Colby will connect you to:
Mentors and peers who inspire and support you.
Experiences that position you for success.
Resources to help put your ideas in motion.
The path to making an impact— no matter what field you
64% of classes with fewer than 20 students
Impacting their fields with research and thought, they ELEVATE and ENLIVEN our classroom dialogue. World-class scholars, they are teachers foremost.
10:1 student-to-faculty ratio
Our students are fluent in the language of the future.
Programs such as Colby’s data science minor help add expertise with computer skills and mindsets, increasingly important as the global marketplace becomes ever more automated and network-driven.
Environmental Studies
Our innovative INTERDISCIPLINARY
program (unique among liberal arts colleges) allows you to combine disciplinary study with computer knowledge specific to your chosen field—whether that’s biology; environmental studies; music; psychology; performance, theater, and dance; or your choice among any of our 45 majors and 35 minors.
Colby’s Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, an $85-million, 74,000-square-footcenter, which opened in the fall of 2023, is the most advanced and innovative arts facility in the region.
Psychology
Colby’s computational biology program prepares you with deep knowledge of the exploding field of bioinformatics by combining computer science and biology.
Conduct research around the world at sites such as BioInnovate Ireland, the Icelandic Meteorological Office, and Peking University First Hospital.
Pursue internships with global corporations and nonprofits, such as the Freedom Story, the Scottish Parliament, and the Stockholm Film Festival. Choose from a range of off-campus study options, including theme-based coursework, cultural immersion, and intensive foreign-language learning.
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Photo credit: Ben Bostwick ’17Colby students hail from more than 45+ states and 70+ countries
180
pre-established study abroad programs in 60 countries
DavisConnects has provided more than $6M for student internships, research experiences, and global opportunities.
Our innovative DavisConnects program provides networks and resources to connect you with funded experiences—whether that’s research, fieldwork, internships, creative explorations, or independent projects—around the world.
Regardless of your personal networks, financial resources, major, or intended career, your path will be shaped by direct encounters with the world beyond your own.
Generous need-based funds and guidance by industry advisors ensure access to enriching global experiences beginning in your first year.
When conversations that shape the future happen, you’ll have a front-row seat.
The Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence
Facilitates significant faculty and student research and explores how AI is transforming industries, careers, and modes of discovery, creativity, and scholarship.
The Lunder Institute for American Art
Exists at the crossroads of scholarship and creative production, establishing opportunities for research and collaboration with leading artists, scholars, and curators.
Works with students to generate fieldwork opportunities that build the tools needed to advance human rights advocacy around the world.
The Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship
Provides a platform for students to bring promising ideas to fruition through innovative spaces on campus and in downtown Waterville.
Fosters an inclusive campus community by promoting advocacy, leadership development, and social justice education.
The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs
Inspires active citizenship and exploration of creative, interdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges.
Fuels an annual campus-wide discussion of an interdisciplinary humanities topic, runs experiential learning labs, and hosts an annual colloquium series.
Here, the important voices of our time speak to the issues that are shaping the future.
Colby has a culture of inquiry. It begins in our classrooms as professors challenge you to identify problems and seek solutions. It continues as your curiosity leads you in pursuit of innovation or deepened understanding.
Elizabeth Stephens ’21 evaluates water quality while studying amphibians during a research trip in collaboration with Professor of Biology Cathy Bevier.
Explore genetics and genomics at The Jackson Laboratory on Mount Desert Island.
Conduct collaborative research at some of the nation’s leading institutes— tapping Maine’s natural wonders while working alongside leading scientists.
Explore oceanography, microbiology, or bioinformatics at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
Expose threats to democracy through research that reveals the impact of socioeconomics on voter participation in local communities.
Analyze water quality and the environmental impact of development on the Belgrade Lakes.
Join your professors as a paid research assistant— collecting and analyzing data, publishing your findings, and presenting at industry conferences.
Pursue global research or internship experiences with funding from the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment or the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation.
Launch your own research or scholarship, mentored by a Colby professor, with funding from DavisConnects—in Colby’s labs, throughout the state of Maine, or anywhere around the world.
Implement a geographical information system program in Tanzania during Jan Plan.
Engage in climate-change research and creative
Tap into other Colby resources for sparking, guiding, and supporting student research across our entire curriculum.
Partner with the College’s groundbreaking Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence to explore the impact of AI across academic disciplines and industries.
The Colby Museum of Art is a magnet for artists and researchers from around the world who bring their energy and ideas to Colby while inviting students to join them in cross-disciplinary research, art-making, performance, and discovery.
Where history’s great works of art
Featuring works by Picasso, Whistler, Cassatt, and O’Keeffe, and attracting nearly 60,000 visitors annually, our collection is widely regarded as the finest to be found on a college campus.
But the art is just a backdrop for the learning it inspires. The galleries double as laboratories, supporting inquiry and exploration in more than 170 classes.
Leveraging Colby’s longstanding partnerships, students pursue internships at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and other world-class museums and global arts hubs.
Our student residence, the 100,000-square-foot, five-story, mixed-use Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons, also houses a meeting room that facilitates collaborations between Colby and the Waterville community.
We’ve been working together since 1931, when the city of Waterville helped Colby raise funds to purchase our 714-acre campus on Mayflower Hill. These historical ties between the College and the city it calls home foster reciprocity and a civic partnership that benefits both communities— and grows stronger each day. In recent years, Colby has invested more than $100 million in Waterville’s revitalization.
Through academic coursework and participation in college-city partnerships, students contribute their ideas and energy to a wide range of civic engagement initiatives.
Our new 350,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center provides a world-class forum for all students to live a healthy, active lifestyle.
Key facilities include a 50-meter pool (the only Olympic-sized Myrtha international competition pool in the Northeast); an ice arena; a 200-meter indoor track; a climbing wall; nine squash courts; dance, yoga, and meditation studios; and one of the largest fitness centers at a liberal arts college.
With a school-record height of 5’9.25” in the high jump at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Sharde Johnson ’22 became the third female in the history of the track and field program to earn the title of national champion.
Compete at the highest levels while building relationships and habits of mind you’ll carry with you always.
Whether varsity athletes, club sport devotees, or intramural enthusiasts, our students don’t have to choose between preparing for the future and enjoying their present.
While preparing students to lead and innovate in a rapidly warming world, WE
The nation’s fourth college to achieve carbon neutrality, Colby is home to an award-winning environmental studies department and an environment and climate change lab that creates opportunities for students to channel ideas into research, fieldwork, and action.
Our biomass heating plant (which eliminates the need for one million gallons of heating oil each year) and a solar array help solidify Colby’s coveted gold rating from the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System.
Stellar pre-professional advising and partnerships with leading research institutes prepare Colby students for distinction and success when applying to graduate or professional schools.
Within six months of graduation, 93% of the class of 2022 were employed or in graduate or professional school.
Colby’s five-year law school acceptance rate is 87% and students have been accepted at 6 of the top 10 law programs.
Colby’s five-year medical school acceptance rate, which is almost double the national average: 68%
Receive advice from industry experts who will help you develop a targeted and relevant portfolio of experiences, knowledge, connections, and perspectives.
Whether leading a company, launching a global nonprofit, writing award-winning novels, innovating new surgical techniques, or teaching environmental policy, our graduates lead lives of purpose, making an impact on their communities and the world.
Gain access to our vast networks of companies, organizations, and industries of greatest interest to our students through influential insiders who understand the quality of the Colby education and the impact of its graduates.
Amazon • Barclays Capital • Boston Red Sox • Citigroup • Dana-Faber Cancer Institute • U.S. Department of Justice • Gagosian Gallery • Goldman Sachs • Google • Massachusetts General Hospital • Microsoft • NPR • Penguin Random House • PwC • Teach for America • Tesla • The Jackson Laboratory • Vox Global
There is no fee to apply to Colby. SAT and ACT scores are not required, and there are no additional essays or writing supplements to submit.
We meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for every admitted student. Average annual financial aid package is $66,000*
Our no-loan policy gives you the opportunity to graduate debt free.
Families with a total income of $75,000 or less with typical assets can expect a parent or guardian contribution of $0.
Families with a total income of up to $150,000 with typical assets will have an annual parent or guardian contribution of no more than $15,000.
EARLY DECISION I
Admissions and financial aid: Nov. 15
EARLY DECISION II
Admissions and financial aid: Jan. 2
REGULAR DECISION
Admissions: Jan. 2; Financial aid: Jan. 15
More than 95 percent of families with a total income of $200,000 or less qualify for financial aid.
Student Community
2,300 students
30% domestic students of color
11% first-generationto-college students
45+/70+ states/countries
10% international students
Class of 2027 Profile*
17,787 Applications received
7% Acceptance rate
1440–1530 Middle 50 percent SAT scores
32–34 Middle 50 percent ACT scores
*As of August 1, 2023
Campus
34 residence buildings
714 -acre campus
3 dining halls
African-American Studies
American Studies
Anthropology
Art
Art History
Studio Art
Astronomy
Biology
Cell and Molecular
Biology/Biochemistry
Computational Biology
Ecology and Evolution
Neuroscience
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Cell and Molecular
Biology/Biochemistry
Environmental Science
Chinese
Cinema Studies
Classical Civilization Anthropology
English Classics
English
Computer Science
Computer Science AI
Data Science
East Asian Studies
Economics
Track 1: Accounting and Introductory Finance
Track 2: Economic Policy
Financial Markets
Education
Professional Certification
Educational Studies
English
Creative Writing
Literature and the Environment
Jan Plan
Spend the month of January devoted to just one pursuit, whether deepening your interests, developing a new skill, or indulging your curiosity. Explore specialized topics (choosing from more than 100 courses), conduct collaborative or independent research in the lab or field, try on a career through an internship, travel and study elsewhere in the world, or launch an independent creative project.
Environmental Computation
Environmental Policy
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
French Studies
French and Francophone Studies
Geology
German
German Studies
Global Studies
Government
History
Italian Studies
Japanese
Jewish Studies
Latin American Studies
Mathematics
Mathematical Sciences
Statistics
Music
Computational Music
Philosophy
Physics
Astrophysics
Psychology
Computational
Psychology
Neuroscience
Religious Studies
Russian Language and Culture
Russian Language and Literature
Science, Technology, and Society
Sociology
Spanish Statistics
Theater and Dance
Computational Theater and Dance
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Students may also design their own majors.
Colby complies with Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities. Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to Colby’s Title IX coordinator or to the federal Office of Civil Rights. In compliance with the Clery Act, which requires Colby to disclose campus crime statistics, you will find Colby’s Annual Safety, Security, and Fire Safety Report at https://life.colby.edu/your-safety/campus-safety/ annual-security-report/.