Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is a private

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. Founded in 1882, Maine College of Art & Design is the oldest arts educational institution in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Roughly 32% of MECA&D students are from Maine. The college is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and othe ...

. In August 2021, the instititution formerly named Maine College of Art changed its name to Maine College of Art & Design to reflect the school's emphasis on design.

Campus

Maine College of Art & Design’s central academic building resides on Congress Street. This building, the Porteous Building, was renovated in the late 1990s to suit the school’s needs. With of space, this former department store is now a six-floor vertical campus. The school also has space in 380 Cumberland on Cumberland Avenue, including drawing studios, academic classrooms, and MFA studios.

Organization and administration

MECA&D is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six art schools in the United States.

Academics

MECA&D offers

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

(BFA),

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Studio Art (MFA), and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Teaching (MAT) degrees. MECA&D acquired the

Salt Institute for Documentary Studies The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies (or simply Salt) is a non-profit graduate institution located in Portland, Maine, dedicated to the study of Nonfiction, nonfiction storytelling, particularly documentary film and podcast, podcasting. Orig ...

in 2016. It offers the a Graduate Certificate in Documentary Studies and continuing studies programs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maine College Of Art Universities and colleges established in 1882 Universities and colleges in Portland, Maine 1882 establishments in Maine Art schools in Maine Private universities and colleges in Maine