A private liberal arts college in Maine dedicated to human ecology and interdisciplinary learning on the coast.
College of the Atlantic offers a unique single-major curriculum in human ecology, an interdisciplinary approach integrating arts, sciences, and humanities. All students design their own educational path within this framework, with focus areas including environmental sciences, sustainable food systems, arts and design, international studies, and educational studies. Core requirements include an introductory human ecology course, courses across environmental studies, arts and design, and human studies, plus quantitative reasoning, history, and writing-intensive courses. All students must complete a mandatory internship, a senior project, and a human ecology essay before graduation.
The 37-acre campus sits on Frenchman Bay with two organic farms (Beech Hill Farm and Peggy Rockefeller Farms) that serve as living laboratories and supply the dining hall. Two offshore island research stations—Alice Eno Field Research Station on Great Duck Island and Edward McCormick Blair Research Station on Mount Desert Rock—support marine and natural history studies. Student life emphasizes tight-knit community, shared governance, collaborative learning, and outdoor engagement. The college is committed to sustainability, becoming the first campus to pledge carbon neutrality (2006) and the first to hold a zero-waste graduation (2005).
COA seeks approximately 100 new students annually from over 40 states and 45 countries. The college uses the Common App with no application fee and encourages (but does not require) interviews. Over 80% of students receive need-based financial aid, with the average scholarship or grant for first-year students exceeding $39,000. COA meets 99% of demonstrated financial need. Merit scholarships are awarded automatically to all applicants, with additional scholarships available for Maine educators' children, community college transfers, and other qualifying backgrounds. Work-study and expeditionary learning funds up to $1,800 per student are available.
COA graduates pursue careers across science, art, education, public service, and nonprofit sectors, with notable alumni including U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, journalist Amy Goodman, and New York Times bestselling author Ryan T. Higgins. The college emphasizes career development as a lifelong process of constructing vocational experiences and professional identity. Faculty provide mentorship and global professional connections, and the career development team supports students in exploring meaningful work aligned with their human ecology education.