URI Ranked Third 'Most Beautiful Coastal Campus' in Country

By PATRICK LUCE (Patch Staff)

Combining “the best of New England tradition and coastal charm,” the University of Rhode Island is among the most beautiful coastal college campuses in the country, according to Best Value Schools, a website that studies and ranks colleges and universities across the country on a number of levels.

URI was ranked third on the list, of 30 campuses across the country. The website specifically mentions the mix of New England traditional and modern architecture of buildings on the main campus in Kingston, and focuses heavily on Narragansett Bay Campus and specifically the value in URI’s School of Oceanography, which regularly ranks among the top 5 oceanographic schools in the country. The Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich also contributed to the university’s ranking.

“Located within easy reach of Providence, Newport, Boston, and New York City, University of Rhode Island combines the best of New England tradition and coastal charm,” the website reads. “The 1,200-acre campus is dotted with both ivy-covered buildings and contemporary architecture. Best of all, the campus overlooks the West Passage of Narragansett Bay, offering students stellar natural views. A 2,300-acre second campus is located 30 minutes from Providence, and boasts pristine forests, streams, ponds and a 75-acre lake.”

URI Ranked third on the list, just behind Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, and the University of San Diego. Eckard College in St. Petersburg, FL, and the University of California at Santa Cruz rounded out the top 5. Salve Regina University in Newport also made the list, at number 7.

The colleges in the list were chosen and ranked based on the following criteria:

• Location: Each campus on the list is located on the coast and within easy access to beaches.
• Awards & Recognition: Whether a national award or an honor bestowed by a group or organization, any recognition a campus has received played a large part in its placement on this list. Generally speaking, the larger and more recent the honor, the higher the college was placed.
• Student Enjoyment: Those campuses with features that can be physically enjoyed by the school’s student body (such as botanical gardens) were given higher priority.
• Number of Notable Features: Campuses with more than one significant or celebrated building or feature were ranked higher than those with a single notable feature. Local and privately owned beaches were included in this category.
• Other: Those campuses with other notable characteristics, such as historical significance or environmental friendliness, were also considered.