Which Southern Maine Community College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Criminal Justice graduates leave with a median of $8,750 in federal loans, the lowest among 12 Southern Maine Community College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Southern Maine Community College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $4,156 a year, and $7,036 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $11,086 a year.

How many Southern Maine Community College programs report graduate pay?

13 associate's programs and one certificate program at Southern Maine Community College report first-year pay, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

Southern Maine Community College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
South Portland, ME
5,675 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

13 Southern Maine Community College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($67,850), and Teacher Education the least ($25,603). The median program pays $40,964. Southern Maine Community College also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-state tuition and fees$4,156Per year. Out-of-state $7,036

Average net price after aid$11,086Per year

Graduation rate28%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 13 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Maine" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Maine. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Maine
1	NursingAbout 103 graduates a year	$67,850	$72,849	$24,496	4th of 6
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 45 graduates a year	$64,549	$70,124	$16,625	1st of 4
3	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 8 graduates a year	$45,319	Not reported	$13,000	1st of 1
4	Criminal JusticeAbout 26 graduates a year	$44,869	$52,803	$8,750	1st of 2
5	Electrical Engineering TechnologyAbout 18 graduates a year	$43,181	$55,874	$10,250	1st of 1
6	Information TechnologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$41,813	$51,837	$16,824	1st of 2
7	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 12 graduates a year	$40,964	$40,057	$17,500	1st of 4
8	Health SciencesAbout 40 graduates a year	$39,347	Not reported	$15,750	1st of 1
9	Business AdministrationAbout 109 graduates a year	$32,052	$43,132	$9,500	4th of 4
10	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaGraduates a year not reported	$29,853	$34,687	$10,500	1st of 1
11	EducationAbout 14 graduates a year	$28,061	Not reported	$12,987	1st of 1
12	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 111 graduates a year	$27,742	$38,484	$10,250	4th of 4
13	Teacher EducationAbout 17 graduates a year	$25,603	$31,758	Not reported	1st of 2

Program names link to the program's own page, and Maine ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Maine programs in the field do too.

One certificate program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Maine" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Maine.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Maine
Electrician TrainingAbout 20 graduates a year	$47,382	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 3

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$67,850
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$64,549
Drafting and Design Technology$45,319
Criminal Justice$44,869
Electrical Engineering Technology$43,181

Lowest median debt

Criminal Justice$8,750
Business Administration$9,500
Electrical Engineering Technology$10,250
Liberal Arts and General Studies$10,250
Radio, TV, and Digital Media$10,500

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 111 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 109 graduates a year
NursingAbout 103 graduates a year
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 45 graduates a year
Health SciencesAbout 40 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $67,850 in their first year, the most of 13 Southern Maine Community College associate's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Maine rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels