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Student Life
Group of students and faculty gathering to play volleyball on a sunny afternoon

Be part of something bigger than yourself.

Residential Life

Community results from creating the right set of conditions. We start by assembling a diverse class of fascinating, curious people and giving them places to gather, opportunities to celebrate, and the support they need to thrive. First-years live together in clusters located in residence halls with upperclassmen, allowing them to experience the transition to college with those who are also going through it while drawing on the wisdom and experience of older students. The dining halls are supported by an on-campus, student-run organic garden.

Three Colby students in residence apartment enjoying a laugh

Colby students enjoying a warm day sitting in tree hammock

Colby students playing card game

Clubs and Organizations

We define learning in broad terms. Beyond your classes and research and labs, you’ll fill your days and strengthen your core by doing the things you love. Choose among more than 100 existing options—club sports, publications, service efforts, cultural groups, campus government, political organizations, and an exciting variety of ensembles—or start your own. Propelled by our students’ interests and appetites, Colby is ever evolving.

Colby students celebrate the Lunar New Year in the Pugh Center

The Colby Eight choral group singing during CLAS

Colby students enjoying The Common Ground Fair

Volunteering and Community Outreach

Compassion is a lifelong virtue that is strengthened through experience. At Colby you’ll combine energy, heart, and smarts to make positive and lasting contributions to local and far-flung communities. Supported by the Colby Volunteer Center, Colby students invest more than 32,000 hours each year—including mentoring kids, building community, addressing inequities, or launching bold new ideas for productive, cooperative engagement. You’ll grow as a person while improving the world around you.

Colby Cares About Kids

A look inside Colby Cares About Kids, a pioneering mentoring program through which a once-a-week commitment by Colby student volunteers makes big differences in the lives of local children.

The Arts

We offer some of the best opportunities in the country for blossoming visual and performing artists. Brand new art studios, dedicated world-class professors, the finest college art museum in the country (and the largest museum in the state), and a premier collection of American art all enhance the learning experience. Courses range from printmaking to interactive digital media to stagecraft and everywhere in between. Supported by events featuring internationally renowned filmmakers, artists, and activists, Colby’s art culture flourishes.

Learn more about the Colby College Museum of Art.

Art 293A: Asian Museum Workshop:
Chinese Artists in Maine

A hands-on, collaborative workshop in which students become curators and create a museum exhibition at Common Street Arts, in downtown Waterville. View the exhibit website they created.

Peter Soriano: Permanent Maintenance at the Colby College Museum of Art

Colby’s museum commissioned artist Peter Soriano to create a major wall drawing for its lobby gallery, and the new work, spanning 100 feet, was installed with students during a month-long artist’s residency on campus.

Evening of Ekphrasis

Students in the Creative Writing Program read poetry written in response to artworks in the museum in an event cosponsored by the Center for the Arts and Humanities and the Creative Writing Program.

Museum of Art Open House

An opening reception and celebration of the Colby museum’s fall exhibitions that feature works by Whistler, Katz, and Soriano. An evening of food, art making, music, and art exploration.

Athletics

Driven by pride of affiliation, natural talent, and tremendous smarts, our student-athletes (the Mules, of course) excel—on game day and every day in between. Proud member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference and the NCAA Division III, Colby offers 32 varsity teams, 15 club sports (including the co-ed woodsmen’s team), and nine intramural sports—including broomball (think ice hockey without skates).

Colby football game

Colby varsity swimmer

Colby Women's Alpine Skiing

Colby Men's Cross Country Team with coach

Women's Crew team at sunset

Colby Women's Volleyball

Colby Outdoor Orientation Trip (COOT)

You’ll prepare for your first year at Colby by getting to know Maine’s outdoor and cultural landscape with a small group of classmates (off campus and quite possibly out of your comfort zone)—whether through wilderness adventures, artistic pursuits, or culinary explorations. For three days before fall semester classes start, Colby upperclassmen lead you through new terrain while teaching you the basics of college life. You’ll make lasting friendships, find your inner explorer, and discover the spectacular beauty and richness of Maine. Learn more about COOT.

Colby students on COOT at the beach

Colby student on COOT in canoe

Colby students on COOT in group exercise

Colby students on COOT playing in the sunset