University of Southern Maine
University of Southern Maine at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
University of Southern Maine Featured Rankings
- #2 Best Public Colleges in Maine
- #2 Best Grad Schools in Maine
- #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Maine
- #2 Maine's Best Online Master's Degrees
- #2 Maine's Best Online Colleges 2026
- #4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Maine 2026
- #5 Best Colleges in Maine
- #5 Most Influential US Universities by State
- #8 Online Master's in Behavior Analysis
- #17 Criminal Justice Liberal Arts Colleges
- #18 Online Master’s in Cybersecurity
- #24 Online Master’s in Counseling
About University of Southern Maine
According to Wikipedia, The University of Southern Maine is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. 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.
University of Southern Maine's Online Degrees
Graduate Certificate in Creative Leadership And Global Strategy
- Required Credits: 12
- Format: Fully online
BS in Applied Technical Leadership
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
BS in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
- Management
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
- Required Credits: 24
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in Adult Learning
- Required Credits: 30
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership
- Required Credits: 30
- Format: Fully online
MS in Special Education
Degree Concentrations
- Effective Instruction And Assessment For Students With Suspected And Identified Disabilities
- In-Service
- Pre--Service Teaching Students With Mild To Moderate Disabilities
- Integrated General Education And Special Education Initial Teacher Certification
- Required Credits: 30
- Completion Time: 1 year
- Format: Fully online
MSEd in Teacher Leadership
Degree Concentrations
- Curriculum
- Instruction
- And Assessment
- Required Credits: 30
- Completion Time: 2 years
- Format: Fully online
MSEd in Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages
- Required Credits: 30
- Completion Time: 10 months
- Format: Fully online
MEd in Instructional Technology
- Required Credits: 33
- Format: Fully online
MS in Adult And Higher Education
- Required Credits: 36
- Format: Fully online
MSEd in Educational Leadership
- Required Credits: 36
- Completion Time: 14 months
- Format: Fully online
MS in Educational Psychology
Degree Concentrations
- Applied Behavior Analysis
- Required Credits: 36
- Format: Fully online
BA in Social And Behavioral Sciences
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership
- Required Credits: 12
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in English As A Second Language
- Required Credits: 15
- Format: Fully online
Minor in Planning And Geographic Information Systems
- Required Credits: 15
BA in Communication
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
BS in Leadership And Organizational Studies
Degree Concentrations
- Integrative Professional Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
BA in Liberal Studies
Degree Concentrations
- Humanities
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: 4 years
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality And Patient Safety
- Required Credits: 12
- Format: Fully online
Undergraduate Certificate in Gerontology
- Required Credits: 15
- Format: Fully online
MS in Nursing
Degree Concentrations
- Administration And Leadership
- Nursing Education
- Required Credits: 36
- Completion Time: 18 months
- Format: Fully online
MS in Nursing Rn To Ms
Degree Concentrations
- Nursing Administration And Leadership
- Nursing Education
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion Time: 2 years
- Format: Fully online
Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician
- Required Credits: 15
University of Southern Maine Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,823 | 79% | 74% | 43% | 1120 | 26 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does University of Southern Maine Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $12,630 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $10,980 |
| 30K - 48K | $11,278 |
| 48K - 75K | $12,194 |
| 75K - 110K | $15,400 |
| 110K+ | $21,982 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do University of Southern Maine Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former University of Southern Maine students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $57,989 a year, and 91% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
University of Southern Maine's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 9,676 | 6,941 | 2,735 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is University of Southern Maine?
University of Southern Maine is located at 96 Falmouth St, Portland, ME 04103.
How Safe is University of Southern Maine?
Relative to its enrollment, University of Southern Maine has a violent crime rate of 0.13% and a property crime rate of less than 0.01%. Portland has a violent crime rate of 0.27% and a property crime rate of 2.51%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is University of Southern Maine Known For?
University of Southern Maine is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Psychology
- Anthropology
- Biology
- Criminal Justice
- Philosophy
- Literature
- Physics
- Sociology
- Law
- Communications
- Medical
- Computer Science
- Earth Sciences
- Political Science
- Nursing
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Business
- Engineering
- Economics
- History
- Social Work
- Education
University of Southern Maine's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much University of Southern Maine's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
University of Southern Maine ranks #280 in the U.S. and #695 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #393 in the U.S. and #1205 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #436 in the U.S. and #1842 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #492 in the U.S. and #929 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.
criminal-justice DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #496 in the U.S. and #1651 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #522 in the U.S. and #1580 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #583 in the U.S. and #2563 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #603 in the U.S. and #2072 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #630 in the U.S. and #2205 worldwide for influence in Law.
University of Southern Maine ranks #635 in the U.S. and #2384 worldwide for influence in Communications.
communications DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #711 in the U.S. and #2524 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #732 in the U.S. and #3285 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #735 in the U.S. and #2815 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.
earth-science DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #757 in the U.S. and #3290 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #764 in the U.S. and #2000 worldwide for influence in Nursing.
nursing DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #819 in the U.S. and #3234 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #825 in the U.S. and #3676 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #850 in the U.S. and #3243 worldwide for influence in Business.
business DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #873 in the U.S. and #4786 worldwide for influence in Engineering.
engineering DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #881 in the U.S. and #5013 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #911 in the U.S. and #2838 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #964 in the U.S. and #2318 worldwide for influence in Social Work.
social-work DegreesUniversity of Southern Maine ranks #969 in the U.S. and #4192 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesWho Are University of Southern Maine's Most Influential Alumni?
University of Southern Maine's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Psychology, Criminal Justice, and Anthropology. Here are some of University of Southern Maine's most famous alumni:
- Robert A. Emmons
- An American psychologist.
- Lois Lowry
- An American writer.
- George Caffentzis
- An American philosopher.
- Raymond C. Stevens
- An American chemist and structural biologist.
- Margaret D. Klein
- A United States Navy admiral.
- Tony Shalhoub
- An American actor .
- Beth Gylys
- An American poet, professor.
- Barbara W. Woodlee
- An American college administrator.
- Michael F. Brennan
- An American politician.
- Ruth Lockhart
- An American women's health advocate.
- John Bruce Wallace
- An American composer, musician, painter, graphic artist and philosopher.
- Chellie Pingree
- A U.S. Representative from Maine.
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