Quad
University of Southern MainePortland, ME · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (12% of graduates). 14 students for every faculty member, more than at 58% of colleges. 40% of faculty are full-time. Spends $10,101 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

1,002 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 39% of graduates; 57 programs in 23 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.380112% 123
    Graduates in this field earn $75,465 4 years out
  2. Business Administration and Management, General 52.02018.1% 81
    Graduates in this field earn $65,230 4 years out
  3. Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other 51.09997.5% 75
    Graduates in this field earn $57,790 4 years out
  4. Social Sciences, Other 45.99996.5% 65
    Graduates in this field earn $45,523 4 years out
  5. Psychology, General 42.01014.9% 49
    Graduates in this field earn $45,529 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Computer science, 0.8% → 3.2% of graduates since 2014–15 (32 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Mechanical Engineering$88,515 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $68,318

    4 years after completion$88,515
    National median: $92,135Below typical

    Median federal debt: $30,933 · 46 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management$79,352 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $57,411

    4 years after completion$79,352
    National median: $85,063Below typical

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 20 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians$77,734 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $58,538

    4 years after completion$77,734
    National median: $80,890Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $52,858 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $19,488 · 7 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$75,465 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $71,675

    4 years after completion$75,465
    National median: $88,910Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $66,683 · Non-Pell: $59,440(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $20,017 · 326 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Finance and Financial Management Services$73,068 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $47,393

    4 years after completion$73,068
    National median: $83,343Below typical

    Median federal debt: $16,000 · 32 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college14 to 1
14 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 58% of 1,892More students per faculty →

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Full-time faculty40%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$93,869

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.

Instruction spending per student$10,101
$10,101
← Lessmore than 44% of 557More →
Endowment per student$8,602
$8,602
← Lessmore than 36% of 537More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)