Overview
George Mason University began as the northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 before being established as an independent member of the commonwealth's system of colleges and universities in 1972. Mason is a distributed university with three campuses, in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William Counties, each with a distinctive academic focus that plays a critical role in the economy of its region. George Mason's Fairfax campus is nestled in a heavily wooded tract of 677 acres and includes a 10,000-seat sports arena and entertainment complex, a Center for the Arts with a 2,000-seat concert hall theater, and a two-pool Aquatic and Fitness Center complex. Mason continues to grow and is poised to lead the way in higher education and workforce training.

Last year, George Mason enrolled 28,246 students, of whom 10,348 were graduate and professional students. A majority of graduate students are currently employed in the Washington area and take advantage of courses given in the evening or on weekends. Employment opportunities for graduates are excellent.

The Location and Community
George Mason's three campuses-Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William-are located in northern Virginia, the East Coast's hotbed of information technology, along with firms like AOL, Oracle, and DynCorp. Situated near the city of Fairfax, the University's Fairfax campus combines the quiet of a suburban setting with accessibility to Washington's libraries, galleries, and museums; Virginia's historic sites; and Fairfax County's high-technology firms. Metro rail, the Washington area's subway system, enables Mason riders to reach the U.S. Capitol in 35 minutes. It also provides a quick ride to Mason's 5.2-acre Arlington campus, which houses the law school, a professional center, and a conference center. The campus in Prince William County offers academic, community, and business support programs.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
George Mason University (Mason) graduate programs leading to both the Ph.D. and master's degrees are offered in biodefense, bioinformatics, computer science, conflict analysis and resolution, economics, education, electrical and computer engineering, environmental science and policy, history, information technology, nursing, psychology, and public policy.

In addition, the following programs of study offer individual degrees: the Ph.D. in biosciences, climate dynamics, computational neuroscience, computational sciences and informatics, cultural studies, and physical science; the Commonwealth Master of Public Health (M.P.H.); the Doctor of Arts (D.A.) in community college education; the Juris Doctor (J.D.) and the Juris Master (J.M.), offered at the School of Law (Arlington campus); the M.A. in art and visual technology, arts management, communication, English (with tracks in linguistics and literature), foreign languages (French and Spanish), international commerce and policy, philosophy, political science, sociology, telecommunications, and transportation policy, operations, and logistics; the M.B.A. and the Executive M.B.A.; the M.Ed. in counseling and development (community/agency, higher education, and school), curriculum and instruction (adult education, early childhood education, elementary education, English as a second language, foreign language and Latin, multilingual/multicultural education, secondary education, and advanced studies in teaching and learning), educational psychology, education leadership, instructional technology, and special education; the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in art and visual technology, creative writing, and dance; the Master of Music (M.M.); the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.); the Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.); the M.S. in biology, bioscience management, chemistry, civil and infrastructure engineering, computational science, earth systems science, e-commerce, enterprise engineering and policy, epidemiology and biostatistics, exercise, fitness and health promotion, geographic and cartographic sciences, gerontology, health information systems, health policy, health science, health systems management, information systems, knowledge management, mathematics, operations research, physical sciences, physics (applied and engineering), software systems engineering, statistics (applied and engineering), systems engineering, technology management, and telecommunications; the M.S.N. and M.S.N./M.B.A. in nursing; the Master of Social Work (M.S.W.); the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (M.A.I.S.), with tracks in individualized studies and liberal studies (faculty-sponsored concentrations in anthropology, community college teaching, folklore, higher education administration, video-based production, women's studies, and zoo and aquarium studies); and the Master of New Professional Studies (M.N.P.S.), with tracks in organizational learning, peace operations, and teaching.

Facilities & Resources
The discovery of new knowledge through research and scholarly activities is a critical part of intellectual life and learning experiences at George Mason. More than 30 percent of Mason research and scholarly inquiry is conducted in active, involved partnerships with industry, government, and other universities. Research partnerships result in a richness of ideas and a dissemination of knowledge that benefits all team members and their parent institutions. At Mason, the advanced computational capabilities are used in research in fields ranging from computational fluid dynamics, bioinformatics, and computer engineering to public policy and history. Facilities for research in the modern biosciences and genomics are expanding rapidly both at the Fairfax and Prince William campuses. The new academic IV building, Innovation Hall, the primary technology building on the Fairfax campus, features multimedia labs, a television studio, a decision laboratory suite, computer labs, classrooms, and special program spaces. The Shared Research Instrumentation Facility at Fairfax houses advanced analytical instrumentation shared across the physical and biological sciences. Mason students and faculty members are active participants in the experimental research programs of nearby federal agencies, including NIST, NRL, USGS, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Mason research libraries at Fairfax and Arlington are substantially augmented through the Washington Research Library Consortium and the Virtual Library of Virginia, which together give Mason students and faculty members user privileges at more than twenty major academic research libraries.

Expenses and Aid
The tuition and fees for the academic year are $295 per credit hour for in-state students and $753 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Tuition and fees may vary for some graduate programs and are subject to change.

Financial Aid:
Mason annually awards a limited number of three-year fellowships for beginning high-potential doctoral students. The University offers assistantships in research and instruction that are awarded without regard to financial need. A limited number of tuition waivers are available for graduate assistants. All fellowship awards, assistantships, and tuition waivers are offered by individual departments. For more information, students should contact the Office of Student Financial Aid at 703-993-2353 or visit http://apollo.gmu.edu/finaid. U.S. citizens and permanent residents applying for student loans must complete the FAFSA.

Housing/Living Expenses:
On-campus housing is provided to graduate students on a space-available basis. Prices for the academic year range from $3460 to $4920. Meal plans are available to both resident and commuter students. For more information, students should call the Housing and Residence Life office at 703-993-2720 or visit its Web site at http://www.gmu.edu/student/living.

How to Apply / Application
George Mason University began as the northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 before being established as an independent member of the commonwealth's system of colleges and universities in 1972. Mason is a distributed university with three campuses, in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William Counties, each with a distinctive academic focus that plays a critical role in the economy of its region. George Mason's Fairfax campus is nestled in a heavily wooded tract of 677 acres and includes a 10,000-seat sports arena and entertainment complex, a Center for the Arts with a 2,000-seat concert hall theater, and a two-pool Aquatic and Fitness Center complex. Mason continues to grow and is poised to lead the way in higher education and workforce training.

International Students
George Mason University is recognized as one of the most multicultural college campuses in the United States. With students from more than 135 countries along with faculty and staff members from all across the globe, Mason is proud to provide a welcoming place to live, learn, work, and study. Students from around the world find a home at Mason because of our commitment to global education combined with our outstanding location just outside of Washington, DC. Being part of the Mason community offers students from all backgrounds an opportunity to interact not only with each other, but also with internationally recognized experts on the faculty.

Who to Contact
Graduate Admissions Information
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MSN: 3A4
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444

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