Bowdoin College
| Motto | Ut Aquila Versus Coelum (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "As an eagle towards the sky" |
| Type | Private liberal arts college |
| Established | June 24, 1794 |
| Accreditation | NECHE |
Academic affiliations |
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| Endowment | $2.92 billion (2025) |
| President | Safa Zaki |
Academic staff | 211 |
| Undergraduates | 1,841 students on campus and 186 off campus (fall 2025) |
| Location | , United States 43°54′31″N 69°57′46″W / 43.90861°N 69.96278°W |
| Campus | Suburban, 207 acres (84 ha) |
| Newspaper | The Bowdoin Orient |
| Colors | Black and white |
| Nickname | Polar Bears |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III – |
| Mascot | Peary the Polar Bear |
| Website | bowdoin.edu |
Bowdoin College (/ˈboʊdɪn/ ⓘ BOH-din) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, United States. It was chartered in 1794.
In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin owns a 118-acre (48 ha) coastal studies center on Orr's Island and a 200-acre (81 ha) scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy.
The college was a founding member of its athletic conference, the New England Small College Athletic Conference, and the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium, an athletic conference and inter-library exchange with Bates College and Colby College. Bowdoin has over 30 varsity teams, and the school mascot was selected as a polar bear in 1913 to honor Robert Peary, a Bowdoin alumnus who claimed to have led the first successful expedition to the North Pole.