Stunning college campuses outside the U.S.
College campuses are designed to inspire learning and discovery — studying surrounded by nature and historic buildings is a bonus. From spectacular views to awe-inspiring architecture, here are 10 beautiful campuses around the world. These schools span six continents and 10 countries, representing diverse traditions and centuries of history. They are home to sprawling gardens, storied museums and iconic natural and man-made landmarks, some of which have been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and wonders of nature. The following list excludes beautiful U.S. college campuses.
Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
Chartered in 1592, Trinity College Dublin in Ireland was built on the site of a former Augustinian monastery, the Priory of All Hallows. Trinity’s lush green campus in the heart of the city features magnificent structures, like the Old Library, which houses an interactive exhibition around the Book of Kells, a ninth-century gospel manuscript, and more than 200,000 books. There’s also the stately Museum Building, which draws influence from Gothic-style architecture in its stonework and pointed archways. The iconic Campanile, a 100-feet-tall bell tower topped by a weathervane shaped like a ship, is at the center of campus. Trinity enrolls more than 20,000 students and boasts notable alumni like playwrights Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, and former Ireland president Mary Robinson.
University of Cambridge (England)
The University of Cambridge — the fourth-oldest university in the world — is known for its academic prestige and as the birthplace of modern football, per its website. There, historic charm meets cutting-edge discovery. Located north of London along the River Cam, Cambridge’s campus features lush open spaces and dozens of historic landmarks, including St. John’s College — one of the university’s 31 autonomous colleges — and King’s College Chapel, breathtaking with its late English Gothic architecture With more than 800 years of history, Cambridge features buildings that reflect medieval as well as Gothic architectural styles along with modern designs. Punting, which involves guiding a boat using a long pole, is a popular pastime among students and city visitors interested in sightseeing from the water.
Royal Roads University (Canada)
Royal Roads University’s Colwood campus sits at the heart of Hatley Park National Historic Site, which has been featured in movies such as Deadpool and X-Men, according to its website. Located on Victoria Island in British Columbia, Canada, Hatley Park offers hiking and biking trails as well as proximity to the coast, where students and visitors enjoy serene views of the Esquimalt Lagoon. Hatley Castle is one of the university’s main landmarks. Designed by Canadian architect Samuel Maclure, the 40-room castle was commissioned by industrialist James Dunsmuir and completed in 1908. Its Tudor Revival design aimed to imitate the architectural style of medieval castles. The campus is also home to three colorful gardens: the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden, which all date back more than 100 years.
Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
With its main campus located in the city’s Butanta neighborhood, Universidade de Sao Paulo is the largest university in Brazil and enrolls upward of 100,000 students. Its campus encompasses several schools, which combined to form USP in 1934. Today, USP is known for its science and sustainability programs. USP’s Museu Paulista, often known as the Museu do Ipiranga, is in Independence Park near where Crown Prince Dom Pedro I declared Brazil’s independence from Portugal in 1822. Designed in 1884 by architect Tommaso Gaudenzio Bezzi, the museum’s bright yellow exterior and eclectic Renaissance Revival style stand out amidst USP’s brutalist landscape. As seen in structures like the architecture and urbanism college, the brutalist style — which is characterized by minimalist design — is common on campus and across Brazil.
Peking University (China)
Peking University‘s unique design preserves historic landmarks like the West Gate, the palace-style gate that welcomed visitors to the emperor’s garden during the Qing dynasty. The campus — previously used by Yenching University — is also home to several lovely gardens, the U-shaped Weiming Lake and the octagonal Boya Pagoda. Designed by American architect Henry Murphy, Peking University’s original buildings fuse Chinese architectural tradition with modern functionality. Today, more recent structures like the library — which houses more than 1.6 million ancient books — continue to embrace traditional Chinese design. The campus also has several museums, including the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, which houses more than 10,000 objects spanning 280,000 years and is the first modern museum constructed at a Chinese university, per the school’s website.
University of Cape Town (South Africa)
At the University of Cape Town in South Africa, students study at the foothills of Devil’s Peak, which sits at more than 3,200 feet above sea level. You can admire the majestic view of Sarah Baartman Hall against the backdrop of flat-top Table Mountain, which has been named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, from the staircase below. Thanks to the university’s mountainous surroundings and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, students often spend free time hiking, sailing and rowing, among other recreational activities. UCT is located in Cape Town’s Rondebosch neighborhood, and the university’s ivy-covered upper campus overlooks the city’s sprawling suburbs. Founded in 1829 as South African College, an all-male high school, UCT is the oldest university in the country, according to the school’s website.
University of Sydney (Australia)
The main campus of the University of Sydney features ample green space and stunning scenery. Popular landmarks at the oldest university in Australia include neighboring Victoria Park and the Quadrangle, which was first used as a military camp and features gargoyles dating back more than 100 years, per the school’s website. Carillon bells play classical and modern sounds every Tuesday at lunchtime, which can be heard from a distance. Inspired by Victorian Academic Gothic Revival architecture, many of the public research university’s buildings imitate the style of English universities. The Great Hall in the Quadrangle features remarkable stained-glass windows and 12 carved wooden angels holding books and scrolls. The campus is near Lake Northam and a few miles from the city’s picturesque coast, giving students opportunities to experience wildlife and the great outdoors.
Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is known for its futuristic landscape and green campus. The UOB Innovation Hub, the university’s most iconic structure, features 12 towers encircling a public atrium that onlookers often say resemble hives or dim sum baskets. The building was designed by England-based Heatherwick Studio and construction was completed in 2015. NTU has several lush, biodiverse spaces on campus, such as the Yunnan Garden and the rooftop of the stunningly designed School of Art, Design and Media. The Yunnan Garden, a heritage park created in the 1950s, includes more than 80 species of trees, numerous trails and boardwalks, and a man-made waterfall, among other modern additions. Nearly 50 cafes and food courts dot the campus. The school opened in 1981 as an institute to address a shortage of engineers.
Universidad de Salamanca (Spain)
Founded in 1218, Universidad de Salamanca — which has grown from 500 to roughly 30,000 students — is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and one of the first in Europe, according to the school’s website. The Old City of Salamanca in Spain, including the university, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Intricate Plateresque sculptures can be found at the Main University Schools building on campus, which houses the historic Old Library. Those sculptures draw from Gothic and Plateresque Renaissance architectural traditions, creating an iconic design iconic to the campus and Salamanca. The library is home to nearly 3,000 manuscripts and publications dating back to the 16th century. Explorer Christopher Columbus visited the school in the late 1480s and presented his plan to sail west across the Atlantic to reach Asia — and in 1492 reached the Caribbean instead.
University of Otago (New Zealand)
Located in Dunedin, New Zealand, the University of Otago was founded in 1869 and is considered the country’s oldest university. The iconic Clocktower Building overlooks the Water of Leith river that runs through campus, and the building’s Gothic Revival architectural style features decorative patterns, alternating basalt with Oamaru stone. Partially completed in 1879, the Clocktower Building was designed by architect Maxwell Bury — who found influence from the University of Glasgow in Scotland — and later expanded on by Edmund Anscombe. Carved high on the Archway Building is a series of grotesques — absurdly distorted decorative human images that are not to be confused with gargoyles. The campus is also home to ample green space, including several community gardens and a biodiverse landscape featuring native plants, including a kauri tree planted in 2019 to commemorate the university’s 150th anniversary.
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Beautiful colleges around the world
— Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
— University of Cambridge (England)
— Royal Roads University (Canada)
— Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
— Peking University (China)
— University of Cape Town (South Africa)
— University of Sydney (Australia)
— Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
— Universidad de Salamanca (Spain)
— University of Otago (New Zealand)
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10 Beautiful College Campuses Around the World originally appeared on usnews.com
