Carnegie names UNE among best in New England for graduate earning potential

The University of New England has been recognized among New England’s top institutions for student earning potential in the just-released 2025 Student Access and Earnings Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education (ACE).

This new classification — developed to evaluate how effectively colleges create pathways to economic mobility — places UNE in the “Lower Access, Higher Earnings” category, reflecting the University’s strong record of preparing graduates for well-paying careers while acknowledging opportunities for expanding access to underserved student populations.

According to the Carnegie Foundation, graduates of Maine’s largest independent university can expect to earn nearly $20,000 more annually in the eight years after starting their degrees than peers in their region who did not attend college.

“This recognition by the Carnegie Foundation underscores our core mission: to empower students to transform their lives and, in doing so, improve the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve,” remarked UNE President James Herbert. “This classification affirms the value of a UNE degree in the marketplace as well as the impact of our graduates across Maine, New England, and beyond.”

The Carnegie Foundation’s new framework emphasizes two key indicators: access, or how closely an institution’s student body reflects the demographic and socioeconomic makeup of its region, and earnings, examining how well graduates perform economically compared to peers in their geographic area who have not earned a college degree.

The Carnegie Foundation also recently reaffirmed UNE’s designation as a Research-2 (R2) university — just one of 139 such “high research activity” institutions across the U.S. — reinforcing the University’s leadership in scientific advancement and cementing its status as one of New England’s top research universities.