Universities On Instagram: Our Pick Of The Best

Instagram, the free media-sharing platform that now boasts over 400 million monthly users, is fast becoming the best way for universities to speak directly to their current and prospective students.

A reported 48% of US students used Instagram for researching universities in 2015. As many students are now using the service to decide where they want to study, we’ve rounded up our favourite Instagram feeds from universities across the world to inspire you. Is your university on the list, or do you think it should be? Get in touch and let us know what makes your university so great!

1. Purdue University

From college sporting events to student success stories, the great images on Purdue’s feed capture the essence of exactly what it’s like to study there. What’s more, the hashtag #boilermaker creates a real sense of online community, and if you use it your photos may be seen by some 32,000 followers!

2. Stockholm University

The great outdoors meets Swedish university life on this Instagram account, run by staff and students alike. It features some great weekly guest editor appearances by some of Stockholm’s most interesting students, so you should definitely check it out!

3. Colorado State University

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Birthday selfie. #Repost @csucamtheram #ColoradoState

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We know you shouldn’t choose a college based on their mascot, but if you had to you’d certainly choose Colorado State. On this dreamy feed, adorable images of Cam the Ram are interspersed with other great snaps of college life, including the sensational season changes Colorado experiences.

4. University of Cambridge

You don’t have to be a budding architect to appreciate the University of Cambridge’s inspiring Instagram feed. Showcasing architectural features from in and around its colleges and beyond, the University of Cambridge’s photos are a great insight into life on campus – and with so many blue skies in shot, you’d almost forget you were looking at a British university’s page!

5. Australian National University

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Repost from @henn.penn Advice to medicine and health students from Dr Peter Tait, @ouranu Medical School at the ANU Rural Medical Society Close the Gap Conference 2016 #armsctg16: "Know what you can change and what you cannot change. Get this practised in you as early a possible before you get consumed by the urgency of needing to get things done. 'cause it's hard to #selfcare, to maintain healthy lifestyle when you become a resident, a GP, a nurse, a psychologist…. " . Dr Tait suggested 4 categories to organise our tasks/ jobs/ errands: 1. urgent and important (do it); 2. urgent and unimportant (delegate it); 3. Nonurgent and important (save for later); 4. Nonurgent unimportant (what job?). #thisisuow #sharp #wumss #ouranu #armsanu #anururalmedicalstudentsociety #nrhsn #parsa #gpsn #mips #medschool #mbbs #uow #ruralhealth #closethegap2016 #conference #granaworld #granafriend #glassball_photos #convexlens #convexview #architecture #throughglassballs #canberra

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Stunning sunsets, radiant reflections and breathtaking blends of light and shadows – it’s just another day in the life of ANU’s Instagram feed! When Australian National University isn’t shooting glorious open-air photos, their students and the natural wildlife take centre stage. Tag #ourANU to be in with a chance of being featured.

6. University of Michigan

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A Professor's Sidekick "I asked, whether you know the volume of a sphere. Not just the formula, but the derivation. I realized that many of you do not know the geometric derivation of a sphere. This was a beautiful derivation which was first done by Archimedes, and you see, such an important character, that I brought to class Tuna the bear who is pretending to be Archimedes. So the proof today is going to be based on Archimedes’ thinking." Cağilyan Kurdak, Professor of Physics and Director of the Applied Physics Program. Professor Kurdak has served on an astonishing 102 dissertation committees and helped launch the Bridge to the PhD program, which seeks to increase the presence of underrepresented students receiving doctoral degrees in physics. #WolverinesofAnnArbor This week @umichgradschool leads us in a celebration of graduate education and the amazing faculty who teach and mentor them. Professor Kurdak is one of the 2016 Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award winners. Photo by Alex Holmes @earlgreyholmes BA '15, Photographer for Rackham Graduate School

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Get to know the University of Michigan’s campus and follow the stories of its people through poignant student and staff portraits, as well as snapshots of events at the heart of student life – captured right in the moment.

7. University of Oxford

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped back in time – or stumbled across the Harry Potter movie set – when scrolling through the University of Oxford’s Instagram. With the charming collection of images which beautifully tell the Oxford university story, you’ll soon be itching to arrive and start your student life at one of Oxford’s colleges.

8. The University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne’s carefully curated Instagram feed pulls together the best of campus and student life in the city. From celebrating student achievements to sharing stills of famous Melbourne sunsets, UniMelb captures it all.

9. University of Glasgow

The grandeur of the University of Glasgow campus was actually used for parts of Hogwarts, and rightly so – it’s the fourth oldest institution in the English-speaking world. Their Instagram feed showcases beautiful images of the university’s over 500-year-old buildings, plus a wealth of amazing student-generated photographs that will inspire you to choose Glasgow as your study destination.

10. Penn State University

Penn State’s Instagram account bounces between interesting archive photographs from its foundations, beautiful lifestyle images and inspirational messages. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also quite a strong focus on furry friends and other cute creatures found around campus. Students can get involved and share their snaps using #PennState.

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