Whether it’s been a year since you were last on campus or time better measured in decades, chances are good there’s been some change since you last visited Farmington.
In this regular feature, we’ll re-introduce UMF to you, highlighting what’s distinctive about the University — and what’s worth telling the college-bound people in your life.
Infographics: Ryan Mastrangelo / Words: Marc Glass
Let’s do the math. At most universities, earning a bachelor’s and a professional master’s degree takes 6 years (4 years for the bachelor’s plus 2 for the master’s). And earning a bachelor’s and a law degree usually takes 7 (4 years for the bachelor’s plus 3 for the J.D.). Not so at Farmington. Today’s UMF students have a greater array of fast-track, pre-professional academic programs that combine earning a bachelor’s with master’s, a J.D., or Doctor of Chiropractic — saving a year’s time and money. UMF’s 3+2 programs in Psychology (for an M.S. in Counseling with a Concentration in School or Clinical Counseling), Rehabilitation Services (for an M.S. in Counseling with a Concentration in Rehabilitation Counseling), and Social Work (for an M.S. in Social Work) provide students with opportunities to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 5 years, rather than 6. With these accelerated 3+2 programs, career-minded students can complete their bachelor’s degree requirements at UMF in the first 3 years and then their master’s requirements at the University of Southern Maine in the remaining 2 years. UMF’s 3+3 Accelerated Pre-Law program saves time and money much the same way (3 years at UMF followed by 3 at the University of Maine School of Law) as does UMF’s 3+3 Chiropractic Program with Logan University of Chesterfield, Missouri. Any way you look at them, UMF’s 3+2 and 3+3 programs add up to savings and career success.
This year, UMF garnered its usual share of accolades from U.S. News and World Report, which ranked the University among the top 10 in four categories in its Carnegie classification of Regional Colleges in the North: No. 2 among Best Colleges for Veterans, No. 3 among those cited as a Best Value College, No. 5 among Top Public Colleges, and No. 8 among Top Regional Colleges in the North — Public and Private. USNWR also gave UMF a tip of the hat in a distinct new ranking of Top Performers on Social Mobility. This year, we’re 11th in the new category that measures the graduation success of students receiving Pell Grants and recognizes how well schools graduated students coming from households with annual incomes less than $50,000. Pleased by the honor, but not surprised, is UMF Director of Admissions Lisa Ellrich. “We have a longstanding tradition of educating students who are the first in their families to seek a four-year degree,” says Ellrich. “Nearly 50 percent of our students are first-gen students, and we make it a priority to make sure they feel at home and succeed here.”
UMF students of yore had the University’s famed Ski Industries Certificate Program. Today’s students have UMF’s Alpine Operations Certificate Program. And it’s open to everyone in any major — even community members. Whether students seek to become PSIA Level-I certified ski instructors or to build workplace skills and a career-accelerating network of contacts through an industry-specific internship, UMF’s Alpine Operations Certificate Program positions students for success in snow sports. What’s more, Alpine Operations Program Coordinator Scott Hoisington ’79 — a veteran PSIA Level-III instructor and PSIA Demo Team member — draws on his vast network of snow sports contacts to bring classroom guest speakers from Sugarloaf, Sunday River, Copper Mountain, Ski Maine, Winterstick Snowboards, and Mountain Force Apparel among other industry leaders. And with Titcomb Mountain (only seven minutes from campus) and nearby Sugarloaf available as on-hill learning labs, there’s no better place to make first tracks in the snow sports industry than UMF.