FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington announces it has been ranked number nine out of the top 150 baccalaureate colleges in the U.S. by Washington Monthly for 2018.

UMF is the only Maine college in the top 10 of this category and is noted for excellence in service, social mobility and research.

According to its annual College Guide and Rankings, Washington Monthly looks to recognize smart, well-run colleges that help students earn a high-quality diploma at an affordable price and instill in them a sense of service.

“We are especially pleased to receive this high ranking from Washington Monthly because it points to values close to UMF’s heart — affordable access to quality education, social mobility and service to the community,” said Eric C. Brown, UMF interim president. “We are deeply gratified by this recognition of our contribution to the public good, and affirm our commitment to helping individual students, and the state of Maine as a whole, succeed and prosper.”

Washington Monthly’s rankings are by Carnegie classification and are based on a final sample of 1,488 colleges that includes public, private nonprofit and for-profit colleges. Their three equally weighted criteria include social mobility, research and community and national service — placing emphasis on colleges whose graduates go out to serve the community at large.

Students at UMF have the opportunity to be involved in service and student engagement through internships, volunteering, leadership, service learning, research and more.

The 2018 Washington Monthly rankings can be seen at https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018college-guide.