Hospitality Programs Offered at Eastern Maine Community College
Eastern Maine Community College appears in our ranking of the 50 Most Affordable Small Colleges for Hospitality Administration and Management.
At Eastern Maine Community College, students can choose from several programs if they have an interest in hospitality management. The first and largest is the college’s certificate program in hospitality and tourism management. It requires that students take one science course with a lab and that they complete Algebra II before enrolling in the program. Students take some general courses and a few hospitality classes over two semesters, including Hospitality Division Management, Principles of Hospitality, Lodging Management and Meetings and Convention in Hospitality Management. They will also take courses on hospitality laws, tourism planning, and beverage operations.
The college offers a major in restaurant and foodservice for students who want to work in this area of the hospitality industry. It awards graduates an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree and typically takes four semesters and 61 credits of classes to complete. The first semester focuses on culinary arts and includes Culinary Skills Development, Culinary Arts I and Culinary Sanitation and Theory. Majors must take Algebra II before they can take Food Service Management and Introduction to Business. Other required classes include Marketing Principles, Principles of Management and Organization, Nutrition and Sales and Customer Relations.
Majors in the culinary arts program take similar courses as they learn how to work in a commercial setting. Some of their classes ask them to work in the Rangeley Cafe on-campus, which helps them gain practical experience as they cook for others. This AAS program includes 62 credits and gives students the choice of earning an optional food service specialist certificate when they take another 30 credits. Advanced Culinary Skills, Regional Italian Cuisine, Nutrition, and Culinary Sanitation and Theory are some of the classes in the program. There is also an externship that helps students gain some valuable experience outside of their required courses.
Students at Eastern Maine Community College also have the option of earning degrees in related fields, including business management and human services. The human services major teaches them how to communicate with others and find solutions to the problems that they might have. Some of the classes in the human services program include Community Mental Health, Crisis Identification and Intervention, Interviewing and Counseling, Case Management, and Sexual Abuse, Trauma and Recovery. In the business management program, students learn more about the daily operations of a business and topics such as human resources management and business law.
About Eastern Maine Community College
Eastern Maine Community College is a popular community college in Maine. Founded in 1966 after the state passed an act that established community colleges across the state, it opened as the Eastern Maine Vocational Technical Institute or EMVTI. The college became Eastern Maine Technical College in the 1980s to show that it offered more programs that prepared students for working in technical careers. It changed its name once again in 2003 to Eastern Maine Community College. This new name showed students that the college offered traditional community college programs. It now uses the abbreviation EMCC too. EMCC is in Bangor and close to downtown near I-95. The campus covers more than 70 acres and is one of the few community colleges in the nation to offer on-campus housing. Thousands of students enroll in the more than 30 degree programs offered by EMCC every year.
Eastern Maine Community College Accreditation Details
EMCC has regional accreditation, which is helpful for students who need financial aid. It allows them to use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to get a financial aid package that includes programs from the college and the government. This accreditation comes from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), which is the organization that accredits schools across New England. The nursing, medical assisting, emergency, radiology technology, and automotive programs have accreditation too.
Eastern Maine Community College Application Requirements
Students can use the resources available from EMCC to prepare for college, including taking a standardized test and meeting the application requirements. When applying, students need to use the college’s application online and complete it before the semester starts. EMCC will accept a small number of students each year after the beginning of the semester. Those who apply online do not need to pay the application fee. Students can also apply via a PDF form or in person. They need to write an essay for the application and submit a high school or GED transcript and an ACT or SAT score.
Some programs may ask that students authorize the college to perform a criminal background check. Those attending classes on the EMCC campus must submit immunization records to show that they have updated vaccinations. The college also asks that students take a placement test, which helps EMCC place them in certain subject areas. Those who provide an official standardized test score do not need to take a placement test. To get credit for their past college work, students need to provide an official college transcript too. All incoming students will also need to attend a college orientation session.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The tuition calculator available online from EMCC helps students view their costs based on where they live, if they want to live on-campus and the credits they plan to take. Maine residents pay $94 per credit hour. Nonresidents pay $188 per credit hour. A special program offered by the college allows some students to qualify for a reduced rate of $141 per credit hour. Students also pay fees of around $30 per credit hour and a $70 matriculation fee each semester. The college offers room and board packages of between $3,667 to $4,465 each semester too, which includes a campus meal plan and a dorm room.
When students submit the FAFSA and use the EMCC code, they can get a financial aid package. The college offers multiple scholarships such as one that waives tuition rates for Native American students and another that discounts 50 percent of a student’s tuition after they complete one semester of classes. An emergency fund is also available that helps students cover some of their unexpected costs every semester. Financial aid packages can include work-study, grants, scholarships and student loans too. The deadline for hospitality majors seeking financial aid from Eastern Maine Community College is the end of April.