Private nonprofit · College

Maine College of Art & Design

Portland, Maine · Small city

76.1%
Admit rate
$38,338
Avg net price
52%
Graduation rate
$40,778
Median earnings

Maine College of Art & Design is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Portland, Maine (small city setting), enrolling 415 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 415 undergradsSmall cityAccessible · 76% admitCold wintersSnowyNear the coast

About Portland, Maine

Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine. The original Algonquin-speaking Eastern Abenaki residents called the Portland peninsula Machigonne ("great neck"). It is also called Məkíhkanək ("at the fish hook") in Penobscot. Portland has a long history of prominence in the arts, peaking the first time in the early 19th century, when the city was "a rival, and not a satellite of either Boston or New York." In that period, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow got his start as a poet and John Neal held a central position in leading American literature toward its great renaissance, having founded Maine's first literary periodical, The Yankee, in 1828. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
Portland, ME
To the ocean
< 1 mile
Nearest airport
3 miles to Portland International Jetport (PWM) · major hub

How Maine College of Art & Design compares

Selectivity76.1%

More selective than 52% · #6 most selective of 15 in Maine

Graduation rate52%

Higher than 43% · #11 of 17 in Maine

First-year retention72%

Higher than 35%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,778

Higher than 16% · #14 of 17 in Maine

Average net price$38,338

Cheaper than 6% · #17 cheapest of 17 in Maine

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio8 : 1

Lower than 89%

Undergraduate enrollment415

Larger than 19%

Percentiles compare Maine College of Art & Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Maine.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

473students
  • Undergraduate41588%
  • Graduate5812%

Undergraduates by gender

415undergrads
  • Women30373%
  • Men11227%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White78%
  • Black0.7%
  • Hispanic7.2%
  • Asian2.4%
  • Other or multiracial12%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
415
Graduate enrollment
58
Student–faculty ratio
8 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
29%
First-generation students
24%
Students over 25
6%
Median family income
$56,586
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$67,761
Endowment
$17,656,671

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 121 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Maine17%
  • Other U.S. states83%
  • International0.8%

A national draw — only 17% of first-years come from Maine; 82% arrive from other states.

1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
76.1%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$42,942
Room & board
$17,184
Books & supplies
$1,250
Total cost of attendance
$60,128
Average net price
$38,338

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
52%
Graduated on time (4 years)
47%
First-year retention
72%
Transferred to another college
5%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$24,333
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,778
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
69%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
63%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
47%
Low-income (Pell)
44%
First-generation
43%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
344
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
83%
Housing charge (year)
$9,750
Meal plan (year)
$6,888
Application fee
$40

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (475 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.3reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
0.7
Rape
0.3
Fondling
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$31,589
$30–48k
$33,075
$48–75k
$35,283
$75–110k
$40,992
$110k+
$42,001

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$145,372

$35,283/year × about 4.1 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$18,393
average award, among those who get one

Maine College of Art & Design discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $18,393. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 96 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$40,778
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
66%
Out-earn a HS grad
34%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

Campus climate

Summer high
80°F
Winter low
16°F
Annual rain
48.1″
Annual snow
68.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Portland Intl Jetport, ME US station (2 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Maine College of Art & Design

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Maine College of Art & Design side by side →

Colleges near Maine College of Art & Design

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.