Florida Tech is cementing its place as a “Green College” as it remains on The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges for its ninth consecutive year.
The 2026 edition of the guide profiled 388 colleges selected by the Review’s editors that practice and promote environmental responsibility.
Every year, the guide highlights universities that prioritize a healthy and sustainable quality of life for their students, prepare them for employment in the clean-energy economy and implement environmentally conscious school policies.
Florida Tech received a Green Rating of 84. Just this summer, the university won Melbourne’s Most Valuable Pond award for maintenance and function of an on-campus stormwater pond – one of many ongoing initiatives happening around the school.
“Maintaining a green campus is critically important for our resilience. Here in Florida, we are frequently exposed to extreme weather and changing conditions. We can’t ignore it and hope it goes away,” said Emily Ralston, co-chair of the University Sustainability Council and assistant professor of marine sciences. “There are green actions that can help us adapt and be resilient in the face of these wild conditions. And people on campus are invested in trying to incorporate these actions.”
In addition to the stormwater pond, the university is prioritizing ecosystem function restoration, native plantings, green building energy improvements and sustainable dining. Academically, the university’s sustainability minor has become a popular choice among students, with dozens of university-wide courses containing sustainability or sustainability-focused content.
“The University Sustainability Council is all volunteers, and it is one of the few groups on campus made up of nearly equal numbers of faculty, staff and students. There is a huge interest on campus in what sustainable activities we are doing,” Ralston said.
The Princeton Review conducted a survey of administrators and students at more than 400 institutions to make the ranking, focusing on sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The company also surveyed students attending the colleges about their “green” campus experiences. Editors analyzed more than 25 data points from both the surveys and sustainability credit reporting to assign Green Rating scores for the schools. Schools can score anywhere from 60 to 99, but must score at least 80 to appear in the issue.
Rob Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, said out of more than 7,000 college-bound students the company polled for its 2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 59% said having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend a school.
“Among the hundreds of schools we surveyed for this project, Florida Tech, which offers excellent academics, is also a stand-out for its record of environmentally-responsible practices. We are delighted to recommend it to college applicants who want their ‘best-fit’ college to also be a ‘green’ one,” Franek said.
Prospective students can find Florida Tech’s institutional profile on The Princeton Review’s website. The profile includes details on the university’s uses of renewable energy, recycling and conservation programs and the availability of environmental studies in their academic offerings. The profile also includes information on admission requirements, cost and financial aid.
