Bates College is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals 813 acres. It maintains 600 acres of nature preserve known as the "Bates-Morse Mountain" near Campbell Island and a coastal center on Atkins Bay. Bates provides undergraduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering, as well as offering joint undergraduate programs. A baccalaureate college, the undergraduate program requires all students to complete a thesis before graduation, and has a privately funded research enterprise. In addition to being a part of the "Maine Big Three", Bates competes in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with 31 varsity teams, and 13 club teams.