The Bates faculty is increasingly diverse in terms of gender and background. More than 40 percent of faculty members are women; more than 12 percent are persons of color, and in a survey of the nation's best colleges, Bates ranked third in the number of tenured African American faculty. There are significant mentoring and scholarly opportunities for students of color at Bates.

The academic offerings span a wide range of cultural interests. Available majors include far-reaching interdisciplinary programs in Asian, women and gender, African American and American cultural studies; and departmental programs in Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.