Private nonprofit

Maine College of Art & Design

Portland, Maine·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·New England·meca.edu
6-yr Graduation
52%
Total enrollment
475
peer median 396
Avg net price
$36,443
-$1.4k vs peer
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
994
994 candidates competed
Admitted
756
76.1% acceptance rate
Enrolled
122
16.1% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
52%
4-year graduation
47%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
52%
Full-time retention
72%

Pell equity

33.0pp gap
Pell recipients
37%
Non-Pell
70%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 33.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 8 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 3 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
8
Passing
4
50.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
12.5% of portfolio
Fail rate
12.5%
+11.9pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

8programs
  • Passing4 · 50.0%
  • No Data3 · 37.5%
  • Failing1 · 12.5%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
1
At Risk
2
Watch
2
Safe
0
No data
3

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

5
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-0.3%
$34,720 vs $34,808
Fine and Studio Arts
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+1.6%
$49,053 vs $48,304
Journalism
Graduate Certificate · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+8.0%
$63,479 vs $58,761
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+13.3%
$39,443 vs $34,808
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+19.5%
$41,600 vs $34,808

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

2
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-0.3%
$88
Fine and Studio Arts
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+1.6%
+$749

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Fine and Studio Arts
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
172%
$84,124 debt · $49,053 earn
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
78%
$27,000 debt · $34,720 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
64%
$25,249 debt · $39,443 earn
Journalism
Graduate Certificate · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
26%
$16,470 debt · $63,479 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

New England Commission of Higher Education

Accredited since 1978Next review Dec 2035
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on Accreditation

Accredited since 1973Next review Jun 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 4

  1. Nov 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education
  2. Oct 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on Accreditation
  3. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on Accreditation · Art and Design (ART) - Degree-granting schools and departments and non-degree-granting programs
  4. Sep 2007Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$29,849
$30–48k$31,197
$48–75k$34,323
$75–110k$37,820
$110k+$38,490

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$36,443
-$1,448vs peer median $37,891
Federal loans
70.8%
In-state tuition
$41,398
Out-of-state
$41,398

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 148 students received $862K in Pell grants, alongside $4.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
148
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$862K
$862,301 total
Direct Loans
$4.4M
617 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.0M
235 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$843K
274 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$390K
29 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.0M
64 loan awards
Grad PLUS$205K
15 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 191 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (1.5%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.5%
-0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
191
Defaulted
3
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
9.8%
2017
10.3%
2018
6.5%
2019
1.5%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Maine College of Art & Design

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs14
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

109 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
7871.6%
02Comm. Technologies
2018.3%
03Education
1110.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
475
12-mo unduplicated
494
Undergraduate
435
Graduate
59

Gender split

Men
24%118
Women
76%376

Race / ethnicity composition

White
73.5%
Two or more
10.1%
Hispanic
6.3%
Unknown
5.3%
Asian
2.6%
Black
1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.5%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
2.29
1 offenses · 436 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago2.041 yr ago2.29Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

  • Erlang Residence Hall1 fire
    OtherDamage $0-$99

Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
8.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
30

Maine College of Art & Design vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Maine College of Art & Design selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectMaine College of Art & Design
52%475$36,443
Maine Media College
42
Longy School of Music of Bard College
84.4%317$43,291
The New England Conservatory of Music
73%41.1%853$42,556
Boston Architectural College
32%853$37,891
Mid-America College of Funeral Service
279$25,456
Peer group median52%62.8%396$37,891

Frequently asked questions about Maine College of Art & Design

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Maine College of Art & Design.

What is the graduation rate at Maine College of Art & Design?

Maine College of Art & Design reports a 6-year graduation rate of 52% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Maine College of Art & Design?

Maine College of Art & Design reports a total enrollment of 475 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Maine College of Art & Design?

The average net price at Maine College of Art & Design is $36,443 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Maine College of Art & Design?

Maine College of Art & Design's yield rate is 16.1%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Maine College of Art & Design located?

Maine College of Art & Design is located in Portland, Maine 04101-3494.

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