Unity Environmental University adds 90-credit degree to its program offerings

Photo / Courtesy Unity Environmental University Unity Environmental University is a private university in New Gloucester that offers undergraduate and graduate education focused on environmental topics.

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By Alexis Wells

Unity Environmental University, a private liberal arts institution, plans to launch its 90-credit applied bachelor of science degree program after receiving approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education.

Unity will debut its applied bachelor’s degrees with five programs: sustainable business management, psychology and human services, culinary innovation and food systems, entrepreneurship and environmental crime investigation.

All programs will be available online except sustainable business and environmental crime investigation, which will also be offered in person. The programs will integrate Una Tutor, a custom-built AI assistant, directly into the university’s learning management system.

Students will still need to complete the full sequence of a major, but move more quickly into advanced coursework. One-credit modules woven throughout the curriculum will include AI literacy, systems thinking, professional communication and digital fluency.

“Higher education has been slow to adapt to the needs of today’s learners and employers,” the school's president, Melik Peter Khoury, said in a news release. “With the applied bachelor’s, Unity is leading a national conversation on how to deliver rigorous, accredited degrees that are faster, more affordable and more relevant.”

Applications are now open, with the first students set to begin classes in February 2026. Students remain fully eligible for federal and state financial aid, as well as transfer credit evaluations.

Unity Environmental University, formerly Unity College, has an environmentally focused curriculum. The school was founded in 1965 in the Waldo County town of Unity and is now based at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester.

On a list of the state’s largest colleges and universities in the 2025 Mainebiz Book of Lists, Unity was ranked No. 1, with 8,177 undergraduates. Rankings were based on full-time undergraduate enrollment in fall 2024.