About
College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Founded in 1969, it awards two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree solely in the field of human ecology, using an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Focus areas include arts and design, environmental sciences, humanities, international studies, sustainable food systems, teacher certification and educational studies, and socially responsible business. The College of the Atlantic is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
The campus consists of 37 acres (15 ha) on Frenchman Bay, two organic farms, two off-shore island research stations, and a 100-acre (40 ha) protected area. The farms, Beech Hill Farm and Peggy Rockefeller Farms, are living laboratories for classes and student research. Peggy Rockefeller Farms includes livestock, crops, orchards. Beech Hill Farm provides produce. Both supply the dining hall with organic produce, eggs, and meat. The off-shore island properties include the Alice Eno Field Research Station on Great Duck Island where students conduct studies on Leach's storm petrels, guillemots, gulls, sparrows and other fields of natural history. The Edward McCormick Blair Research station on Mount Desert Rock is a center for the study of marine mammals and oceanographic issues.