Most Beautiful Coastal College Campuses in the United States

Many students who are going to college for higher studies dream of having a beautiful coastal college near waterbodies or peaceful beaches. Well, to achieve their dreams, this article mentions the 20 most beautiful coastal college campuses located in the United States of America. 

Most beautiful coastal college campuses in the United States

For students who want to study in a place where they can relax and recharge naturally, consider joining these coastal institutions. Colleges like University of Pepperdine (Malibu, California), College of San Francisco (San Diego, California), etc. The other colleges on this list are some of the country’s 20 most beautiful coastal college campuses of United States

Top 20 Coastal College Campuses in the United States of America

University of Pepperdine (Malibu, California)

Without a doubt, Pepperdine University has one of the most amazing university campuses in the country. Southern California charm seems to flow from the Mediterranean renaissance building. 

Located in the Malibu foothills, Pepperdine University offers access to a number of the coast’s beaches with the highest concentration of famous people, and from the campuses itself, students may take in breathtaking views of the Pacific Coast, the Canary Islands, and the metropolis of Los Angeles. Even though Pepperdine’s laid-back beauty makes it simple to get sucked into Hollywood glitz, the majority of students at this reputed Christian college prefer to spend their leisure time at neighboring Zuma Beach or exploring the hillside campus.

College of San Francisco (San Diego, California)

The University of California San Diego provides sweeping vistas of multiple local attractions. Incredible panoramas of the Mediterranean Sea, San Francisco Harbour, the Catalina Islands, and La Jolla can be seen from the campus of this private university. The campus is designed in the Spanish Renaissance style architecture of the 16th century, inspired by the university’s Catholic past.

University in Rhode Island (Kingston, Rhode Island)

The University in Rhode Island blends the finest of New England heritage and seaside appeal and is close to Providence, Middletown, Boston, and New York. Both modern and ivy-covered buildings can be seen on the 1,200-acre campus. 

The site has breathtaking natural views of the West Pass of Harbor, which is the best part. It is no surprise that the university is the location of the highly regarded Graduate Studies of Oceanography, which is constantly rated among the five top oceanographic universities in the nation. It serves as the National Institute for Environmental Education most of the time, but this location is also famous for retreats, conferences, school field excursions, and summer camps.

Eckerd University (Saint Petersburg, Florida)

Eckerd College, which is located directly on Tampa Bay’s coast, has to be among the nation’s most picturesque campuses. You can be sure to see the adjacent Boca Ciega Bay, coconut palms, pelicans, students lounging in hammocks, and even dolphins if you take a walk through the campus of the exclusive liberal arts college. 

The best place to go is college-owned South Beach, where students may rent fishing gear, kayaks, and sailboats. Eckerd offers recreation to anyone who wants to be near the water, including wakeboarding excursions, courses in windsurfing, boating excursions, and more.

California State University, San Cruz

UC Santa Cruz lives up to the expectations placed on it by any school with a turkey vulture as its mascot. UCSC, which is located on California’s central coast and overlooks Monterey Bay, is just 75 mi from San Fran and even near several well-known beaches, including Cowell Beach, renowned Natural Bridges Beach Park, which has a famous natural rock curve over a portion of the beach.

The university is also famous as a surfer’s paradise; despite the deep, shark-infested (literally) deeps and cold water throughout the year, surfers travel from all over the world to Santa Cruz to access the renowned Mavericks. Students who aren’t interested in diving with sharks can still enjoy other coastal treasures including the adjacent Potter Caves, redwood forests, 2,000 acres of undulating hills, multiple hiking paths, and natural running rivers.

University of New Florida (Sarasota, Florida)

The major percentage of the school’s learning is done on Sarasota’s white sand beaches or in hammocks suspended from the beautiful palm and banyan trees that can be found all across the campus. Almost everywhere on the campus offers views of Sarasota Bay’s blue-green waters, and its nearby community is renowned for its variety of boutiques, antique stores, and brewery pubs. 

School of Salve Regina (Newport, Rhode Island)

Salve Regina University is a stunning 80-acre waterfront campus located in Newport, Rhode Island’s Ochre Point-Cliffs National Historic District. It was established in 1947 by the Sisters of Mercy. As if “waterfront” and “National Historic District” weren’t already wonderfully cool enough, the university also has an unexpectedly significant surf culture. 

On Salve Regina’s 80-acre property, however, are undoubtedly the mock-Elizabethan Wakehurst manor house, the majestic chateau Ochre Court, and the Romanesque Revival McAuley Hall.

Hawaii’s Brigham Young University (Laie, Hawaii)

The quaint community of Laie is home to Brigham Young University-Hawaii, which is only 35 minutes away from bustling Honolulu. BYU-Hawaii has a lot to provide for its students, including breathtaking views of Oahu’s lush mountains on one side and breathtaking sea views on the other. There are miles of beaches close by where you can go swimming, diving, kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, and more. Laie is a perfect location for an early hike before classes, with an average of 269 sunny days each year. 

The University of San Diego (San Diego, California)

San Diego University makes the most of the wonderful climate the city offers, with winter lows averaging around 48 and summer highs averaging a pleasant 75 degrees. Students can take part in sporting events around the year, including volleyball, baseball, water polo, ice hockey, and swimming, to name a few. There is an open-air theatre on the grounds, where multiple productions are held. 

Beachgoers can choose from a variety of options and can even catch some surf in northern Baja within the same short amount of time this would take to travel to many beaches in San Diego.

Tampa State University (Tampa, Florida)

With an average of 246 sunny days each year and a January low temperature of 51 degrees, it is understandable why University at Tampa students enjoy being outside. Additionally, students have complete access to everything Tampa had to provide, Forbes ranked the city as the fifth greatest for outdoor recreation. The Florida State Fair and the renowned Gasparilla Pirate Festival are the highlights.

The West Florida University (Pensacola, Florida)

The University of West Florida, which is located on Tampa Bay, which links to the Gulf of Mexico, is a haven for college students who love the beach and aqua activities. Since a major portion of the school is situated within a natural preserve, seeing birds, gophers, and other animals is not unusual. 

Nearby mountain bike and hiking paths are available for students, while those who want to discover the Escambia Rivers can do so in a rental kayak or canoe. In Pensacola, in which the average low temperature in the winter is just 42.8 degrees, anyone can engage in any favorable form of leisure activity.

University of Coastal Carolina (Conway, South Carolina)

Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina attracts a lot of marine biology students because of its perfect coastal location. The 631-acre campus has 102 primary buildings, such as the Coastal Museum of Science and the Bartle & Chapin Centre for Ocean and Wetland Studies, and is only a few minutes from popular holiday destination Myrtle Beach. 

Waties Island, a 1,100-acre small island that the university owns utilized only for the research of marine biology and wetland biology, offers a lot of opportunities for students to gain practical experience. At the 18-hole James Hackler Golf at Coastal Carolina University, amateur golfers also take pleasure in swinging a club in the direction of the scenery.

College of the Gulf Coast in Florida (Fort Meyers, Florida)

Florida Coastal University is the epitome of a Florida paradise in every way. Since the university’s site also serves as a natural preserve, only 400 of the university’s almost 800 acres will be used for construction. 

Animals, including gators, are abundant on the perfectly maintained grounds and fit nicely in with the stylish Florida architecture. Within walking distance is a university-owned beach that’s ideal for boat rentals, swimming, and jet skiing. The affluence of the neighboring cities of Fort Myers and Naples, where students can find a wide variety of upscale restaurants and shops, that contributes to the university’s atmosphere.

University of the Pacific (Bar Harbor, Maine)

In the past, Mount Desert Island served as a summer vacation destination for affluent families seeking escape from the heat of a city. Although the majority of these summer residences have now vanished, some of their elegance can still be found today. The quaint New England hamlet of Bar Harbor provides lighthouse tours, sailing lessons, aviation excursions, and coastal bike rides.

Wilmington University (Wilmington, North Carolina)

This university is a reputed coastal institution of higher learning and is located in the picturesque and historic Wilmington, North Carolina. The most well-known island community and beach close to the college is Wrightsville Beach, which is a barrier island off the Atlantic Ocean’s Cape Fear Coast. This laid-back seaside town is a well-liked vacation spot, but students enjoy year-round access to sports like surfing, fishing, kayaking, and more. 

The University of North Carolina also has the world’s best surf team and ranks second in the state for its four-year graduation.

College of the Nazarene in Point Loma (San Diego, California)

The Theosophical American Society created Point Loma Nazarene University, and several of the university’s structures have been identified as historical sites. The school’s Greek amphitheater was the first of its kind in the country, and Madam Katherine Tingley, the founder of the Theosophical Society, once resided in Cabrillo Hall. 

The university has a distinct sense of design because of more recent additions that combine different architectural eras. The location of the university provides access to other forms of beauty, like views of San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

California State University, San Barbara (Santa Barbara, California)

In addition to spending their undergraduate years in one of the picturesque cities of the country, University of San Francisco Barbara students also enjoy having the Pacific on 3 sides of their campus where they attend classes. Aside from that, the 1,000-acre campus is located next to the created Goleta Beach, known for surfing and fishing. Public Ivy Universities have even named UC Santa Barbara as one of the top American research institutions, and the university ranks consistently among the top public universities in the country.

Western University of Washington (Bellingham, Washington)

Western Washington University, which is 90 miles from Seattle, is a tranquil Pacific Coast haven that is frequently called “wonderful.” Students as well as the neighborhood deer population like the red-brick pathways that run through the campus’s coniferous fragrance. Most of the campus has views of Bellingham Bay and the aforementioned islands, and Bellingham, a nearby town, offers bars, music venues, and a variety of eateries.

University of the Palm Beaches (West Palm Beach, Florida)

Palm Beach Atlantic University, which consists of several Mediterranean-style buildings, blends in perfectly with its surroundings in Palm Beach, Florida. Palm Beach Atlantic students mostly find themself studying or going to class on the beach because it is situated right across the Waterfront from some of the city’s top public beaches. True beach fans will also appreciate how conveniently located John D. MacArthur Island State Park is to the institution; it is an 11,000-acre sandbar where hiking, snorkeling, and diving are all famous activities.

California State University, San Francisco (La Jolla, California)

The world-famous Scripps Institute of Oceanographic and the Downtown San Diego Health System are housed at the University of California’s UC San Diego, which occupies 1,200 acres on rocky cliffs in the Pacific in the center of the biotech industry on the La Jolla mesa. 

UC San Diego, one of the top 15 academic universities in the world, promotes a collaborative environment that leads to new understandings, benefits society, and has a positive impact on the economy. The campus has palm tree-lined paths where tourists and students can wander as the glazed ceramic rooftops and several grassy areas are warmed by the mild southern California sun.

Conclusion

Considering these most beautiful coastal college campuses in the United States of America, it is pretty sure that along with the cozy environment, these colleges also provide world-class educational facilities to train the youth. 

Frequently Asked Questions
  1. Other than the above-mentioned coastal colleges in the United States of America, are there any other coastal colleges? 

Yes, there are several other beautiful coastal college campuses in the United States of America such as – 

The University of Hawaii at Hilo, Seattle Pacific University, Florida Institute of Technology, etc.

  1. What is the process of getting admission into these coastal colleges? 

To get admission to these beautiful coastal colleges, one needs to refer to the respective websites of the university to get detailed information about the same. More or less, the admission criteria of the universities are the same.