George Mason in the Rankings

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"As Virginia’s largest and most diverse public university, George Mason is a leader in advancing Virginia as a top state in business and education. George Mason serves families by providing flexibility and affordability of educational excellence and serves the commonwealth by driving innovation for economic development. Most of our graduates stay in Virginia and around the Washington, D.C. region, building a strong career-ready pipeline critical to regional and state prosperity." 
President Gregory Washington

 

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George Mason #1 in Virginia, DMV public universities for upward mobility; top 5 for best value in VA, according to U.S. News

George Mason ranks among Top 50 graduate programs nationally in engineering, public policy, and other fields

George Mason University leads Virginia with strong U.S. News online program rankings

George Mason ranks #1 in Virginia for best value, internships, and upward mobility

 

Jump directly to specific rankings:

Academic Ranking of World Universities | College Factual | EduRank | Forbes | Foundation for Independent Rights and Expression | Money | National Science Foundation | New York Times | Times Higher Ed. | US News and World Report | Washington MonthlyWSJ/College Pulse


 

Wall Street Journal/College Pulse

Updated September 30, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Overall 32 71
Best Salaries 12 (Best in VA and the DMV) 42
Best Value 68 95
Social Mobility 54 (Best in VA) 73

Check out the full ranking of best colleges >>

 

U.S. News and World Report

Updated September 23, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Overall Ranking 57 117
Best Value 63 156
Social Mobility 64 110
Best College for Veterans 57 78

 

Undergraduate Programs Among Publics Nationally
Business 55 88
Computer Science 50 78
Economics 44 99
Engineering 61 96
Nursing 76 98 (Tied with JMU)
Psychology 59 113

Check out George Mason's best college and undergraduate program rankings >>

 

Graduate Programs Among Publics Nationally
Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering 54 92
Business/Corporate Law 19 41
Civil Engineering 51 73
Clinical Psychology 76 103
Clinical Training 81 169
Computer Engineering 42 71
Computer Science 35 64
Constitutional Law 20 41
Contracts/Commercial Law 14 30
Criminal Law 45 90
Dispute Resolution 54 119
Doctor of Nursing Practice 6 10 (Best in VA)
Economics 48 81
Education 77 90
Electrical Engineering 55 90
Engineering (Overall) 52 85
English 54 103
Environmental Law 52 102
Healthcare Law 56 122
Healthcare Management 16 33
History 36 69
Homeland Security 4 (Best in VA)
Intellectual Property Law 9 26
International Law 40 82
Law (Overall) 12 31
Most Grads in Federal Clerkships 5 11
Nonprofit Management 10 13
Nursing Masters 9 16 (Best in VA)
Part-Time Law 4 9
Part-Time MBA 48 80
Public Affairs (Overall) 24 36 (Best in VA)
Political Science 48 81 (Best in VA)
Public Health 40 68
Public Management/Leadership 25 33
Public Policy Analysis 17 31
Psychology 63 107
Sociology 53 83
Systems Engineering 27 37
Tax Law 46 90
Trial Advocacy 38 96

Check out all of George Mason's graduate program rankings >>

Online Masters Programs Among Publics Nationally
Business (Non-MBA) 39 56
Business (MBA) 41 55 (Best in VA)
MBA for Veterans 30 34 (Best in VA)
Education 37 38
Education (Special Education) 6 5 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Education for Veterans 16 16 (Best in the DMV)
Engineering 38 45
Engineering for Veterans 24 39
Industrial Engineering 7 10 (Best in VA)
Information Technology 27 39
Information Technology for Veterans 13 21
Nursing 34 41
Nursing for Veterans 9 14 (Best in VA)

 

Foundation for Independent Rights and Expression (FIRE) 

Updated September 9, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Student free speech and open inquiry 21 26

Check out the 2026 free speech rankings >>

 

Washington Monthly

Updated August 26, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars 96 166
Access (Overall) 58 79
Research (Overall) 67 97
Best Bang for the Buck: Southeast 12 16 (Best in VA)
Access: Southeast 9 16 (Best in DMV)

Check out the 2025 College Guide and Rankings >>

 

Forbes

Updated August 26, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Best Colleges 47 114

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Money

Updated June 25, 2025

Category Overall
Awarded one of America's Best Colleges 4.5/5 Stars

Check out the 2025 best colleges in America >>

 

EduRank

Updated March 2, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Overall Ranking 64 96
Architecture 21 31
Art History 15 28
Artificial Intelligence (AI) 39 64
Aviation 9 12 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Broadcast Journalism 46 63 (Best in VA)
Cinematography 27 40 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Communications and Public Relations 33 49
Criminology and Criminal Justice 18 26 (Best in VA)
Computer Engineering 40 60
Computer Networking 34 55
Cyber Security 20 34 (Best in VA)
Database Administration 18 31 (Best in VA)
Data Science 33 52
Early Childhood Education 18 19
Education Majors 39 55
Entrepreneurship 1 2 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Graphic Design 34 44
Hospitality and Hotel Management 37 41
Human Resource Management 21 33
Human Rights Law 12 31 (Best in VA)
Information Technology 34 48
Intellectual Property and Patent Law 5 17 (Best in VA)
International Business 28 49
International Law 13 31
International Relations and Diplomacy 27 46
International Trade 24 43
Law Enforcement 5 11 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Military Science 30 46 (Best in VA)
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 9 22 (Best in VA)
Political Economy 11 25 (Best in VA)
Public Policy/Administration 18 32 (Best in VA)
Radio and TV Broadcasting 44 62 (Best in VA)
Remote Sensing 30 40
Robotics 43 71
Software Engineering 12 17
Special Education 25 31
Urban and Regional Planning 23 34
UX/UI Design 15 20
Web Design and Development 13 19 (Best in VA)

Check out the full of George Mason's rankings from EduRank >>

 

Times Higher Education

Updated February 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Overall 52 84
Arts and Humanities 46 (tied with William & Mary) 80
Business and Economics 48 (tied with ODU) 79 (tied with American)
Clinical and Health 33 (tied with Virginia Tech) 58
Computer Science 45 (tied with ODU, UMBC) 73 (tied with George Washington)
Education 56 (tied with ODU, UMBC, William & Mary) 74 (tied with Howard)
Engineering 62 (tied with VCU) 96
Law 5 15
Life Sciences 57 88
Physical Sciences 72 (tied with ODU) 109
Psychology 41 (tied with VCU) 69
Social Sciences 30 (tied with Virginia Tech) 59

Check out the Times Higher Education best university rankings >>

 

Academic Rankings of World Universities

Updated August 15, 2025

Category Among Publics Nationally
Atmospheric Science 15 (Best in VA) 24 (Best in VA)
Biological Sciences 78 118
Business Administration 53 80
Clinical Medicine 87 108
Communication 50 (Best in VA) 66 (Best in VA)
Computer Science and Engineering 56 84
Earth Sciences 67 85
Ecology 63 81
Economics 13 (Best in VA) 32 (Best in VA)
Education 21 53
Electrical and Electronic Engineering 29 48
Environmental Science and Engineering 29 43
Geography 44 60
Law 6 (Best in VA) 18 (Best in VA)
Library and Information Science 27 36
Management 30 45
Mathematics 53 82
Political Sciences 41 74
Psychology 46 73
Public Administration 22 (Best in VA, tied with UVA) 29 (Best in VA)
Telecommunication Engineering 33 47

Check out the 2025 world universities ranking >>

 

College Factual*

Updated October 24, 2024

Category Among Publics Nationally
Bachelor's Degree Colleges 37 90
Colleges for Veterans 1 1
Liberal Arts/Sciences and Humanities Bachelor's Degrees 5 13 (Best in VA)
Homeland Security Bachelor's Degrees 1 1
Accounting Bachelor's Degrees 11 24 (Best in VA)
Computer Information Systems Bachelor's Degrees 8 17
Criminal Justice and Corrections Bachelor's Degrees 1 2
General Business/Commerce Bachelor's Degrees 3 11 (Best in VA and the DMV)
International Relations and National Security Bachelor's Degrees 4 23
Other Health Professions Bachelor's Degrees 10 17
Public Administration Bachelor's Degrees 4 5 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Security Science and Technology Bachelor's Degrees 2 2
Special Education Bachelor's Degrees 14 18 (Best in VA)
Visual and Performing Arts Bachelor's Degrees 5 7 (Best in VA)
Writing Studies Best Schools 8 10 (Best in VA)
Writing Studies Bachelor's Degrees 6 7 (Best in VA)
Writing Studies Master's Degrees 5 10 (Best in VA)  

Check out George Mason's full rankings from College Factual >>

 

The New York Times*

Updated September 8, 2023

Category Among Publics Nationally
Economic Diversity 19 (Best in VA and the DMV) 56 (Best in VA and the DMV)

Check out the NYT's top U.S. colleges with the greatest economic diversity >>

 

National Science Foundation*

Updated November 30, 2023

Category Among Publics Nationally
Total Research Funding 68 117
Federally Funded Research 75 115
Institutions without Medical Schools 60 85
Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: Total Research Funding 50 61
Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: Federally Funded Research 31 42
Computer Sciences: Total Research Funding 21 32
Computer Sciences: Federally Funded Research 13 20
Engineering 52 73
Mathematics 43 62
Social Sciences: Total Research Funding 7 10 (Best in the DMV)
Social Sciences: Federally Funded Research 23 (Best in VA) 33

* Based on last released rankings data

George Mason highlighted as one of Carnegie’s Opportunity Colleges and Universities

Carnegie said universities earning this distinction “are higher access, higher earnings institutions that can serve as a model for fostering student success,” according to information from the foundation. 

Read more about this recognition

 

George Mason plays a vital role in advancing Virginia as America’s top state in business

CNBC has named Virginia America’s Top State for Business in 2024, and the No. 1 state for education, dual distinctions that highlight George Mason University’s impact as the largest and most innovative public university in Virginia and a top 50 public university nationally.

Read more about George Mason's role