Key takeaways
- The University of Wyoming has the most attractive professors, and the University of South Carolina has the least.
- The Pac-12 conference has the most attractive faculty, while the SEC has the least.
- Communication, Psychology, and English departments have the most attractive professors.
Unofficial college beauty contest
Whether it's which college has the best sports teams or which university offers the best academic programs, higher education comes with its fair share of healthy competition. But have you ever wondered which schools have the hottest professors?
For a little fun, we used AI to rate the headshots of professors from 248 of America's top colleges and universities. Check out attractive faculty rankings and learn which schools' professors could go from the front of the class to the cover of a magazine.
Classroom eye candy
While a professor's attractiveness doesn't affect their teaching, having a snack to feast your eyes on might help you stay focused during class. Let's see which schools are serving up the yummiest faculty.
How YOU doin', Wyoming? If you're looking for some truly enticing lectures, the Cowboy State is where it's at. Not one, not two, but four Wyoming colleges ranked among the top 10 most attractive faculties in the country:
Fairmont State University in West Virginia kept Wyoming schools from sweeping the top five, with its fine faculty ranking fourth. HBCU Jackson State University's alluring lecturers landed at No. 7, followed by the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Arizona, and the University of Illinois.
With such strong rankings, Wyoming clinched the win as the state with the most attractive professors, followed by West Virginia and Wisconsin. Arizona kept the Southwest spicy, Mississippi and Virginia's professors were steaming up the South, and Washington hosted some of the most pleasant-looking professors in the Pacific Northwest.
Looks aren't everything
If you want to keep your mind squarely on your studies, heading to a school where the faculty gives fewer Fs about their appearance isn't the worst idea. Let's find out which schools and states didn't quite make the grade for good-looking faculty.
South Carolina is home to some killer universities with solid graduation rates and national rankings, but faculty there may not look like they just walked off the runway. The University of South Carolina was home to the least attractive professors, Clemson University earned the seventh-lowest scores, and the College of Charleston rounded out the bottom 10.
Rhode Island didn't score so hot either, with two schools in the bottom five: Rhode Island School of Design had the second-worst scores, and the University of Rhode Island came in fifth. Tennessee had the third lowest state ranking, with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Belmont University in the bottom 10.
Finally, let it be noted that the school with the least attractive professors in Montana was Sheridan College - the No. 5 most attractive school overall! Clearly, there is something very good in the water in Montana.
Of course, all of these scores are subjective and are only one AI's opinion. Beauty has nothing to do with brains, so don't let the threat of a homely professor or two keep you from applying to the best school for you.
The interactive chart below shows you the full list of school faculty attractiveness ratings. Just remember that it's purely for fun and has zero impact on learning.
Battle of the bookish babes
Not much can get students (or alums) more riled up than a good conference rivalry. From the Pac-12 to the Ivy League, here's what would happen if college athletic conferences entered a faculty beauty contest.
Actual athletics aside, the University of Arizona led the Pac-12 to victory as the conference with the hottest faculty. The Big Ten ran it in for second, and the ACC made a sneak play into third.
Most dashing departments
Think you're in for four years of eye candy just because you got accepted into a school in Wyoming? Not so fast. Let's take a look at the departments with the most and least attractive professors.
With a focus on public-facing professions, Communication departments had the best-looking faculty, followed by Psychology departments. English department professors came in third, with their sexy librarian and struggling poet vibes.
On the flip side, Computer Science departments had the least attractive professors (but the best job prospects, so don't hate). You're also unlikely to find any Zoe Saldaña or Simu Liu look-alikes in Nursing, Business Administration, or History departments.
Hottest new faces
Want to get a closer look at professors in each state? Check out our AI-generated Face Morphs. We randomly selected the headshot of one male and one female professor from the most attractive school in each state, then used the magic of AI to blend the two together. The results are - well, we'll leave it to you to judge the results...
University of Alabama
University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Arizona
University of Central Arkansas
Stanford University
University of Denver
University of Connecticut
Wesley College
University of Miami
Georgia State University
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Northwest Nazarene University
University of Illinois
Purdue University
University of Northern Illinois
Emporia State Univeristy
Western Kentucky Univeristy
Louisiana Tech University
Bowdoin College
Towson University
Tufts University
Wayne State University
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Jackson State University
University of Missouri Kansas City
University of Montana
University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nevada Reno
Saint Anselm College
New Jersey Institute of Technology
St. John's College
Cornell University
Wake Forest University
University of North Dakota
Miami University
Oral Roberts University
Reed College
Pennsylvania State University
Brown University
Furman University
Northern State University
Rhodes College
Baylor University
Utah Tech University
Middlebury College
College of William and Mary
University of Washington
Fairmont State University
University of Wisconsin La Crosse
University of Wyoming
Don't judge a school by its very attractive professors
While it's fun to find out which schools could make a student "hot for teacher," an attractive faculty isn't actually important when choosing a college or university. It is important to find a school with a program that interests you, sports and clubs you want to get involved in, a student population large or small enough to fit your personality, and a school culture that makes you feel included. If you find a school that ticks all those boxes and has serious professor eye candy - just consider it extra credit.
Methodology
To complete this study, we looked at the headshots of professors from 248 American colleges and universities. We used headshots from 10 different departments, sourcing 14 male and 14 female professors from each. We then used an AI-based attractiveness calculator that predicted the age and gender of the headshot and evaluated the photo on a scale of 1-10 (based on what the algorithm believed humans would find attractive).
We also used Midjourney to combine the faces of professors from schools who ranked the most attractive in each state.
About College Rover
College Rover is a user-friendly database to help you find and compare the best colleges and universities in America. With customizable search filters and side-by-side school comparisons, the right college for you is just a few clicks away.
Fair use statement
Do you have a particularly tasty teacher? Feel free to share this article for noncommercial purposes only; please provide a link back to this page so readers can access all of our sexy stats.
