Mason History and Tradition
George Mason University’s short history is one of an enterprising and innovative pioneer, creating a major teaching and research university from a small, one-room schoolhouse in just 50 years. George Mason University is now recognized as an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields, named the #1 national university to watch by U.S. News & World Report in 2008. At George Mason University, we invent tradition.
With strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, dance, organizational psychology and health care, Mason students are routinely recognized with national and international scholarships. Enrollment is more than 30,000, with students studying in 177 degree programs at the undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and professional levels.
Mason professors conduct groundbreaking research in areas such as cancer, climate change, information technology and the biosciences; and Mason’s Center for the Arts brings world-renowned artists, musicians and actors to its stage.
Mason is a distributed university with campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William counties. In addition to these three campuses, George Mason operates a site in Loudoun County and has partnered with the Smithsonian Institute to offer a Global Conservation Studies Program at the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal. The university also offers programs online and at the Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon. Each location has a distinctive academic focus that plays a critical role in the economy of its region.
