George Mason University Top Questions

I have largely had a great experience with my classes at George Mason. My class sizes are small which makes my professors very accessible. Because of this, my GPA is very high and I feel that it has allowed for a much greater educational experience. You will experience larger classes when completing general requirements, but once you begin classes in your major the student-teacher ratio is much better. I can honestly say that I have had a very positive relationship with all of my professors, several of whom I know I can count on for recommendations in the future. I wasn't simply a number, but a student that my teachers knew and talked to regularly. My academic experience here has probably been the high point of my experience at this school. I definitely feel prepared to go out into the workforce following graduation because of my preparation here.

Academics are very strong at George Mason! In general education classes, professors know the students who put themselves out there and professors really start getting to know as you get into the upper level courses. There are also tons of different options for your major.

George Mason offers an academic environment well tailored toward jobs. Quite a few departments offer the option of internships & co-op opportunities for academic credit. This allows students to gain work experience and complete their degrees simultaneously. Also, this school offers the Conflict Resolution major so far is the only school to offer it. The most popular majors at George Mason are Communications, Business, psychology, and government. The academic opportunities here truly succeeds at preparing students for life after Mason. Still, the school offers plenty of intellectual opportunities. There are several Islamic studies, Vision series, humanities and other kinds of lectures offered throughout the year. I attended 8 to 10 lectures during freshman year, and I attended 2 of them during sophomore year Fall 2011. Then the Fall for the Book festivals run every year. I especially enjoyed the 2011 one, because I got to speak with a famous scholar and meet Stephen King for free. It never costs anything for students to attend events, except for the concerts. I enjoy these events, as I get to see what scholars in academic fields are studying. I'm a Communications and History double major. I have the advantage of a large department, which allows me the flexibility of completing major requirements. Also, I like how the Communications department now offers several online classes a semester. This allows students to test out those classes and see how they enjoy it. Also, the synthesis classes and internship sections are offered during the summer as well. The history department offers a fairly lenient class load, so the 300-400 level classes aren't too different from each other except the synthesis classes. Overall, the academics aren't overtly intellectual, though these opportunities remain available. Students engage in political discussions involving presidential candidates, government, and elections. Most the academic learning happens at career events, internship and campus job opportunities, and political events. Certainly, this school proves most the learning occurs outside the classroom.

I'm now at the end of my first semester of my sophomore year at GMU, and overall can say that I've been very impressed with my professors. I recently declared as a Communication major with a minor in Electronic Journalism. A couple of my general education classes were large classrooms with upwards of 100 students, but most of my classes are more in the range of 20-50. Even in the large classrooms, I've never had trouble contacting a professor or TA with questions or help. This semester, every single one of my professors knows my name, and those in my major have encouraged me to stay in touch so they can advise me throughout the rest of my time at school. The intensity of the workload and difficulty of classes at Mason doesn't seem too strenuous, though everyone works at their own pace and work varies from major to major. In my major, and as far as I know, across the school, a huge emphasis is placed on finding a career after graduating. I'm enrolled in a new class next semester that grants class credit for working an internship over the course of the semester. Professors often bring in guest speakers and encourage students to network and start getting our foot in the door now, to ensure a job as soon as we have a degree, or even before.

I am a Communications major and have found that the communications department at Mason is excellent. They are always willing to help out and are great resources for finding internships. I have become very close with some of the communication's professors especially since the classes are fairly small. These professor's are always encouraging students to participate and think outside the box which is unique.

Professors are very encouraging and helpful and they certainly know you by your name and my favorite course was Advertising in communication and least favorite was American History. Class participations are highly appreciated and encouraged and most students do participate in class alot.

The academics at this school are great. Even in a large class of 200, my teacher knew my name. I'm a double major with English and Communication but the work load is manageable and interesting enough to keep from being boring.

Freshmen classes are big but once you take upperlevel courses it gets more personal

I am a part of a major that includes roughly only 100 students per class, there for I know each of my professors. My favorite class is probalyl my community health nursing class because the instructor is so entertaining and engaging you never want to miss a class. My least favorite would probalyl be a leadership class because it is unusually challenging. The concepts seem so easy to grasp, but when it comes to the examinations, I never seem to get the results I want. The students in my program are very competitive and I feel I always have to be on my game and study as much as I can. (My competitive side is released because of swimming) The most unique class I have taken is probally my clinical rotations because I am hands on learning 12 hours every week and getting exposed to some very random things. The nursing corse load is demanding, and requires a lot of time, however will be worth it becuase nursing is a very marketable career and health care is a place where jobs will always be needed.

This may be biased because I am in the Honors College, but the Honors classes are the only classes that have ever really challenged me academically. They are unique in that they are smaller classes and you get to know your professor better. I have not liked the large lecture classes that I have taken outside of Honors. If I weren't in Honors, I probably would have transferred or not gone here.