Princeton Review Ranking of Green Colleges (Top 20)

Here are the top 20 green colleges as listed in the tenth Guide to Green Colleges. Out of almost 700 schools it surveyed 413 colleges were selected and profiled for the 2019 edition. Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief, explains that schools are selected based on their “exemplary commitments to sustainability”. According to a 2020 survey, a solid majority (64%) of college applicants and their parents are interested in environmental and sustainability issues.
These rankings provide information about a college’s commitment to the environment that can make it easier to choose a school.

The guide assesses the schools’ academic offerings and initiatives, campus policies and practices, and green-career preparation for students. They rankings are based on a comparative assessment of 25 data points that include renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs, availability of environmental studies, and career guidance for green jobs.

The data was compiled based on administrator reports about their schools’ sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs as well as student surveys. The latter assesses the influence of sustainability issues on student education and life on campus; administration and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups.

All of these schools have a sustainability officer and almost all of them offer sustainability-focused undergraduate major or degree programs. With the exception of 16 colleges in Canada, 1 in Egypt, and 1 in Greece all of the schools are located in the U.S.

For the fourth year in a row The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME, earned the top spot. The school was founded in 1969 to focus on on the relationship between humans and the environment. In 2007, it became the first carbon-neutral college in the U.S. It has since committed to becoming a fossil fuel-free campus by 2030. Here is a list of the the top 20 schools contained in the guide:

College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor, ME • 332 Full-Time Enrollment
State University of New York–College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Featured, State University of New York–College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, NY • 1,861 Full-Time Enrollment
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA • 2,133 Full-Time Enrollment
University of Vermont, Featured University of Vermont, Burlington, VT • 11,443 Full-Time Enrollment
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, MD • 1,491 Full-Time Enrollment
Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA • 1,406 Full-Time Enrollment
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME • 1,828 Full-Time Enrollment
Colby College, Waterville, ME • 2,003 Full-Time Enrollment
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO • 26,559 Full-Time Enrollment
Stanford University, Stanford, CA • 6,996 Full-Time Enrollment
American University, Washington, DC • 8,527 Full-Time Enrollment
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA • 27,811 Full-Time Enrollment
Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA • 1,005 Full-Time Enrollment
University of California–Berkeley, Berkeley, CA • 31,780 Full-Time Enrollment
Bates College, Lewiston, ME • 1,820 Full-Time Enrollment
Northland College, Ashland, WI • 609 Full-Time Enrollment
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC • 25,973 Full-Time Enrollment
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT • 3,018 Full-Time Enrollment
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI • 39,176 Full-Time Enrollment
University of California – Merced, Merced, CA • 8,151 Full-Time Enrollment