelopment with a commercial lab, office space, rental and for-sale housing for life science students and a K-8 public school. It’s part of Eager Park, which supports “a best-of-class research center for emerging, creative companies that seek collaboration among peers in Baltimore and Maryland,” according to its website. Additionally, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and FastForward U serve students and faculty developing new technologies and startups.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Maker culture” permeates the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where students work in collaborative settings to innovate and create. Ranked No. 3 on U.S. News’ List of Most Innovative National Universities, MIT has renovated two residence halls and opened another that together offer substantial dedicated maker spaces. One of those, at the East Campus undergraduate residence hall, was relocated to a courtyard where students build forts, wooden rollercoasters and other projects. But MIT’s signature maker space may be the Hobby Shop, which opened in 1938 and has been a launching pad for generations of MIT students, faculty, staff and alumni in their entrepreneurial pursuits. The school recently renovated the Stratton Student Center with expanded shared work spaces outfitted with the latest technology and dedicated areas for dance activities and well-being programming, including a new well-being lab.

Purdue University (IN)

A hub for aspiring engineers and No. 9 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, the main campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, is also working to establish itself as a leader in semiconductor research and preparing students for work in the industry. Semiconductors, sometimes called microchips, power and connect technological devices ranging from vehicles to computers. In 2022, the school announced the nation’s first Semiconductor Degrees Program — a set of interdisciplinary degrees and credentials in semiconductors and microelectronics. The school’s Discovery Park District is a 400-acre “launch pad” where businesses can conduct product research and development, work with experts in various fields and attract students for employment. Among the facility’s innovation efforts is the Hypersonic Ground Test Center, a “first-of-its-kind test facility” where aspiring aerospace professionals will be able to research hypersonic vehicles that travel five times faster than the speed of light.

Stanford University (CA)

Just a short drive from Silicon Valley and ranked No. 6 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, Stanford University has played a major role in the technology boom in recent decades in terms of research and educating founders of well-known companies used by millions of people. Notable alumni include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, along with Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who founded the multiplatform technology company Hewlett-Packard in 1939. The Stanford Research Park, a joint venture with the City of Palo Alto, houses numerous startups and tech companies and was the world’s first university research park, while the Frontier Technology Lab allows students to research areas such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Tuskegee University (AL)

Among groups that played a pivotal role for the U.S. during World War II was the Tuskegee Airmen, the country’s first all-Black group of pilots, bombardiers, navigators, mechanics and other support personnel who are credited with helping the U.S. win the war. From 1941 to 1946, about 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee University in Alabama, then known as Tuskegee Institute.The school is a leader across many science fields and is also the top producer of Black aerospace science engineers in the U.S. It’s also a leading producer of Black graduates in electrical, chemical and mechanical engineering and is the only historically Black college or university with a fully accredited college of veterinary medicine that offers a doctoral degree. That college produces over 75% of the world’s Black veterinarians, according to the school’s website.

University of California, Davis

A pioneer in craft brewing being taught on college campuses, the University of California, Davis became the first U.S. college to offer such a program. It now houses one of the most state-of-the-art research breweries in the U.S. and offers students the chance to learn everything about the beer industry, from creating the product to packaging it. Additionally, the school’s 578-seat California Hall provides students with a modern lecture experience with active learning. Using electronic clickers, students can answer questions that appear on a 21-feet-wide projection screen. Those who step outside the classroom can still hear the lecture through speakers in the lobby and restrooms.

University of California–Los Angeles

Whether for research or providing advanced technology for student use, the University of California–Los Angeles provides multiple innovative options. The UCLA Research Park houses advanced, collaborative, multidisciplinary research in quantum science and technology, while Boelter Hall, home to the engineering school, offers fabrication facilities and other amenities. The UCLA Library’s Lux Lab and the Makerspace in Olympic Hall offer three-dimensional printing and laser-cutting services to all students, at little to no charge, to use for projects and work related to the university. In 2005, UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center was the world’s first hospital to introduce a remote-presence robot in its neurological intensive care unit. In 2013, it launched the executive virtual attending physician, known as EVA, which navigates the hospital on autopilot and allows doctors to have more time with patients.

University of Florida

Digital media has become part of everyday life for most people, and artificial intelligence appears to be on its way to the same reality. To prepare students for such a world, the University of Florida‘s College of Journalism and Communications launched the Atlas Lab in May 2023. Powered by “sophisticated, AI-driven digital media analysis tools,” the lab provides students an experience with data analytics and new insights about the industry. The classroom where the technology is located is outfitted with 46 monitors that can be configured to fit user needs and show data dashboards, live television and faculty presentations, according to the school’s website. In late 2023, the university launched a free “virtual traffic stop” smartphone app in partnership with campus police, allowing officers to initiate traffic stops through video to help students feel safer.

University of Texas at Austin

Austin has seen a tech boom over the last decade, earning it the nickname “Silicon Hills,” and the University of Texas at Austin has contributed significantly. Inventionworks, the on-campus maker studio, offers dozens of courses through the Cockrell School of Engineering ranging from biomedical engineering to robot mechanism design. The studio is in the National Instruments Student Project Center, a 23,000-square-feet space for designing and building everything from solar cars and satellites to robots and biomedical sensors, according to the school’s website. Ranked No. 19 on U.S. News’ list of Most Innovative National Universities, the school is also renowned for its astronomy research and provides students with top-of-the-line facilities such as the McDonald Observatory — which is open to the public and has programs for K-12 educators — and the Texas Advanced Computing Center.

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High-Tech College Campuses

— Arizona State University

— California Institute of Technology

— Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

— Colorado School of Mines

— Georgia Institute of Technology

— Georgia State University

— Johns Hopkins University (MD)

— Massachusetts Institute of Technology

— Purdue University (IN)

— Stanford University (CA)

— Tuskegee University (AL)