What is Competency-Based Education?
Designed to leverage your previous knowledge, college coursework, and work experience, competency-based education enables you to earn your degree at your pace as you demonstrate mastery of relevant academic content. The University of Maine at Presque Isle has been a leader in delivering competency-based education since 2017.
How YourPace saves you time and money:
- Prove your knowledge, move ahead—the faster you advance, the more you save
- Flat tuition rate per 8-week session, no matter how many courses you complete
- With no weekly deadlines, you control the speed of completion*
*Time to completion varies by student and is based on several factors including prior college coursework, relevant work experience, amount of time dedicated to studying, and the number of courses completed each session.
Upcoming Session Dates
The Dates YourPace Students Need to Know
There are six opportunities throughout the year to begin our YourPace online program. Find the start date below that works best for you and apply before the application deadline. Please note, application and document deadlines are the same. UMPI must receive all documents including official transcripts by the document deadline to be considered. Transcripts can often take 10 or more business days from the request date to be received by UMPI, please plan accordingly.
YourPace Public Policy Program Offerings
The University of Maine at Farmington offers an innovative Public Policy degree through the YourPace format, built to match your leadership goals and community impact aspirations. With flexible online options and dedicated faculty, you gain the knowledge and skills to navigate today’s policy challenges confidently. Explore our program details below and discover your pathway to shape communities and drive meaningful change in public service.
Faculty with Real-World Experience
Whether you want to influence local government, shape public programs, or lead community change, you’ll learn from UMF faculty who have worked directly in the policy field. Their insights and guidance help you master each competency at your own pace, so you gain practical skills and confidence to step into leadership roles.

YourPace Tuition
Learn more about our affordable tuition
The YourPace Public Policy Program offers an affordable flat tuition rate, ensuring you pay the same amount per session regardless of how many courses you complete. With no hidden fees or additional textbook costs, this flexible competency-based education program allows you to save more the faster you finish. Whether you’re looking to accelerate your degree or complete courses at your own pace, you’ll benefit from transparent pricing and a cost-effective learning experience.
Financial aid is available in the form of loans on the FAFSA website.
UMF school code 002040
Tuition breakdown:
$1,800 per session
Flat-Rate Tuition
Frequently Asked YourPace Public Policy Questions
Have questions or need more information about competency based education?
Ready to take the next step toward earning your degree online?
UMPI is ranked as one of the top 10 Regional Colleges in the North for graduates with least debt—UMPI is the top institution in Maine and all of New England to appear on this list. – U.S. News & World Report, 2025.
EXPECT to Finish at YourPace
YourPace Admissions
Requirements for these Public Policy program offerings
We’ve made the admission process simple and streamlined so it’s easier for you to get started. Those interested in earning their competency based education degree in Public Policy should have the equivalent of a high school diploma and possess some prior college credit and/or work experience.
Admission Requirements:
No Application Fee
Minimum 1.75 GPA
YourPace Public Policy Courses
This UMF Public Policy YourPace program helps you build the practical skills and real-world understanding needed to lead and influence policy decisions in your community and beyond. Use the buttons below to explore your degree options and see how YourPace can help you reach your goals on your schedule.
A look at the UMF Bachelor of Arts: Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy YourPace program
At UMF, we recognize that academic disciplines do not exist in a vacuum, and to fully understand a subject, one must move beyond the silos of the individual disciplines and integrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are found in related, complementary academic subjects. Through our interdisciplinary approach, students will study at least two differing subjects and look at the connections between them.
About the Concentration
Public Policy spans a variety of different disciplines, connecting any discipline’s focus with the laws, policies and institutional framework surrounding that particular focus. Someone entering the world of policy benefits from a broad knowledge of policy issues, and specific information about how agencies operate.
Building on a core set of courses on public policy, policy analysis, and statistical methods, students will branch out into areas directly connected to their own policy interests, ranging from globalization, health care, education, gender and development, human rights, climate change, and environmental policy. While the program has a focus on local government and public administration, this approach provides students with an opportunity to make the program more relevant to their own interests and experiences.
YourPace Partnership Program
This University of Maine at Farmington degree is powered by YourPace at UMPI. This innovative YourPace partnership program provides adult learners with an incredibly flexible, accessible, and affordable pathway to degree completion and career advancement. UMPI is the first public university in New England to offer accredited CBE degrees and is the only campus in the University of Maine System approved by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) to deliver CBE programming.
NECHE
The University of Maine at Presque Isle is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
University of Maine System
UMPI is a respected member of the University of Maine System.
C-BEN
UMPI is proud to be a member institution in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN).
What can you do with a degree in Public Policy?
Next Step: Admissions
We’re so excited that you’re considering this University of Maine at Farmington program, powered by YourPace at UMPI!
No matter what stage of life you are in, we can help you take the plunge into higher education and put you on YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS!
Request More Information
Submit the form below, and an Admissions Specialist will contact you to answer any questions.
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