Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at University of Southern Maine

University of Southern Maine's liberal arts program ranks in the bottom quartile nationally and within Maine, with first-year earnings of $29,716 falling well short of both the state median ($36,809) and national benchmark ($36,340). Even within Maine's relatively small market of 14 schools offering this degree, USM trails programs at University of Maine at Augusta ($39,982) and University of Maine at Presque Isle ($38,395) by significant margins. The $25,000 median debt sits at the 66th percentile nationally—meaning two-thirds of similar programs burden students with less debt for better outcomes.

The 21% earnings growth over four years does help close the gap somewhat, bringing graduates to $35,875 by year four. However, this still lags behind where graduates from competing Maine programs start. With a sub-30 sample size, these numbers could shift with more data, but the consistency of the pattern—low starting salary, high relative debt, bottom-tier state ranking—suggests structural challenges rather than statistical noise.

For Maine families, this represents a weak value proposition in a state where better-performing liberal arts programs exist at comparable public universities. Unless your student has compelling non-financial reasons to attend USM specifically, exploring alternatives like UMA or University of Maine at Presque Isle would likely deliver stronger economic returns for similar or lower debt burdens.