A 2024-2025 “Most Transfer-friendly College in the Nation”
— Phi Theta Kappa, the official honor society for community colleges

UMF is recognized as one of the Most Transfer-friendly Colleges in the Nation by Phi Theta Kappa, the official honor society for community colleges. Farmington is named to the honor society’s 2024 Transfer Honor Roll for excellence in the development and support of innovative pathways that help community college students easily transfer to the four-year university.

Phi Theta Kappa recognizes the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges. The Society is made up of more than 4.3 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges.

A 2025 “Top Performer in Social Mobility” Regional Colleges – North  (#5)
— U.S. News & World Report

The University of Maine at Farmington’s commitment to providing an affordable education and making a profound difference in the professional lives of its students is reflected in its U.S. News ranking as the #5 Top Performer in Social Mobility in its category.

Social mobility refers to how a person’s socio-economic situation improves relative to that of their parents or throughout their lifetime. It can be measured in terms of earnings, income, social class, and well-being dimensions such as health and education.

UMF was the only public institution of its kind in New England to appear in the Top 10 of the Social Mobility category.

Nationally, economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college but some colleges, like UMF, are more successful than others at advancing social mobility.

We do this by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with federal Pell Grants. The vast majority of Pell Gants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.

The category Regional Colleges – North includes schools across Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland that focus on the undergraduate experience.

A 2025 “Best Value School,” Regional Colleges – North  (#8)
— U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News named the University of Maine at Farmington a Best Value School, Regional College – North for 2025, placing it among the top 10 institutions in its category.

To be eligible as a Best Value School, institutions needed to be ranked in the top half of their U.S. News overall 2025 Best Colleges ranking category to ensure they were strong academically.

In addition to the strength of academic quality, value was determined by factors such as cost, the percentage of all full-time undergraduates receiving need-based scholarships or grants, and the percentage of the total cost that was covered by the average need-based award.

The category Regional Colleges – North includes schools across Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland that focus on the undergraduate experience.

A 2025 “Top Public Regional College” – North  (#11 – tie)
— U.S. News & World Report

UMF was named the #11 U.S. News & World Report Top Regional Public College – North for 2025.

Regional Colleges refer to those institutions that focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.

Farmington was also the #15 Best Regional College – North Overall, a category that includes public and private colleges of a similar scope.

The category Regional Colleges – North includes schools across Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland that focus on the undergraduate experience.

UMF has been rated one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News 27 times since 1998.

A 2024-2025 “Military-Friendly School” – Small Public Colleges
— MilitaryFriendly.com

The University of Maine at Farmington was awarded the Military Friendly Schools Gold award (the organization’s highest award) from MilitaryFriendly.com for its efforts in creating sustainable and meaningful education paths for the Military Community.

The Military Friendly ratings are determined through an evaluation of public data and proprietary data gathered through the annual Military Friendly survey process. The data-driven survey topics and questions are reviewed and developed with the assistance of an independent Military Friendly Advisory Council comprising independent subject matter experts and industry partners representing the field of veteran education.

The Military Friendly Schools survey is the longest-running most comprehensive review of college and university investments in serving military and veteran students.

A 2024-2025 Top 20 College for Skiing & Winter Sports
— U.S. News & World Report

The University of Maine at Farmington was named one of the 2024 Top 20 Colleges in the Nation for Skiing & Winter Sports by U.S. News & World Report.

Seriously, is anyone surprised? Our students have loved this about UMF for decades.

Located at the gateway to world-class skiing and snowboarding, Farmington is the perfect location if you’re into the active outdoor lifestyle. With Sugarloaf, Saddleback, and Sunday River in our backyard, we’ve got three amazing, world-class ski resorts just a quick drive from campus. Plus, Farmington’s own Titcomb Mountain ski area is a 7-minute drive from campus (you can see it from the Scott Hall residence hall windows).

In fact, if you’ve skied Sugarloaf or Saddleback, you’ve probably driven right through our campus. Where else can you take a Business Psych class in the morning and crush fresh pow by lunchtime?

A 2022-2023 Top Rated “LGBTQ-Friendly College”
— Campus Pride

The University of Maine at Farmington received one of the highest ratings a college can receive — a 4.5-star rating (out of a possible 5) from Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create safer, more LGBTQ-Friendly learning environments at colleges and universities.

The Campus Pride score is based on eight LGBTQ-friendly factors, including policy inclusion, support & institutional commitment, academic life, student life, housing, campus safety, counseling & health, and recruitment and retention efforts. The Campus Pride Index is the premier national benchmarking tool that self-assesses LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices.

Farmington was tied for the top college in Maine to be listed.

Why is this listing valuable to LGBTQ youth and families? LGBTQ youth and families want to know what campuses are doing when it comes to inclusion and a supportive campus atmosphere. For the last decade, Campus Pride has been the most trusted, reliable educational resource for students and families to find the best campuses for LGBTQ inclusion and safety. The organization works alongside students, faculty, staff and administrators at 1,400+ campuses annually to help support and improve the quality of campus life for LGBTQ people.

A 2024 “Top Green College”
— Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2024 Edition

The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2024 Edition provides a comprehensive measure of a school’s performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution.

Specifically, it includes:

  • Whether students have a quality of life on campus that is both healthy and sustainable
  • How well a school is preparing students for employment in an increasingly green economy
  • How environmentally responsible a school’s policies are

According to the Princeton Review, the schools selected for the Guide to Green Colleges all have exceptional programs, policies, and practices related to sustainability and the environment. The 2024 Guide features profiles of 522 schools

UMF made the Princeton Review Top Green College list in 2023, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013 and 2012.