<p>Where would you rank George Mason University for undergraduate economics, political science, international relations, interational studies etc... compared to other universities ranked high by USNEWS and those well recognized like North Carolina State University. I recently had just caught interest in the school knowing where its location is, and from many reviews that the school is great for liberal arts.
Any opinions?
It reminds me of Geogre Washington University, just not as difficult to get admitted, or that well acknowledge.</p>
<p>Well actually it seems like there is a public university it has competition with ( Universithy of Maryland- College Park). Also still unsure how the school is with social sciences, since as I was watching certain videos and heard mentions of IT majors etc… not what I would have expected to hear at all.</p>
<p>UMD is considered a better overall school than GMU. GMU is highly known for the majors you listed: undergraduate economics, political science, international relations, interational studies though. It’s definitely an up and coming school.</p>
<p>Many of the students are (or were) commuter students at GMU. I’m not sure how the campus life may have changed in the last 10 years.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answers, </p>
<p>Yeah I guess I wouldn’t be that surprise if the school has a lot of cummuting.</p>
<p>GMU accepts approximately 2,500 freshman students a year. So that’s roughly 10k students that go to the school. It’s in a suburban area so some of those students are commuters from home. The school has roughly 5,000 students on campus and are building another 800 rooms by the end of this year and another 1200 beds by 2011. From what I’ve heard, there’s definitely life on campus now.</p>
<p>Yeah, we recently sent a kid there from my small, rural, average school that had an insane interest in politics. the school is quickly becoming known as a center of conserrvative political thought, and yes, is definitely known for its social science programs.</p>
<p>However, the school is not the greatest academically (typical third-tier national uni), and I doubt a degre from here would mean as much as a UM-CP, American U, or CUA degre, despite your political leaning.</p>
<p>The university of Maryland- Baltimore county may prove to be a better option, please take a look there as well if you are OOS considering GMU.</p>
<p>Actually, GMU is liberal. The law school is conservative and the economics program is libertarian.</p>
<p>From their website, it lists their goal of obtaining tier 2 in the next 5 years.</p>
<p>GMU is a very solid up and coming school. It’s basically THE school for Libertarians.</p>
<p>I just saw that their enrollment jumped 6% this year from 30,613 to 32,504 (approximately 18,000 undergraduates). While they must be doing something right to attract that many new students (or maybe it’s just the economy), I wonder if they will be having growing pains of crowded or oversubscribed classes, etc. Virginia has just passed a budget bill that reduces support to colleges and universities in the commonwealth.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve always thought GMU was liberal also, I don’t know why one poster mention it as being conservative.</p>
<p>I mentioned it as being conservative because it IS conservative, according to all I have read and heard from my staunch Republican friend that recently went there (I’m a liberal myself, but at my school, simply sharing a fascination for politics is enough basis for friendship. Or just seeing each other in the hall)</p>
<p>Anyways, yeah, don’t expect freakin’ Sewanee, SMU, or Oral Roberts U style conservatism when you go there, just be forewarned that it is THE most conservative institution in the DC metro area. Not that it’s a bad thing (good to have thoughts challenged).</p>
<p>^ I’ll have to agree to disagree. GMU undergrad is composed of roughly 25-30% minorities and historically speaking, minorities lean towards the liberal left. And the area around the school is also very diversed so I can’t see how profs. or students are conservative if you’re speaking on a majority basis.</p>
<p>My brother transferred to George Mason University from NYU and says it’s definitely a school to watch out for because of it’s prime location and ability to locate well known professors.</p>
<p>Well, I guess GMU would be a good school for the majors you listed. I went there last year before I made my decision to be a Chem major and transferred to VT. Sorry, no interest in politics but if you are interested in it, you should consider GMU.</p>
<p>Yes, I have interest in politics.</p>
<p>Okay, to settle the arguement once and for all…</p>
<p>A quote from the *Fiske Guide 2008<a href=“Pg.%20252,%20paragraph%202,%20sentence%204”>/i</a>:</p>
<p>“Students are politically aware and tend to lean rightward”</p>
<p>I also checked the Princeton Review’s write-up on the school, but nothing was mentioned about political leaning. No other books I own profile the school.</p>
<p>^ So you’re taking the words of one book who probably did not do their research? That’s like believing the statements of “X school has the best food”. I’ve taken classes at GMU, it’s liberal leaning.</p>
<p>^Please take it up with the editors at the Fiske guide.</p>
<p>^ I really don’t care what ppl. publish. It’s moreso when ppl. regurgitate faulty info that erks me.</p>
<p>I’m a current student at George Mason and noticed that this thread is a bit old, but I’ll still put in my 2 cents. In response to a post earlier, George Mason is no longer a tier III school looking to get its tier II. Instead, George Mason is now a tier I school and totally skipped tier II status. As far as political leaning goes I would say the faculty at Mason does lean slightly to the left, again slightly. The same can be said about the student body, but there is also a conservative element at George Mason as well. I myself lean slightly right-of-center and feel completely at home at there. I hope that clears everything up for anyone who comes across this.</p>