George Mason University

In brief

George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, began in 1949 as a branch of the University of Virginia and became an independent university in 1972. It is named for George Mason, the Virginia delegate sometimes called the “father of the Bill of Rights.” By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #89 in the United States and #248 in the world. It admitted 87.5% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1260 and a median ACT score of 27.

Its 11 colleges, schools, and institutes include the Antonin Scalia Law School, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, and it is home to the Mercatus Center, a free-market policy think tank. It enrolls more than 38,000 students.

Where George Mason’s influence is strongest

George Mason’s influence is led by economics, where it ranks in the US top 20. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Economics: #19 in the US (#35 in the world)
• Political science: #38
• Criminal justice: #42
• Law: #55
• Computer science: #59

Within those fields, George Mason is a national leader in several specialties:

• #1 in the US: Austrian economics
• #3 in the US: cybersecurity (behind Carnegie Mellon and Harvard)
• #7: libertarianism
• #11: computer forensics

By comparison, George Mason sits further back in medicine (#164), nursing (#187), and religious studies (#209).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

George Mason’s economists have included the Nobel laureates James M. Buchanan and Vernon L. Smith, along with Gordon Tullock, Walter E. Williams, and Tyler Cowen. Its faculty and alumni also include the historian Roy Rosenzweig, the children’s author Sharon Creech, the actor Rhea Seehorn, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Our full lists of George Mason’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is George Mason hard to get into? No. It admitted 87.5% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 580–680 on the SAT reading section and 580–680 on math.

What does George Mason cost after financial aid? Tuition is $14,316 for Virginia residents and $39,312 for out-of-state students in 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $11,341 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $9,467 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $23,862 for incomes above $110,000.

How do George Mason graduates do? 66.5% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 86% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $79,923.

What is George Mason best known for academically? By our influence data: economics and political science, plus Austrian economics, where it ranks first in the country.