Company description
We are an environmental liberal arts college community of some 349 students and 41 faculty members, located on the ocean near Acadia National Park on spectacular Mount Desert Island, Maine. College of the Atlantic is a small college deeply committed to interdisciplinary study and preparing students to make a difference in the world.
More details
- Mission
- Located between the Atlantic Ocean and Acadia National Park, College of the Atlantic offers two degrees: a BA and MPhil, both in Human Ecology. In pursuit of this degree, students consult their individual passions to create their own academic trajectories, integrating knowledge from all academic disciplines and personal experience to fulfill the mission of Human Ecology: investigating and improving relationships between humans and our social, natural, built and virtual communities. COA's small size and individualized curriculum encourages tutorials, intensive seminar-style classes, shared committee involvement and frequent faculty-student interchanges, which are as common in the college's one dining room as during faculty office hours. As one student said, "Learning at COA is fulltime." Having one major means that COA has no departments and no departmental requirements; classes are interdisciplinary. Coursework consists of readings, usually from primary sources, and active investigation. These efforts culminate in a term-long senior project required of every graduate. As part of coursework and/or senior projects, recent students have represented their nation, or the entirety of the world's youth in international meetings on climate change, investigated the impact of big box stores (resulting in first-in-the-nation legislation for Maine), used GIS maps to educate local towns on impending planning decisions, and prepared an emergency system for a California town, written novels, conducted surveys of amphibians in the Maine north woods and of plant species in Acadia National Park, conducted independent research on bird habitat on an offshore island, written autobiographies and new curricula, created CDs, restored a major on-campus garden, built a pollinator-friendly meadow, designed homes, constructed windmills, created photography and ethnography books and exhibitions - and more. Beyond this, COA is a democratic institution, with students involved on all levels of governance and a weekly campus meeting to discuss current campus issues and decisions. Major decisions must be brought to this All-College Meeting; committees that filter into the governance structure include participation by students. Opportunities for travel abound; students must complete a one-term internship, which usually takes them off-campus and often abroad. The college offers a residency term in Mexico and another in France. International connections on campus are extensive, as COA has one of the highest percentages of international students of any liberal arts college. Many students come to COA with a desire to change the world - and leave with the tools to do so. COA practices what it teaches - and teaches what it practices; it is the first college to become carbon neutral; new student residences are outfitted with composting toilets; the kitchen serves food from the college's organic farm. Now, COA offers one of the very few undergraduate green and socially responsible business programs, and provides seniors with entrepreneurial interests a yearlong mentorship opportunity for their business. It also offers a Food Systems Program that connects COA's organic farm to an organic research center in the United Kingdom and a graduate school in Germany. A degree in human ecology means that knowledge from the arts, sciences and humanities are valued and applied by faculty and students helping to shape a more sustainable, just and balanced world.
- General Information
- Most Selective, Very Small School, Private School - No Affiliation Listed, Small Town, Co-Ed, Graduate Students - Low, Out of State - High, Any Cost, Reader Service for the Blind, Handicapped Student Services, Study Abroad, Accelerated Study, Campus Publications, Dormitories, Foreign Student Organizations, Radio/TV Station, Student Government, Student/Faculty Ratio - Low
- Campus Description
- 25-acre campus in Bar Harbor, 20 miles from Ellsworth and 45 miles from Bangor. Airport serves Bangor; smaller airport serves Trenton (15 miles); bus serves Ellsworth.
- Other Admission Requirements
- GED accepted, TOEFL test ONLY required, SAT/ACT tests NOT required, Pre-application form NOT required, Separate application form NOT required
- School Type
- Private not-for-profit (no religious affiliation), 4-year or above
- Costs
- 2010-2011 Tuition and Fees: $34,380
- Campus Setting
- Located in a rural town
- Type
- College/University
- Religious Affiliation
- Nondenominational
- Level
- Four Year School
- Email
- [email protected]
- Entrance Difficulty
- Very difficult
- Selectivity
- more selective
- Coed Status
- Men and Women
- City Type
- Remote Town
- Academic Calendar
- Trimester
- Campus Size
- 25 acres
- Control
- Private
- Highest Offering
- Masters
- Highest Degree Offered
- Masters
- Institutional Control
- Private
- Instate Tuition Fees For Grad 1 Yr
- $20665
- Instate Tuition For Undergrad For 1 Yr
- $30987
- Setting
- rural
- Graduate In State Tuition
- 17492
- Graduate Out Of State Tuition
- 17492
- Undergraduate In State Tuition
- 26238
- Undergraduate Out Of State Tuition
- 26238
- Application Deadline
- 1-Mar
- Instate Per Credit Hr For Pt Undergrad
- $1032
- On Campus Room And Board Charges
- $8490
- Room Charge For 1 Yr On Sharing With 1 Person
- $5400
- Year Founded
- 1969
- Accredited
- true
- Typical Board Cost
- 2721
- Typical Room Cost
- 4368
- Founded In
- 1969
- Instate Per Credit Hr For Pt Grad
- $695
- Additional Fees
- 375
- Books Cost (estimate)
- 500
- Undergraduate Number Of Females
- 198
- Undergraduate Number Of Males
- 121
- Graduate Application Fee
- $45
- International Application Fee
- $45
- Total Number Of Admissions
- 216
- Total Number Of Applicants
- 360
- Undergraduate Application Fee
- $45
- Application Fee
- $45
- Percent Out Of State Students
- 63
- Percentage Of Students Admitted
- 60
- Graduate Number Of Females
- 6
- Graduate Number Of Males
- 5
- Percent African American
- 4
- Percent Asian
- 8
- Percent Hispanic
- 3
- Percent Native American
- 1
- Mailing Address Available Only
- N
- Web Site
- http://www.coa.edu/
