---
title: University of Southern Maine — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Portland, ME
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# University of Southern Maine

Portland, ME · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $49,958 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $29,640 – $79,076 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,887 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 40% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $23,717 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 70% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.26× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $21,958 | derived |

**40% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,887 (≈ 26% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $24,848 to $97,041 across 35 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $97,041 | $58,206 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,048 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $66,914 | $30,648 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,237 | $17,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,660 | $30,933 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,254 | $20,017 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,123 | $19,488 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $52,579 | $85,950 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $48,278 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,378 | $16,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,681 | $18,110 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $44,316 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $43,716 | $53,684 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,342 | $18,625 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,258 | $31,850 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $42,148 | $20,500 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,098 | $18,916 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $38,979 | $42,720 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,634 | $22,549 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,075 | $15,594 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,300 | $15,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,948 | $26,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,889 | $22,767 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $32,661 | $41,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,945 | $16,693 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,845 | $17,577 |
| Social Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,702 | $17,218 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,339 | $17,678 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,231 | $18,455 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,133 | $19,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,296 | $22,750 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,990 | $24,421 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,726 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,091 | $17,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,848 | $18,953 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore University of Southern Maine by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?161554

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/university-of-southern-maine-me.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`