“Maine's flagship public land-grant research university with 90+ undergraduate majors in Orono.”
The University of Maine, founded in 1865 in Orono, is the state's flagship public research university and the largest campus in the University of Maine System. With about 11,700 students enrolled across six undergraduate colleges and a 660-acre riverside campus on the Stillwater and Penobscot rivers, UMaine is a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution carrying out the full research mission of a New England flagship — but at a tuition price point well below that of its private regional peers. The university is classified R1 (Highest Research Activity) by the Carnegie Foundation, with funded research expenditures concentrated in advanced materials, climate change and oceanography, forest bioproducts, aquaculture, and engineering. Undergraduate life is centered on the Maine Business School, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Natural Sciences/Forestry/Agriculture, and the School of Engineering Technology. Popular majors include business, engineering, biology, nursing, psychology, and marine sciences; the Advanced Structures and Composites Center has earned international attention for printing the world's largest 3D-printed boat and for floating-offshore-wind R&D. Students benefit from a 17:1 student-faculty ratio, an honors college modeled on a Great Books curriculum, and unusually direct access to faculty and lab work for an institution of this size. Life in Orono blends a classic New England college-town feel with proximity to Acadia National Park, the Atlantic coast, and millions of acres of working forest. The Black Bears compete in NCAA Division I (America East and Hockey East), and ice hockey in particular is a signature campus tradition. International enrollment has grown roughly 25 percent since 2020, with students from about 79 countries; the International Programs office runs a dedicated international admissions team, the Intensive English Institute (IEI) bridge program, and merit awards that automatically flow to qualified international applicants. For international students seeking an affordable U.S. flagship with strong engineering, marine, and forest-resource programs and an outdoorsy New England setting, UMaine is one of the most accessible R1 options in the country.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
National Universities
US News 2026
Top Public Schools
US News 2026
International Student Enrollment (F-1)
DHS SEVIS by the Numbers (2024)
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Research activity
Carnegie Classification
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Action
Non-binding; priority deadline for scholarships
Regular Decision / International
Final freshman + international application deadline; rolling thereafter as space allows
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$13,326
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$36,756
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $36,756
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
