Lights, Camera, Action: 12 Movies Filmed on College Campuses

By Amelia Woolard

Watching movies is one of our favorite ways to escape reality when school pressures, social commitments, and annoying roommates are too much to handle. There’s something amazing about being able to tune out and get swept away by fantasy worlds and situations, but every now and then, a film hits a little too close to home, or rather, the dorm room or off-campus apartment we wanted to leave in the first place!

It’s no secret that Hollywood loves a good film set, and many colleges and universities around the nation have been happy to oblige, providing the beautiful backdrops to some of the most beloved films of all time. So, without further ado, uCribs presents our list of 12 movies filmed on college campuses. Now, you can finally find out—did your school make the cut?

Animal House (1978) – Filmed at University of Oregon

Kicking off our list is arguably one of the most famous college movies of all time. There’s nothing quite like National Lampoon’s Animal House to get you excited for this year’s epic parties, and if you don’t hear at least one “Toga! Toga! Toga!” chant while you’re there, did you even attend one in the first place?

This cult classic set the bar for pretty much every college movie currently in existence, which makes sense since it was filmed on campus at the University of Oregon. The exterior of the film’s fraternity house was actually the exterior of the Eugene Half-Way House, which sat between two fraternity houses. The movie’s Delta Tau Chi interior scenes were shot in the Sigma Nu fraternity house, and several administrative scenes were filmed in the university President’s office. Although the University attempted to conceal their participation in the film for years, nowadays, the community considers the movie part of its culture, pointing out set locations on campus tours and singing “Shout,” the movie’s featured song, at football games.

Remember the Titans (2000) – Filmed at Berry College

Though based on a real high school team experiencing desegregation in Virginia, Remember the Titans was filmed in several places around Georgia. Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia lent several areas of campus to the shooting of film including the athletic fields and women’s dormitory. The college, which is not only incredibly scenic, but also the largest campus in the world, offered Swan Lake, Oak Hill, and The Ford Dining Hall to the movie’s set list as well.

And unbelievably enough, many of the football games within the film were shot on Berry grounds, despite the fact that the college didn’t have a football team until thirteen years after the film was released! In addition to Berry College, many scenes from this blockbuster hit were filmed in local high schools including Sprayberry High School, Druid Hills High School, Paulding County High School, and several others. Given that the film features a realistic plotline and true-to-life scenery, it’s no wonder Remember the Titans remains one of the best high school football movies to date.

Pitch Perfect (2012) – Filmed at Louisiana State University

One of the most beloved musical-meets-romcoms of recent years, Pitch Perfect, was a hit at the box office and spawned an immensely popular re-issue of “Cups.” (You can hear it in your head right now, can’t you?) Starring comedic heavyweights such as Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and Elizabeth Banks, the first film also successfully oversaw two sequels.

But even if the viral acapella song is on your go-to playlist, we bet you didn’t know that the movie was shot at Louisiana State University. In fact, many LSU students, particularly those belonging to the school’s Program for Film and Media Arts, participated in the filming, and campus hangouts such as the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse, the Greek Theatre, and the Quad can be spotted in the movie. Plus, the film was shot during football season, so if you look closely enough, you might see flashes of purple and gold and the school’s famous Tiger mascot, Mike, throughout.

The Notebook (2004) – Filmed at College of Charleston

Ahh, The Notebook! Nicholas Sparks’ timeless tale features more than just sweeping romance, adorable retro throwbacks, and Ryan Gosling. It also spotlights a lot of incredible buildings and features found around Charleston where much of the film was shot.

In the film, Allie must leave Noah behind to attend college in New York. The school she “attends” is actually College of Charleston, which is one of the oldest and most picturesque colleges in the United States. Multiple other scenes feature well-known Charleston spots, like Boone Hall Plantation (Allie’s summer home), Martins Point Plantation (the house that Noah builds), and King’s Street (Noah and Allie’s go-to for an evening stroll). While we don’t recommend lying in any city streets, we can’t deny that Charleston’s charming scenery lends The Notebook an extra special touch of whimsy and romance.

Rudy (1993) – Filmed at University of Notre Dame

Deemed as one of the best sports movies of all time, Rudy tells the true story of a hopeful yet ill-equipped young man who dreams, despite all else, of playing football for the University of Notre Dame. Wondering where this film was shot? Surprise! Or, well maybe not—but a chunk of the movie was filmed on the actual campus that inspired the movie adaptation.

In addition to the famous football field, several well-known campus locations can be seen in throughout the movie including Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, and Corby’s Irish Pub, a nearby watering hole for modern-day students and tourists hoping to step in Rudy’s shoes for a moment.

Good Will Hunting (1997) – Filmed at Harvard University, Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto

An underachieving, Bostonian genius works as a janitor in the halls of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, before a professor discovers his talents and changes Will Hunting’s life forever. So goes the premise of Good Will Hunting, the critically-acclaimed film that swept the 1998 Academy Awards and rocketed Matt Damon and Ben Affleck into superstardom.

Although the movie is set in Boston and exterior shots were taken on-campus at MIT, film budgeting forced most of the filming to take place in Toronto and several other institutions aside from the prestigious university. Bunker Hill Community College provides the backdrop for Hunting’s shrink’s office, and Skylar, Will’s love interest, has a number of dorm scenes, including the one in which Will meets up with her to explain his gift, shot at Harvard University. Neither Harvard nor MIT hosted the majority of interior academic shots, however. Those were supplied by the University of Toronto’s Knox College, Whitney Hall, St. Michael’s College, and McLennon Hall. However, the film crew stayed true to the Boston backdrop for that iconic bench scene, and since Robin Williams’s untimely death, it’s become a public memorial to the actor, complete with some of his most memorable lines scribbled on the sidewalk in front of it.

Bring It On (2000) – Filmed at San Diego State University

Go Toros! Err… go Aztecs! Despite the film focusing on high school cheerleaders, you might say that the classic cheer film, Bring It On, is a near replica of actual campus life at San Diego State University, down to the red and black school colors.

Several shots of the university’s main entrance are used in the film, as is Hepner Hall and Hepner Quad. Another fun fact? The Toros and the Clovers each had 12 cheerleaders on the squad, and many of the East Compton Clovers were real-life cheerleaders from San Diego’s James Madison High School, mainly due to the fact that at the time of filming, the James Madison squad was ranked third in the country.

Clueless (1995) – Filmed at Occidental College

Was Clueless filmed at an actual high school campus? As if! It was this infamous scene and many others that were filmed at Occidental College in Los Angeles in the early ‘90s. A handful of recognizable campus locations are featured in the movie including Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union, the Arthur G. Coons Administrative Center, Samuelson Pavilion, the Booth Music Center, the Marketplace, Collins House, Newcomb Hall, Weingart Center, Rush Gym, and Thorne Hall… whew!

And if we do say so, The Quad really does provide the perfect backdrop for the “As if!” scene, plus the McKinnon Family Tennis Courts are where Cher and Dionne first meet Tai, and Patterson Field is where Cher tries to “negotiate” her P.E. grade with Ms. Stoeger. Even if you were totally clueless to all this film history, now, you, like, totally know!

Forrest Gump (1994) – Filmed at East Los Angeles College and University of Southern California

Centered around a sweet Southern man who knows that “life is like a box of chocolates,” Forrest Gump is hands down one of the most beloved movies of all time. Though most of the film stays true to the Southern backdrop, employing scenery from Georgia and South Carolina, select shots were filmed on campus at East Los Angeles College and University of Southern California.

Scenes shot at what is supposed to be the University of Alabama’s football field were actually filmed at East Los Angeles College, while the scenes depicting Jenny at college were filmed on USC’s campus. It’s also on the USC campus— in front of the Bovard Administration Building, to be exact— that Forrest graduates and is recruited into the army. And, in the words of Forest himself, “…that’s all I gotta say about that.”

Drumline (2002) – Filmed at Morris Brown College and Clark Atlanta University

Set at the fictional Atlanta A&T University, Drumline was one of Nick Cannon’s strongest commercial hits, thanks to the film’s high-energy look at an interesting yet usually unrepresented slice of African American culture. In the movie, a Harlem street drummer comes to the deep south to experience life on – you guessed it – the university drumline. For this movie, the behind-the-scenes reality wasn’t too far from truth, given that the film was actually shot at two Atlanta colleges: Morris Brown College and Clark Atlanta University.

Morris Brown College’s Alonzo F. Herndon Stadium is used for shots of the football field and the band members’ endurance training. CAU’s Harkness Hall and Freshman Quad play host to the film’s first day of school scene while Panther Stadium hosts the remainder of the drumline action. In fact, Morris Brown College is mentioned in the movie as A&T’s rivals, and band members from both “the rival school” and Clark Atlanta University were employed by directors to form the bands seen in the film. The Morris Brown band even played a live set at the premiere of the Hollywood film!

The Social Network (2010) – Filmed at Johns Hopkins University

Given all the heat Facebook has received lately, it may be hard to believe that the origins of the social media giant were much more tense back in 2004. Lawsuits, backstabbing, and plenty of accusations were the hallmarks of Facebook’s genesis, and 2010’s The Social Network revealed it all. Although the true story of Facebook’s less-than-humble beginnings may have taken place at Harvard University, the actual filming of The Social Network largely took place at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Due to filming restrictions, the only footage taken anywhere near Harvard grounds occurred at the nearby Thirsty Scholar Pub where Mark Zuckerberg’s character gets dumped by his then-girlfriend. Most of the other classroom and dorm footage is shot in and around Johns Hopkins University including Latrobe Hall, Wyman Quad, and Shaffer Hall. Despite accuracy objections from Zuckerberg himself, the Johns Hopkins student body reportedly loved the movie and even got to spend some time with the film’s actors when they visited the Film and Media Studies program on-campus.

Legally Blonde (2001) – Filmed at University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, and California Institute of Technology

We know – Elle Woods is supposed to go to Harvard. “What, like it’s hard?” Well, yes, actually. Despite the level of difficulty Elle believes it to be, Harvard is not where a majority of this Cambridge-set film was actually shot. In fact, with the exception of a few key scenes, Legally Blonde was largely filmed in sunny Southern California.

Elle’s fictional sorority house is located on CalTech’s campus, and many of the scenes depicting Elle’s first day of class were shot outside of UCLA. And that scene in which Elle pretends to have dated nerdy David to dupe a gaggle of snobby girls? That was shot just outside the Bovard Administration Building on the University of Southern California’s campus. No word yet on the infamous “bend and snap” location, but we hear the move works every time.

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