The design of open spaces in universities significantly influences various dimensions of students' lives, especially their academic performance quality. However, the lack of research in this area often leads to the neglect of this issue by planners in the design of university outdoor spaces. Our objective was to extract and evaluate environmental preferences affecting the design of the campus landscape and open space of Ardabil University from the perspective of students. Through a review of literature and face-to-face interviews with students, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 48 items and 4 indices was developed. The content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by a panel of experts. A sample size of 227 students of Ardabil University was confirmed using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test. Additionally, the suitability of factor analysis for this research was examined using Bartlett's test of sphericity. The results obtained from data analysis in the R software using second-order factor analysis indicate that four main indices in students' environmental preferences, in order, include: green space, furniture, pathways, and rest areas, and service-welfare facilities with a positive and direct impact. Furthermore, the importance of each of the variables under the subsets of main indices was determined. For example, among the variables under the subset of the green space index, the variable of green space design inspired by Iranian designs or green space design in the form of a combination of pure geometric shapes (square and circle) has the greatest influence on students' environmental preferences. The results of this study assist planners and designers in presenting their proposals with an awareness of students' preferences and choices.