USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College

A student who almost didn’t go to college ends up doing an internship with the state Department of Environmental Protection, and attends a summer conference on the human genome project at the National Institutes of Health.
Another college student, fresh out of high school, discovers the value of hands-on learning when he builds a catapult to apply a math concept.
Yet another student discovers her passion studying philosophy, history, and geography, and along the way co-edits a published anthology with one of her professors.
What do these students have in common? They already, are or soon will be, among nearly 1,000 people who have graduated with bachelor’s or master’s degrees from the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.
This region’s university for more than two decades, USM LAC features accomplished faculty and staff who work hard to nurture each individual student’s success. That caring attention plus an innovative, nationally-recognized curriculum make for a truly distinctive collegiate experience that combines the intimacy of a small college with the kinds of problem solving, communication skills, and reflective learning essential for the 21st century.
USM LAC’s unique orientation to interdisciplinary learning is reflected in its undergraduate majors: Arts & Humanities, Leadership & Organizational Studies, Natural & Applied Sciences, and Social & Behavioral Sciences. Graduates of these programs find careers in all sectors of the economy, including health care, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, writing and publishing, teaching, and a wide variety of other businesses.
Additionally, Lewiston-Auburn College’s required curriculum uses an interdisciplinary approach so that students adeptly learn how to address and respond to the complex questions and issues of our world. This “Common Core” is also designed to help students clarify career choices, benefit from an often transformative internship experience, and make use of applied research opportunities.
The Lewiston-Auburn campus offers two Master’s degrees, one in Occupational Therapy and one in Leadership Studies. Both programs hold national and international reputations for excellence.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students take their education into the community through their involvement in service learning, with students logging over 2,000 community service hours in the fall of 2008 alone.
USM LAC faculty, staff and students also apply teaching, research and service in the heart of Lewiston, through the Downtown Educational Collaborative.
USM LAC further spreads the impact of its campus literally across the world. Online courses mean that students the world over can now experience USM LAC’s engaged learning, while short-stay study abroad programs make learning globalized.
Even as USM LAC students make their educational dreams a reality, here and abroad, the campus is helping still more Androscoggin County residents gain an education, through the growing efforts of College for ME-Androscoggin – which is housed alongside USM LAC’s writing and math tutoring and Senior College in the new LearningWorks facility at USM LAC.
Whether on-site or off, in local neighborhoods or around the world, the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College remains committed to outstanding education and to helping people achieve their dreams through a college education.