15 College Romance Movies That Earned a Degree in Love

This film based on the novel by Nicola Yoon stars Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton and follows the story of a young couple falling in love while one’s family is facing deportation.

Natasha and her family are set to be deported to Jamaica. Daniel is busy preparing for an interview for Dartmouth. After meeting in Grand Central Station, Natasha reveals she does not believe in love, so Daniel challenges her that he can get her falling in love with him in just one day.

As the pair begin to grow closer, Natasha fights for her family’s ability to stay in the United States and Daniel faces the pressure of the most important interview he’s ever had.

The Graduate is one of the best films ever made, but is it really a college romance? We think it counts. While Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock is a recent college graduate (the plot begins with his graduation party), Elaine Robinson, played by Katharine Ross, is still in college at Berkeley. Plus, the themes about power dynamics and fighting for personal independence are perfect for a college film.

Tessa Young is eager to begin her life as a college student. Leaving her boyfriend at home, she quickly befriends her roommate Steph, who introduces Tessa to her close circle of friends. 

In this circle is Hardin, a bad boy who refuses to date anyone. As he and Tessa get to know one another, drama develops and Tessa must make some difficult decisions regarding her friendships, her relationships, and her own good.

This romantic dramedy starred Tina Fey and Paul Rudd is all about academia. Not only does Fey's character, Portia, work in the Princeton admissions office, but her love interest is Rudd's character, John, who teaches at an alternative high school. What happens when John's most brilliant student applies to Portia's college, despite his failing grades? A film about love and consequences, acceptance and denial, Admission received mixed reviews from critics but offers an interesting examination of flawed people doing their best.

In this coming-of-age film, Rome “Boston” Williams struggles with his ability to truly understand himself and build meaningful relationships in his new home on his college campus.

When one of his professors challenges his class to develop deeper “inner self” relationships, the walls between peers will begin to crumble as well.

One classmate, Carolina “Philly,” fights the demons of her past while Boston must face the trauma he endured from losing his family. Together with the rest of the class, these freshmen will learn how to create deeper relationships with themselves and each other.

Considered one of the most romantic films by the American Film Institute, and ranking as one of the highest-grossing films of all time, Love Story is a must-see for anyone looking for a collegiate romance movie.

Oliver is a Harvard ice hockey player from an upper-class East Coast family. Jenny is a working-class student studying classical music at Radcliffe. The pair quickly fall in love and get married despite Oliver’s disapproving family.

As the two grow and finish school, their love must survive through the challenges of life and the obstacles that stand in their way.

Starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles, Down To You follows the love story of two students whose relationship is tested time and time again by the temptations of college life.

Al is an aspiring chef and Imogen is a rising, extremely talented artist. As the two begin dating and quickly fall in love, outsiders attempt to come between the couple. Al’s friend Monk believes the relationship is destined for heartbreak, and his friend Cyrus repeatedly flirts with Al.

Imogen’s fears of commitment arise as she spends the summer in France, and the pressure puts strain on the couple. Al and Imogen must decide whether their love is worth the sacrifices they are faced with making.

You didn't think we could go through an entire list of romance movies without a musical, did you? Pitch Perfect features Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, and plenty of other talents like Ben Platt and Rebel Wilson. The first film follows aspiring DJ Beca Mitchell as she enters Barden University. From communal bathrooms to activity fairs to the most college activity of all time—a cappella concerts—Pitch Perfect finds Beca and fellow singer Jesse Swanson circling around one another and competing in equal fashion. 

Anna is a British exchange student attending school in Los Angeles. She meets American student Jacob, and the two begin seeing each other. After Anna graduates, she spends the summer in Los Angeles getting to know Jacob more but is unaware of the consequences of overstaying her expired visa.

Anna returns to London for a family engagement, but when she attempts to fly back to Los Angeles, she finds out she is banned from entering the United States and is sent back to London.

Anna and Jacob are then forced to decide if their relationship is strong enough to outweigh the distance apart. 

One of the most iconic romantic comedies, Legally Blonde stars Reese Witherspoon as a West Coast sorority-president-turned-law-student trying to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner by following him to Harvard Law School.

As Elle enters the world of law school, she is challenged by her professors, her classmates, and herself to prove everyone’s stereotypical judgements wrong. 

Working on a high-profile murder case, Elle must decide whether to choose her new life as a law student or choose the life she always previously imagined having.

Samantha MacKenzie (played by Katie Holmes) isn't any ordinary college student. She's the daughter of the President of the United States, which means she has to contend with the Secret Service in addition to the other challenges of leaving home for the first time. That means her life is under the microscope… and often splashed across the front page. Navigating her first love is going to be anything but simple…

Quinn McCall and Monica Wright both grew up wanting to be professional basketball players. Quinn was born to be a star on the court, but Monica has always had to fight twice as hard for what she wants.

As the two begin attending USC, the pressures on and off the court start to take a toll on the couple. Suddenly, the future doesn’t seem so sure for them as both question their abilities, their dreams, and their love. 

A drama, a thriller, a romance, and a biopic all tied into one, Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind certainly has the hardware to claim its place on this list. The film earned four Academy Awards in 2002, including Best Picture. The film tells a dramatized story of MIT Professor John Nash and his love story with real-life physicist Alicia Lardé Lopez-Harrison, who was his student in the film. A Beautiful Mind isn't just about falling in love, though. It's also about just how difficult love can truly be, the low points and the triumphs that follow.

Though the onscreen romance is played by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, Connelly eventually married another actor from the set, Paul Bettany.

It's not uncommon for people to fall in love on a college campus, but At Middleton offers a creative spin on the storyline. This niche film follows Andy García's George Hartman and Vera Farmiga's Edith Martin as they accompany their children for a campus tour of Middleton College. Both George and Edith get bored and decide to play hooky, exploring the campus and even wandering into an acting class, where they find a most unexpected connection.

Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) is the most brilliant mind at MIT, but he's not a student or a teacher. He's a janitor. While the most difficult mathematical problems and proofs are easy for Will, his tortured past makes it impossible to fulfill his enormous potential. More importantly to his court-appointed therapist Dr. Sean Maguire (played by Robin Williams), Will struggles to trust new people and believe he deserves happiness.

Will knows that he loves Harvard medical student Skylar Satenstein but can't believe he is worthy of her love. He must decide whether she's worth the risk of getting hurt again.