10-yr median earnings
$40,778
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Portland, Maine
Maine College of Art & Design
Maine College of Art & Design is a private nonprofit institution in Portland, Maine. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $40,778
- 10-yr median earnings
- 76.1%
- Acceptance rate
- $38,338
- Avg net price / yr
- 50.0%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Maine College of Art & Design pairs above-median former-student earnings with a moderately open admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 50%
- former-student earnings, US
- 76.1%
- acceptance rate
- 50.0%
- 150%-time completion
- +68%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small
Carnegie: Special Focus (4yr)
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Maine College of Art & Design profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Special Focus Four-Year: Arts, Music & Design Schools"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
F
College Value Score
32/100
Maine College of Art & Design
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings D
$40,778
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$38,338
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
50.0%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$27,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment B
71.1%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention F
71.7%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$38,338
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
50.0%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 50.0%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Maine College of Art & Design vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Maine College of Art & Design ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Maine College of Art & Design: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$40,778 Top 50% higher than 50% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Maine College of Art & Design | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $40,778 | #2556 of 5103 | 50th |
| Average net price | $38,338 | #4842 of 5020 | 4th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 50.0% | #2985 of 4858 | 39th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 415 | #3007 of 5462 | 45th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
415
Undergraduate enrollment
76.1%
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
50.0%
150%-time completion
$40,778
10-yr median earnings
71.7%
First-year retention
How Maine College of Art & Design ranks in Maine
State rank among 32 reporting Maine colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Maine College of Art & Design | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $40,778 | #22 of 32 | 31st |
| Average net price | $38,338 | #30 of 31 | 3rd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 50.0% | #17 of 30 | 43rd |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 415 | #24 of 32 | 25th |
Highest former-student earnings in Maine
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine Maritime Academy | $89,964 | $23,414 |
| 2 | Bowdoin College | $82,735 | $14,398 |
| 3 | Colby College | $80,490 | $17,180 |
| 4 | Maine College of Health Professions | $79,840 | $26,312 |
| 5 | Bates College | $69,498 | $29,351 |
| 6 | The Landing School | $65,849 | $35,532 |
| 7 | Saint Joseph's College of Maine | $59,045 | $27,555 |
| 8 | University of New England | $55,921 | $38,107 |
| 9 | University of Maine at Fort Kent | $51,077 | $7,482 |
| 10 | University of Southern Maine | $49,958 | $13,596 |
| 11 | University of Maine | $48,653 | $17,510 |
| 12 | University of Maine - Machias | $48,653 | - |
| 22 | Maine College of Art & DesignThis school | $40,778 | $38,338 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 76.1% |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Maine College of Art & Design
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$31,589 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$33,075 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$35,283 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$42,001 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Maine College of Art & Design - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $42,942 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $42,942 |
| Average Net Price | $38,338 |
28.6%
Pell Grant Rate
69.5%
Federal Loan Rate
$27,000
Median Debt
$286/mo
Monthly Payment
What students pay at Maine College of Art & Design rose +25.6% since 2013
Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort went from $29,009 in 2013 to $36,443 in 2023, a rise of $7,434 in nominal dollars. Across the 4,315 colleges measured over the same 2013–2023 span, the median change was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $29,0092023 · $36,443
Over the same years, enrollment went +10.7% (375 → 415 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
73.1%
Female
23.9%
First Generation
Outcomes
71.7%
Retention Rate
$24,333
Median Earnings (6yr)
35.1%
Earning Over $25K
71.1%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 50.0% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 71.7% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $24,333 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $40,778 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 35.1% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 71.1% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $27,000 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $286/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 3 | 61 | $38,588 | $41,600 | $27,000 |
| Master's | 2 | 33 | $49,053 | $49,053 | $83,358 |
| Graduate Certificate | 1 | 36 | $63,479 | $63,479 | $17,470 |
Top programs at Maine College of Art & Design by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Journalism
Journalism
$63,479 median earnings
- Fine and Studio Arts
Fine and Studio Arts
$49,053 median earnings
- Film/Video and Photographi…
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
$41,600 median earnings
- Design and Applied Arts
Design and Applied Arts
$39,443 median earnings
- Fine and Studio Arts
Fine and Studio Arts
$34,720 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journalism | Graduate Certificate | 36 | $63,479 | $17,470 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Master's | 9 | $49,053 | $83,358 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Bachelor's | 8 | $41,600 | - |
| Design and Applied Arts | Bachelor's | 29 | $39,443 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's | 24 | $34,720 | $27,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | Master's | 24 | - | - |
Nearby Schools
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts
Portland, ME
University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME
4,222 students
Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, ME
5,675 students
Spa Tech Institute-Westbrook
Westbrook, ME
263 students
Northeast Technical Institute
Scarborough, ME
74 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Maine College of Art & Design? ▼
Maine College of Art & Design is a private nonprofit institution in Portland, Maine. The acceptance rate is 76.1%. Undergraduate enrollment is 415 students.
How much do Maine College of Art & Design former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Maine College of Art & Design who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $40,778 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $24,333.
How much does Maine College of Art & Design cost? ▼
The average net price at Maine College of Art & Design is $38,338. In-state tuition is $42,942 and out-of-state tuition is $42,942. Median student debt at graduation is $27,000.
What is the graduation rate at Maine College of Art & Design? ▼
Maine College of Art & Design has a 50.0% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 71.7%.
Is Maine College of Art & Design worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Maine College of Art & Design is $27,000, while former students earn a median of $40,778 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 66% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 71.1% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $286.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Maine College of Art & Design
- Compare Maine College of Art & Design against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Maine side by side.Browse Maine
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.