ONLINE COLLEGES, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND DEGREE PROGRAMS

Maine Colleges

Maine Colleges

Traditional Schools In Maine

Maine has a very simple, yet elegant motto: “Dirigio”. It is latin for “I direct” or “I lead”. This is very fitting for a state that is helping to lead the nation in top schools for prospective students. While you will not find a plethora of Ivy League institutions in the most northern of the Northeastern states, you will find a small, but highly competitive selection of post-secondary colleges and universities that offer a wide range of educational options. Maine is indeed home to very few colleges, a direct relation to the fact that, despite being large in size, the state is relatively unpopulated. With 1.33 million people for a landmass of just over 35,000 square miles, Maine is one of the most sparsely populated states in the country.

maine lighthouse near the school's campus

As a result, Maine is home to around 30 colleges and universities of various sorts, in all. While this does mean that prospective students looking for schools in Maine will have less to choose from, it also means that those schools have less competition, and may indeed offer a more genuine and focused education for some.

Of the approximately 30 schools in the state, 7 of them are public institutions, making Maine one of the few states with over 20% of its schools being public institutions. The other schools within the state range from private and community colleges to religious institutions. This leaves prospective students with a small, but varied selection. Maine’s public institutions are as follows: University of Maine, University of Maine at Augusta, University of Maine at Farmington, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Machais, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the highly affordable University of Southern Maine. Most of these schools are either nationally or regionally ranked, with various degree programs that also have separate national and regional rankings as well.

The most popular schools in the state, aside from the public, 4-year Maine Maritime Academy, are some of Maine’s private institutions. Bates College, Colby College, Bowdoin College, and the College of the Atlantic all top the list Maine’s top-ranked schools. Each of these schools has impressive high freshman retention rates and impressively low student loan default rates. For the most part, students who attend these schools graduate on time, and continue in their careers with high paying salaries and well-placed jobs. The Maine Maritime Academy is one of the best deals for prospective students interested in careers out at sea. With an exceptionally high salary after attending of over $74,000, and an average tuition cost of around $19,000 (slightly over the national average), this college is certainly a steal. Meanwhile, Bates College, and Bowdoin College all have tuition rates at or above the national average, and each have post-graduation salary averages above the national average, at around $50,000. Prospective students should beware, however: while the College of the Atlantic is popular, and is in the U.S. News and World Report’s top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation, it also has an extremely low average post-graduation salary for students who received financial aid: just around $27,000, well below the national average.

For those prospective students looking for something a bit more introductory or a bit different, there are a good number of community colleges, religious schools and some art schools in the state. The Maine College of Art offers students degrees in future art careers. The state’s 7 community colleges stretch across the state, with enrollment in these smaller, Associate’s degree-focused schools having risen in the past several years. The Bangor Theological Seminary focuses on preparing students for careers in Christian clergy, and Unity College prepares students for careers with an environmental consciousness.

Traditional Colleges In Maine

Bates College

  • Site – www.bates.edu
  • Phone – 207-786-6000
  • Admissions – admissions@bates.edu
  • Financial Aid – finaid@bates.edu

Bowdoin College

  • Site – www.bowdoin.edu
  • Phone – 207-725-3100
  • Admissions – admissions-lit@polar.bowdoin.edu
  • Financial Aid – studentaid@bowdoin.edu

Colby College

  • Site – www.colby.edu
  • Phone – 800-723-3032
  • Admissions – admissions@colby.edu
  • Financial Aid – finaid@colby.edu

College of the Atlantic

  • Site – www.coa.edu
  • Phone- 800-528-0025
  • Admissions – inquiry@ecology.coa.edu
  • Financial Aid – inquiry@ecology.coa.edu

Husson College

  • Site – www.husson.edu
  • Phone – 800-448-7766
  • Admissions – admit@husson.husson.edu
  • Financial Aid – kimball@husson.edu

Maine College of Art

  • Site – www.meca.edu
  • Phone – 800-639-4808
  • Admissions – admissions@meca.edu
  • Financial Aid – finaid@MECA.edu

Maine Maritime Academy

  • Site – www.mainemaritime.edu
  • Phone – 800-464-6565 (in Maine)
    800-227-8465 (out of Maine)
  • Admissions – admissions@mma.edu
  • Financial Aid – ddavis@mma.edu

New England School of Communications

  • Site – www.nescom.edu
  • Phone – 888-877-1876
  • Admissions – GrantL@nescom.edu
  • Financial Aid – info@nescom.edu

Saint Joseph’s College

  • Site – www.sjcme.edu
  • Phone – 800-338-7057
  • Admissions – admission@sjcme.edu
  • Financial Aid – finaid@sjcme.edu

Thomas College

  • Site – www.thomas.edu
  • Phone – 207-859-1111
  • Admissions – admiss@thomas.edu
  • Financial Aid – dostiea@thomas.edu

University of Maine

  • Site – www.umaine.edu
  • Phone – 877-4UM-ADMIT
  • Admissions – um-admit@maine.maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – umfinaid@maine.edu

University of Maine Farmington

  • Site – www.umaine.farmington.edu
  • Phone – 207-778-7050
  • Admissions – umfadm@maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – umfaid@maine.edu

University of Maine Fort Kent

  • Site – www.umfk.maine.edu
  • Phone – 888-879-8635
  • Admissions – umfkadm@maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – umfkaid@maine.edu

University of New England

  • Site – www.une.edu
  • Phone – 207-283-0171
  • Admissions – pcribby@mailbox.une.edu
  • Financial Aid – finaid@une.edu

University of Maine Augusta

  • Site – www.uma.edu
  • Phone – 877-862-1234
  • Admissions – umaadm@maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – umafa@maine.edu

University of Maine Presque Isle

  • Site – www.umpi.maine.edu
  • Phone – 207-768-9532
  • Admissions – adventure@umpi.maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – boucherl@umpi.maine.edu

University of Southern Maine

  • Site – www.usm.maine.edu
  • Phone – 800-800-4USM
  • Admissions – usmadm@usm.maine.edu
  • Financial Aid – fin-aid@usm.maine.edu

Community Colleges

small college town in maine

Central Maine Community College

  • Site – www.cmcc.edu
  • Address – 1250 Turner St, Auburn, ME 04210
  • Phone – (207) 755-5100

Central Maine Medical Center College

  • Site – www.cmmccollege.edu
  • Address – 70 Middle St, Lewiston, ME 04240
  • Phone – (207) 795-2840

Eastern Maine Community College

  • Site – www.emcc.edu
  • Address – 354 Hogan Rd, Bangor, ME 04401
  • Phone – (207) 974-4600

Kennebec Valley Community College

  • Site – www.kvcc.me.edu
  • Address – 92 Western Ave, Fairfield, ME 04937
  • Site – (207) 453-5000

Northern Maine Community College

  • Site – www.nmcc.edu
  • Address – 33 Edgemont Dr, Presque Isle, ME 04769
  • Phone – (207) 768-2700

Southern Maine Community College

  • Site – www.smccme.edu
  • Address – 2 Fort Rd, South Portland, ME 04106
  • Phone – (207) 741-5500

Washington County Community College

  • Site – www.wccc.me.edu
  • Address – College Dr, Calais, ME 04619
  • Phone – (207) 454-1000

York County Community College

  • Site – www.yccc.edu
  • Address – 112 College Dr, Wells, ME 04090
  • Phone – (207) 646-9282

Vocational, Trade, Career College

maine wilderness near the university

Lewiston

Andover College

Sanford

Seacoast Career School

Northeast Technical Institute

Online Degrees and Programs In Maine

Because of its small size and the relatively small number of colleges within the state, Maine also lacks significant online colleges and universities. Prospective students looking for online degree programs will find some limited options at several of the state’s public institutions, and a few online degree programs from national providers who have localized campuses and programs. For all intents and purposes, Maine is slightly behind most of the country regarding the state of its online degree offerings. This may have something to do with the relatively rural existence within the state, and significantly smaller population.

Students who are interested in the online degree programs that can be found within the state will find that the programs offered at the state’s public institutions are fairly inexpensive. Students who desire to take courses online will pay in-state tuition fees if they are residents of the state. Maine’s instate tuition fees are well below the national average, which is a boon for prospective students from Maine. Consequently, the out-of-state tuition fees are also lower.

For the most part, the degree programs that students will find at Maine’s public institutions are primarily in the realm of the liberal arts and social sciences. The University of Maine at Presque Isle, for example, only offers 3 degrees in their online program: English, History and Psychology. While these online courses are taught by the professors who teach at the school’s traditional setting, the options are very limited. The University of Maine at Augusta has more choices for students seeking the online option, with 10 Bachelor’s degree options, 6 Associate’s degree options, and several Post-Baccalaureate, Minor and Certificate options available. The University of Southern Maine has several Bachelor’s options as well, and even has 3 Master’s degree options available, 2 of which are in education.

Students looking to get into online degree programs for very specific areas of study may find what they need in Maine, but may unfortunately need to look elsewhere, as Maine’s schools will, more likely than not, lack the programs many students are looking for. In all, there are around 20 colleges and universities in the state offer online degree programs, and each of these offer very limited choices for prospective students. While most primarily offer certificates and Associate’s degrees, only 9 offer Master’s degrees and only 5 offer Doctoral degrees.