Nearby colleges
Colleges near Portland, ME
9 colleges and universities sit within 25 miles of Portland, Maine — 3 in Portland itself and the rest across the surrounding area. The table below is ordered by measured distance and includes cost, admissions, and graduation data.
Colleges near Portland by the numbers
- Lowest published in-state tuition
- Southern Maine Community College ($4,156)
- Median in-state tuition (9 reporting)
- $29,060
- Median net price after aid (7 reporting)
- $24,342
- Highest graduation rate
- The Landing School (100%)
- Most selective
- Bowdoin College (7% acceptance)
- Largest by enrollment
- Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (8,176 students)
Colleges within 25 miles of Portland
Nearest first. Showing 9 of 9. Distance is straight-line from the centre of the Portland campus cluster, not driving time.
| College | Distance | Location | In-state tuition | Avg. net price | Acceptance rate | Graduation rate | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts | <1 mi | Portland, ME | $22,373 | Not reported | 56% | Not reported | University |
| Maine College of Art & Design | <1 mi | Portland, ME | $42,942 | $38,338 | 76% | 52% | University |
| University of Southern Maine | <1 mi | Portland, ME | $11,284 | $13,596 | 79% | 40% | University |
| Southern Maine Community College | 2 mi | South Portland, ME | $4,156 | $11,086 | 100% | 28% | Community college |
| University of New England | 15 mi | Biddeford, ME | $44,210 | $38,107 | 92% | 68% | University |
| Saint Joseph's College of Maine | 16 mi | Standish, ME | $44,420 | $27,555 | 84% | 66% | University |
| Unity Environmental University | 17 mi | New Gloucester, ME | $11,280 | Not reported | 82% | Not reported | University |
| The Landing School | 22 mi | Arundel, ME | $29,060 | $24,342 | 100% | 100% | Community college |
| Bowdoin College | 23 mi | Brunswick, ME | $67,832 | $14,398 | 7% | 95% | University |
What the Portland area looks like
- Within 25 miles of Portland CampusPin finds 9 colleges. 3 of them are in Portland itself; the rest are in surrounding communities. Distances are measured from the centre of the Portland campus cluster.
- Southern Maine Community College has the lowest published in-state tuition among the 9 nearby colleges listed, at $4,156. Commuting from home is one of the largest levers on total cost, since housing is often the single biggest line after tuition.
- 2 of the 9 colleges shown are community colleges, which typically offer the lowest published tuition in a metro and transfer pathways into nearby four-year campuses.
How this list was built
This page runs a real geographic query: every college whose campus coordinates fall within 25 miles of Portland is included, ordered by distance. No college appears here unless it is genuinely that close.
The Portland anchor point is the average position of the campuses CampusPin holds for the city, so it reflects where colleges actually are rather than a civic centre-point. Distances are straight-line and are a guide to proximity, not a commute estimate.
Frequently asked questions
- How many colleges are near Portland, ME?
- CampusPin finds 9 colleges and universities within 25 miles of Portland, Maine. That includes 3 located in Portland itself plus campuses in the surrounding area that are realistically commutable.
- What is the closest college to Portland?
- Of the colleges on this page, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts in Portland is the nearest to the Portland campus cluster at about under a mile. The table is ordered by distance, so the top rows are always the closest.
- Can I commute to college from Portland?
- Every college on this page is within 25 miles of Portland, which is a plausible commute for many students, though actual travel time depends on traffic and transit rather than straight-line distance. Check each college's profile for its exact location, and confirm commuter services and parking with the campus directly.
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Data sources & methodology
Locations, cost, and outcome figures for colleges near Portland come from federal datasets and each institution's own reporting.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Colleges Near Portland, ME. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-near/portland-me