University of Maine

University of Maine, public, coeducational institution in Orono, Maine, 12 km (7 mi) northwest of Bangor. The school was founded in 1865. The university confers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in a broad range of fields. The undergraduate curriculum is divided into five colleges: the College of Business Administration; the College of Education; the College of Engineering; the College of Natural Resources, Forestry, and Agriculture; and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The College of Natural Resources, Forestry, and Agriculture is one of the largest of its kind. University College, an affiliated institution located in Bangor, offers associate degrees and courses in continuing education.

The university library, which houses 780,000 volumes, is the largest in the state. Other research facilities at the University of Maine include an observatory, a planetarium, the Quaternary Institute, the Center for Marine Studies, the Maine Lobster Institute, the Water Research Institute, and the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation. Notable alumni of the University of Maine include author Stephen King and United States Senator Olympia Snowe.