R1 ResearchPublic

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia·Public, 4-year or above·Southeast·gmu.edu
6-yr Graduation
68%
-9.0pp vs R1 Research
Total enrollment
39,766
peer median 33,661
Avg net price
$18,287
-$583 vs R1 Research
Use this data
Ask Clema

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
25,234
25,234 candidates competed
Admitted
22,074
87.5% acceptance rate
Enrolled
4,464
20.2% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
68%-9.0pp vs R1 Research
4-year graduation
46%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
68%
Full-time retention
86%

Pell equity

5.0pp gap
Pell recipients
64%
Non-Pell
69%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 253 Title IV programs, 98 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 155 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
253
Passing
98
38.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

253programs
  • Passing98 · 38.7%
  • No Data155 · 61.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
2
Safe
95
No data
155

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

98
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+2.6%
$36,901 vs $35,969
History
Master's Degree · History
+10.9%
$59,751 vs $53,884
Music
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+12.7%
$53,431 vs $47,421
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+26.7%
$62,682 vs $49,483
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+26.9%
$45,656 vs $35,969
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+30.0%
$46,765 vs $35,969
Graphic Communications
Bachelor Degree · Communications Technologies/Technicians And Support Services
+31.9%
$47,440 vs $35,969
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
+33.3%
$61,859 vs $46,391

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+2.6%
+$932

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

76
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
70%
$25,975 debt · $36,901 earn
Arts Entertainment and Media Management
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
69%
$45,625 debt · $66,400 earn
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
69%
$43,538 debt · $63,423 earn
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
65%
$41,000 debt · $62,682 earn
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
60%
$82,000 debt · $135,661 earn
English Language and Literature General
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
60%
$39,970 debt · $67,126 earn
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
59%
$41,000 debt · $70,044 earn
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
53%
$24,191 debt · $45,656 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1972Next review Jun 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 15

Action history · 29

  1. Oct 2025Initial Accreditation
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIET) - Coordinated Program in Dietetics
  2. Oct 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Jun 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Council on Education for Public Health · Public Health Programs (PHPG) - Graduate level program offered outside a school of public health
  4. Mar 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Feb 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$12,197
$30–48k$13,383
$48–75k$16,296
$75–110k$20,394
$110k+$25,247

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$18,287
-$582vs R1 Research median $18,870
Federal loans
34.3%
In-state tuition
$13,815
Out-of-state
$39,397

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 10,732 students received $62.6M in Pell grants, alongside $138.5M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
10,732
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$62.6M
$62,601,593 total
Direct Loans
$138.5M
16,993 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

9k
20
9k
21
9k
22
9k
23
11k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$26.2M
6,247 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$26.2M
6,249 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$44.4M
2,694 loan awards
Parent PLUS$25.7M
1,235 loan awards
Grad PLUS$16.0M
568 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 6,333 borrowers who entered repayment, 52 (0.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.8%
-1.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
6,333
Defaulted
52
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.1%
2017
2.6%
2018
2.5%
2019
0.8%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at George Mason

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs196
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

7,915 total completions
01Computer Sciences
1,76622.3%
02Business
1,48318.7%
03Health Professions
79910.1%
04Education
7699.7%
05Social Sciences
6688.4%
06Security/Protective
6067.7%
07Engineering
4986.3%
08Psychology
4986.3%
09Biological Sciences
4385.5%
10Liberal Arts
3904.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
39,766
12-mo unduplicated
48,495
Undergraduate
33,763
Graduate
14,732

Gender split

Men
48%23,225
Women
52%25,270

Race / ethnicity composition

White
33.0%
Asian
23.6%
Hispanic
17.4%
Black
12.3%
Two or more
5.6%
Non-resident
4.7%
Unknown
3.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
513
252 M · 261 W
Women athletes
50.9%
Athletic aid
$7.6M
Total student aid
Budget
$29.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.4M
$4.3M
Recruiting expense
$294K
$205K
Head-coach salaries
$186K
$126K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
145 M · 113 W
$2.6M
Soccer
29 M · 37 W
$2.3M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
27 M · 31 W
$604K
Rowing
· 53 W
$521K
Volleyball
25 M · 18 W
$1.5M
Baseball
41 M ·
$1.3M

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.72
28 offenses · 39,049 students

3-year trend

0.522 yrs ago0.801 yr ago0.72Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
79
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
152
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
7
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
13
Rape
6
Fondling
4
Aggravated assault
2
Arson
1
Robbery
1
Burglary
1

By location

28total
  • On campus28

Includes 9 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

4
Domestic violence
4
Dating violence
52
Stalking
60 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Race1
  • Religion1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs380
Liquor13106

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 3 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
16.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
1,442

George Mason vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions George Mason selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectGeorge Mason University
68%39,766$18,287R1 Research
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
86%54.8%38,857$23,790R1 Research
Virginia Commonwealth University
63%92.6%28,464$19,452R1 Research
University of Virginia-Main Campus
96%16.8%26,409$22,881R1 Research
Old Dominion University
46%90.4%23,743$14,170R1 Research
Florida State University
86%24.2%43,889$10,997R1 Research
Peer group median77%54.8%33,661$18,870

Frequently asked questions about George Mason University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about George Mason.

What is the graduation rate at George Mason University?

George Mason University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 68% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend George Mason University?

George Mason University reports a total enrollment of 39,766 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at George Mason University?

The average net price at George Mason University is $18,287 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at George Mason University?

George Mason University's yield rate is 20.2%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is George Mason University located?

George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444.

Have a question this page can’t answer?

Ask Clema anything about George Mason University and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card