University of Southern Maine Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
- Public university
- Portland, ME
- About 14 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Southern Maine liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $29,716 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several Maine programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Maine and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Southern Maine graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,633 less than the Maine median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Maine liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Maine medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 50% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 10.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Portland area are about 2% above the national average, so a $29,716 salary here buys what about $29,174 buys in a typical US city.
About University of Southern Maine
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 24th of 29 bachelor's programs at University of Southern Maine by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($71,774), Nursing ($71,675), and Mechanical Engineering ($68,318).
Other liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs near Portland
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,716 one year after graduating and $44,622 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Maine is $36,809.
The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Maine. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 84% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Maine programs before deciding.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- 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 comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the liberal arts and general studies program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024