Unity College

• AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURE OPERATIONS, AND RELATED SCIENCES.

• Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture.

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• BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES.

• Environmental Biology.

• Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography.

• Wildlife Biology.

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• COMMUNICATION, JOURNALISM, AND RELATED PROGRAMS.

• Communication and Media Studies, Other.

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• EDUCATION.

• Secondary Education and Teaching.

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• ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES AND ENGINEERING-RELATED FIELDS.

• Energy Management and Systems Technology/Technician.

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• HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS.

• Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy.

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• LEGAL PROFESSIONS AND STUDIES.

• Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law.

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• LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES, GENERAL STUDIES AND HUMANITIES.

• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies.

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• NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION.

• Environmental Science.

• Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism.

• Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services.

• Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management.

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• PARKS, RECREATION, LEISURE, AND FITNESS STUDIES.

• Outdoor Education.

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• VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS.

• Fine/Studio Arts, General.

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Unity College is a private college in Maine focused entirely on sustainability science and brings together around 650 undergraduates who all care deeply about the natural world. "It takes a very specific person to apply here and to finish the curriculum they joined," and all who enroll at Unity have developed a passion or "some sort of connection to the outdoors or environment by the time they arrive at school." Many of the classes are transdisciplinary, and discussion "aids in both teaching and learning": "Tree Huggers and Tree Cutters have friendly debates within and outside the classroom," says one student. Around campus you will find "numerous study groups and heavily opinionated students," who are unafraid to share their thoughts, and students "will often join professors for lunch as well as other students to discuss current issues or personal experiences both inside and outside of class." The vast majority of professors are "absolutely amazing": They "care about what they teach and the fun they seem to have doing so is infectious." Students report that a few professors are "teaching classes which don't necessarily align with their specialty."

Associate
Bachelor's

FAFSA

Unity College "is where the hippie culture and the redneck culture merge and find common ground." It's an environmental school, so clearly "everyone is very into the outdoors" but there's plenty of ideological diversity and "a strong sense of inclusiveness" among the student body. "There are the tree huggers, and there are the hunters," says one student. But even if opinions aren't shared everyone is "respectful of others' beliefs." "We have different viewpoints for pretty much every topic except that we want to save the planet in each individual way." Most people here are from the New England area, many are "vegan and vegetarian," and "everyone carries around knives," making them always prepared to lend a hand. "You don't have to know someone closely for them to help you when you are in need."

Unity's campus is in a small town out in the country (Unity, Maine), and life there is "a combination of grinding classes with bits of cabin fever to sheer free time." "The school does a great job trying to keep the students entertained through student activity events, clubs, [and] sports" not to mention a wide array of workshops, such as "meditation, frisbee, and professional development." Many people "go for hikes and biking on the trails." Walking around campus, you'll see "students up in trees, playing games, laying in the grass or in hammocks, or slacklining." Unity has "a rock wall and a cafe and a nice fitness center to hang out or work out in," and, of course, "there are a lot of natural areas, like ponds, bays, harbors, and forest paths, to explore."

Unity College in Maine goes by the moniker “America’s Environmental College,” and it is well deserved. One hundred percent of the campus grounds are maintained organically, 100 percent of cleaning products are Green Seal-certified, and 100 percent of meals in the dining hall offer vegetarian options, with 38 percent of the food local in origin. The college academic focus is on sustainability science, with majors including Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Energy Management, and outdoor adventure-based Environmental Education. Unity College was the first college in the US to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. Unity’s focus now is on divesting its campus infrastructure from fossil fuels. Unity College is founding member of the “Billion Dollar Green Challenge,” which encourages US colleges to invest a total of $1 billion in self-managed revolving funds that finance energy efficiency improvements. Unity has a net-zero energy President’s home, a certified passively heated 10 student residence hall that cost $214 to heat last winter, a new carbon neutral 70 student residence hall that is heated with pellets and soon to be fully powered with solar photo-voltaic panels, a solar photovoltaic power purchase agreement on the library that supplies 80 percent of its electricity, and five biomass boilers that eliminate reliance on fossil fuels in three buildings. The college operates the MacKay Agricultural Research Station (MARS), a combined farm and greenhouse with nearly an acre of heated greenhouse space to provide greatly expanded local foods availability for the dining halls and space for local farmers to extend their growing seasons. The college Performing Arts Center is located downtown in a wonderfully restored 1900-era farmhouse and barn and is undergoing an $80,000 grant-funded deep-energy retrofit that will reduce its energy use by 75 percent. These initiatives are part of a comprehensive strategic plan approved by the trustees to become 100 percent carbon-neutral by 2019.