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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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
Biological Sciences (*2022)	68	119 (Tied w/ Virginia Tech)
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
Criminology (*2021)	10 (Best in VA)	10 (Best in VA)
Dispute Resolution	54	119
Doctor of Nursing Practice	6 (Best in VA)	10 (Best in VA)
Earth Sciences (*2023)	92	124
Economics	48	81
Education	77	90
Electrical Engineering	55	90
Engineering (Overall)	52	85
English	54	103
Environmental Law	52	102
Fine Arts (*2020)	42	73
Healthcare Law	56	122
Healthcare Management	16	33
History	36	69
Homeland Security	4 (Best in VA)	4 (Best in VA)
Intellectual Property Law	9	26
International Law	40	82
Law (Overall)	12	31
Mathematics (*2023)	55	91
Most Grads in Federal Clerkships	5	11
Nonprofit Management	10	13
Nursing Masters	9 (Best in VA)	16 (Best in VA)
Part-Time Law	4	9
Part-Time MBA	48	80
Physics (*2023)	72	113
Political Science	48 (Best in VA)	81 (Best in VA)
Public Affairs (Overall)	24 (Best in VA)	36 (Best in VA)
Public Health	40	68
Public Management/Leadership	25	33
Public Policy Analysis	17	31
Psychology	63	107
Social Work (*2024)	45	67
Sociology	53	83
Statistics (*2023)	39	54
Systems Engineering	27	37
Tax Law	46	90
Trial Advocacy	38	96

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

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

Check out all of George Mason’s online master’s programs rankings >>

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 Business Journal

Updated October 3, 2025

Category	Among Publics	Nationally
Overall Ranking	2 (Best in VA)	2 (Best in VA)

Check out WBJ's largest universities 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 (Best in VA)	16 (Best in VA)
Access: Southeast	9	16

Check out the 2025 College Guide and Rankings >>

Forbes

Updated August 26, 2025

Category	Among Publics	Nationally
Best Colleges	47	114

Check out America's top colleges >>

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 (Best in VA and the DMV)	12 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Broadcast Journalism	46 (Best in VA)	63 (Best in VA)
Cinematography	27 (Best in VA and the DMV)	40 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Communications and Public Relations	33	49
Criminology and Criminal Justice	18 (Best in VA)	26 (Best in VA)
Computer Engineering	40	60
Computer Networking	34	55
Cyber Security	20 (Best in VA)	34 (Best in VA)
Database Administration	18 (Best in VA)	31 (Best in VA)
Data Science	33	52
Early Childhood Education	18	19
Education Majors	39	55
Entrepreneurship	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)	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 (Best in VA)	31 (Best in VA)
Information Technology	34	48
Intellectual Property and Patent Law	5 (Best in VA)	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 (Best in VA and the DMV)	11 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Military Science	30 (Best in VA)	46 (Best in VA)
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution	9 (Best in VA)	22 (Best in VA)
Political Economy	11 (Best in VA)	25 (Best in VA)
Public Policy/Administration	18 (Best in VA)	32 (Best in VA)
Radio and TV Broadcasting	44 (Best in VA)	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 (Best in VA)	19 (Best in VA)

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

Times Higher Education

Updated October 9, 2025

Category	Among Publics	Nationally
Overall	47	84
Arts and Humanities	46	78
Business and Economics	44	69 (Tied with American)
Computer Science	49	76 (Tied with William & Mary)
Education	57	77 (Tied with VCU)
Engineering	61	80
Law	8	20
Life Sciences	67	89
Medical and Health	44	62 (Tied with Virginia Tech)
Physical Sciences	74	97
Psychology	33	64 (Tied with VCU)
Social Sciences	28	58 (Tied with UVA)

Check out the Times Higher Education world university rankings >>

The Princeton Review

Updated October 25, 2025

Category	Nationally
Overall	Best Mid-Atlantic
Overall	Best 391 Colleges
Overall	Best Green Colleges

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)	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	36	92
Top Colleges for Veterans in the U.S. (*2021)	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Accounting Bachelor's Degrees	11 (Best in VA)	24 (Best in VA)
Biology (General) Bachelor's Degrees	33	48
Business/Commerce (General) Bachelor's Degrees	3 (Best in VA and the DMV)	11 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's Degrees	14	37
Computer Information Systems Bachelor's Degrees	8	17
Criminal Justice and Corrections Bachelor's Degrees	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)	2 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Geography and Cartography Bachelor's Degrees	24	31
Homeland Security Bachelor's Degrees	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)	1 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Hospitality Management Bachelor's Degrees	36	44
International Relations and National Security Bachelor's Degrees	4	23
Liberal Arts/Sciences and Humanities Bachelor's Degrees	5 (Best in VA)	13 (Best in VA)
Management Sciences and Quantitative Bachelor's Degrees	17 (Best in VA)	33 (Best in VA)
Other Health Professions Bachelor's Degrees	10	17
Psychology (General) Bachelor's Degrees	21	32
Public Administration Bachelor's Degrees	4 (Best in VA and the DMV)	5 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Public Health Bachelor's Degrees	26	32
Security Science and Technology Bachelor's Degrees	2 (Best in VA and the DMV)	2 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Social Work Bachelor's Degrees	32	36
Special Education Bachelor's Degrees	14 (Best in VA)	18 (Best in VA)
Visual and Performing Arts (General) Bachelor's Degrees	5 (Best in VA and the DMV)	7 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Writing Studies Best Schools	8 (Best in VA)	12 (Best in VA)
Writing Studies Bachelor's Degrees	6 (Best in VA)	7 (Best in VA)
Writing Studies Master's Degrees	5 (Best in VA)	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	77	117
Federally Funded Research	75	121
Computer and Information Sciences: Total Research Funding	27	43
Computer and Information Sciences: Federally Funded Research	20	32
Engineering: Total Research Funding	56	79
Engineering: Federally Funded Research	37	57
Geosciences, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: Total Research Funding	44	54
Geosciences, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: Federally Funded Research	31	40
Mathematics: Total Research Funding	65	89
Mathematics: Federally Funded Research	44	65
Non-Medical Schools: Total Research Funding	60	86
Non-Science and Engineering: Total Research Funding	56	79
Non-Science and Engineering: Federally Funded Research	67	101
Psychology: Total Research Funding	76	109
Psychology: Federally Funded Research	60	91
Social Sciences: Total Research Funding	7 (Best in VA and the DMV)	10 (Best in VA and the DMV)
Social Sciences: Federally Funded Research	19 (Best in VA)	24 (Best in VA)

Check out the NSF research funding rankings >>

* 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