The U.S. state of Maine has twenty-nine accredited, degree-granting institutions of higher learning. The state's land-grant university and only research university is the University of Maine in Orono. It is the flagship of the University of Maine System, which also has institutions in Augusta, Portland/Gorham/Lewiston, Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle. [1] Maine's public education system also includes the Maine Community College System, comprising seven schools, and the Maine Maritime Academy.
The state's three oldest institutions of higher education are Bowdoin College (founded in 1794), Colby College (1813), and Bates College (1855). The three colleges collectively form the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium and are ranked among the best colleges in the United States; often placing in the top 10 percent of all liberal arts colleges. [2] [3] [4]
The largest institution in the state is the public University of Maine, with 12,231 students. The smallest, with 43 students, is Maine Media College. The University of Maine is home to the state's only NCAA Division I athletic program, the Maine Black Bears. Maine also hosts numerous private baccalaureate colleges such as Husson University, Unity Environmental University, and Thomas College. There is only one medical school in the state, the University of New England's College of Osteopathic Medicine, and only one law school, the University of Maine School of Law.
School | Location(s) | Founded | Closed | Cite |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bangor Theological Seminary | Bangor | 1814 | 2013 | [18] |
Bliss College | Lewiston | 1897 | 1972 | [19] |
Casco Bay College | Portland | 1863 | 1999 | [b] [20] [21] |
Eastern State Normal School | Castine | 1867 | 1942 | [22] |
Gorham State College | Gorham | 1878 | 1970 | [23] |
Immaculate Heart of Mary Institute | Saco | [24] | ||
John F. Kennedy College | Fort Kent | 1965 | 1975 | [25] |
LaMennais College | Alfred | 1951 | 1959 | [26] |
Mid-State College | Augusta | 1867 | 2003 | [27] |
Nasson College | Springvale | 1912 | 1983 | [28] |
Northern Conservatory of Music | Bangor | 1929 | 1972 | [29] |
Oblate College & Seminary | Bar Harbor | 1941 | 1969 | [30] |
Ricker College | Houlton | 1848 | 1978 | [31] |
Salt Institute for Documentary Studies | Portland | 1973 | 2016 | Acquired by the Maine College of Art [32] |
Westbrook College | Portland | 1831 | 1996 | [c] |
One school is recognized by the state as a degree-granting institution, but has not been accredited by a recognized accrediting body: [35]
Maine is a state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeastern most state in the Lower 48. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, and shares a maritime border with Nova Scotia. Maine is the largest state in New England by total area, nearly larger than the combined area of the remaining five states. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural. Maine's capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census.
The University of Maine (UMaine) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
The University of New England (UNE) is a private research university in Portland and Biddeford, Maine, United States. It traces it historical origins to 1831 when Westbrook Seminary opened on what is now the UNE Portland Campus.
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston, Maine, United States. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the University of Maine at Portland, were combined in 1970 to help streamline the public university system in Maine and eventually expanded by adding the Lewiston campus in 1988.
Husson University is a private university in Bangor, Maine, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and as of Fall 2022 had a total enrollment of 3,065 students, including 636 graduate students in master's and doctoral programs.
The University of Maine at Farmington is a public liberal arts college in Farmington, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine System and a founding member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.
The University of Maine School of Law is a public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's current dean is Leigh Saufley, who assumed the post in 2020. Until 1972 the School of Law was located at 68 High Street, Portland. In 1972, the School of Law moved to the University of Maine School of Law Building, which is adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. In 2023, the Law School moved to 300 Fore Street, on the waterfront of downtown Portland.
The University of Maine at Augusta is a public college in Augusta, Maine, United States. It is part of the University of Maine System. UMA provides baccalaureate and select associate degrees for residents of Central Maine. The university has campuses in Augusta and Bangor, and courses offered online and across the state.
Nasson College was a private four-year accredited liberal arts college in Springvale, Maine, United States, that was established in 1912 and closed in 1983.
The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) is a private medical school in Biddeford, Maine. Founded in 1978, the college is part of the University of New England and grants two degrees: the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree and a Master of Medical Education Leadership. According to U.S. News & World Report, UNECOM graduates the 6th most physicians of any U.S. medical school that go on to practice in a primary care specialty.
Andover College in South Portland, Maine began as the Andover Institute of Business in Portland in 1967; the name was changed to Andover College in 1977. The college was given accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in 1998.
Emily Ann Cain is an American politician from Maine and Executive Director of EMILY's List. A member of the Democratic Party, Cain served in the Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014, representing the 30th district which includes part of Penobscot County. She was previously a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 2004 to 2012, where she served as Minority Leader from 2008 to 2010 and as House Chair of the Appropriations & Financial Affairs Committee from 2010 to 2012.
Jews have been living in Maine, a state in the northeastern United States, for 200 years, with significant Jewish communities in Bangor as early as the 1840s and in Portland since the 1880s. The arrival of Susman Abrams in 1785 was followed by a history of immigration and settlement that parallels the history of Jewish immigration to the United States.
The Portland Blue Sox were a class-D minor league baseball team in Portland, Maine which played from 1907 to 1908 in the Maine State League and the Atlantic Association before folding. The Blue Sox were relaunched in 1919 to make up for the loss of the Portland Duffs, which folded in 1917 and played in the Eastern League. The 1919 Blue Sox were added to the New England League, but only lasted one season.
Theodora June Kalikow is an American academic, university president, author, and women's rights advocate. Holder of a master's degree and PhD in philosophy, she taught at Southeastern Massachusetts University for 17 years before becoming Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 she was Dean of Plymouth State College in New Hampshire. She then served as 13th President of the University of Maine at Farmington from 1994 to 2012, and Interim President of the University of Southern Maine from 2012 to 2014. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
Nancy H. Hensel is an American academic and university administrator. She held faculty positions at the University of Toledo and University of Redlands before joining the University of Maine system in 1992. In 1992[6] Hensel was appointed Dean of the College of Education at the University of Maine at Farmington.[11] From 1995 to 1999 she filled the post of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.[11] In 1999 she was named to a one-year term as interim president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, becoming the second woman to head the campus in its history.[1] In 2000 she acceded to the presidency.[5] In 2004 she was appointed CEO of the Council on Undergraduate Research in Washington, D.C., for seven years, and then became the first president of The New American Colleges and Universities in 2011. She has authored numerous books, articles, and monographs. Her research interests include early childhood education, gender equality, and work–family conflict and undergraduate research. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2003.
The Maine State League was a Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1897, 1907 and 1908 seasons. The eight–team Maine State League consisted of teams based in Maine and New Hampshire. The Maine State League permanently folded after the 1908 season. The Portland (1897), Bangor Cubs (1907) and Bangor White Sox (1908) teams won league championships.
Public transportation in Maine is available for all four main modes of transport—air, bus, ferry and rail—assisting residents and visitors to travel around much of Maine's 31,000 square miles (80,000 km2).