The U.S. state of Maine has twenty-nine accredited, degree-granting institutions of higher learning. The state's land-grant university and only research university is the University of Maine in Orono. It is the flagship of the University of Maine System, which also has institutions in Augusta, Portland/Gorham/Lewiston, Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle. Maine's public education system also includes the Maine Community College System, comprising seven schools, and the Maine Maritime Academy.
The state's three oldest institutions of higher education are Bowdoin College (founded in 1794), Colby College (1813), and Bates College (1855). The three colleges collectively form the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium and are ranked among the best colleges in the United States; often placing in the top 10 percent of all liberal arts colleges.
The largest institution in the state is the public University of Maine, with 12,231 students. The smallest, with 43 students, is Maine Media College. The University of Maine is home to the state's only NCAA Division I athletic program, the Maine Black Bears. Maine also hosts numerous private baccalaureate colleges such as Husson University, Unity Environmental University, and Thomas College. There is only one medical school in the state, the University of New England's College of Osteopathic Medicine, and only one law school, the University of Maine School of Law.
Two schools are recognized by the state as a degree-granting institution, but have not been accredited by a recognized accrediting body: