Student Success

Office of Military Services

• The Office serves active-duty service members, veterans, national guard, reservists, and dependents with benefits, the GI Bill, verification of enrollment, academic advising, career resources, disability services, and more. Although any office at Mason will do their best to assist with questions and information, the Office of Military Services (OMS) has expertise in how the military community can make the most of Mason’s resources.

CAPS Mental Health Support for the Military Community

• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is exploring ways to best support students who are service members, veterans, or part of a military family. CAPS offers a wide variety of services to students who are part of our military community, including, but not limited to, workshops for stress management, group therapy, and individual therapy. Please call CAPS at 703-993-2380 between 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, or click here for more information about scheduling an appointment with CAPS. If you are in crisis, please contact one of the urgent numbers listed here.

Resources in Schar School of Policy and Government

• George Mason University and the Schar School of Policy and Government are proud to welcome veterans, active duty service members, guardsmen, reservists, and dependents to our community. As the largest public research institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Mason offers a wealth of resources to its students.

George Mason University’s Chapter of Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)

• The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) builds leaders and leads collaboration among government and industry to develop multi-disciplined solutions to national security infrastructure challenges. The Society unites public and private sector individuals and organizations from across the architecture, engineering, construction, environmental and facility management, cyber security, project planning, contracting and acquisition, and related disciplines in support of national security.

The Cornell Wells Endowed Scholarship

• For active duty military, a reservist, or a military veteran with an Honorable Discharge pursuing a degree from the School of Business

ERPI Patriot Scholarship – College of Health and Human Services

• For undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Health and Human Services
• Applicants must be service-disabled veterans, veterans, or immediate family to a veteran of the U.S. armed forces
• Applicants may either be full time or part-time students and will qualify on the basis of academic merit and financial need

ERPI Patriot Scholarship – Schar School of Policy and Government

• For veterans admitted to a Schar degree program or dependents of service-disabled veterans
• $2,500 per semester toward educational expenses, up to a total of $10,000

The Kara Anne Lang Endowed Scholarship

• Recipients must be undergraduates and will qualify on the basis of merit and/or financial need
• For veterans who have been honorably discharged from a branch of the United States Armed Services, or who are currently serving as an Active Duty, Reservist, or National Guard service member

The Kevin and Veronica McCrohan Endowed Scholarship

• For students majoring or minoring in marketing in the School of Business who are serving or have served (1) on active duty in the Special Operations forces of any US military service or (2) in the combat arms of the US Army (Combat Arms or Combat Support; Air Defense Artillery, Armor, Aviation Engineers, Field Artillery, Infantry, Chemical Corps, Military Intelligence, Military Police or Signal Corps), or (3) in the US Marine Corps
• Preference will be given to those in category 1 above, and appropriate documentation of service will be required, such a Form DD-214
• Applicants must be full-time undergraduates and must poses a minimum 2.5 GPA

Thank You Veterans Study Abroad Award

• For student veterans participating in a summer term, Mason, faculty-led program abroad
• Funding to cover tuition, program fees, and travel incidentals as required

The Veterans Endowed Scholarship

• For veterans who have been honorably discharged from a branch of the United States Armed Services, or who are currently serving as an Active Duty, Reservist, or National Guard service member
• Special consideration will be given to applicants who have earned military awards, have demonstrated leadership in community activities, or are combat veterans
• Applicants must be undergraduates and will qualify on the basis of merit and financial need
• Recipients must maintain a 3.0 GPA

Crankstart Re-entry Scholarship

• For undergraduate students who have experienced a cumulative gap in their education of five or more years, are pursuing their first baccalaureate degree, anticipate workforce participation for a significant period of time post-graduation, and qualify on the basis of academic merit and financial need
• Preference will be given to newly matriculating students
• Recipients should also demonstrate achievements and promise in the face of challenges and/or hardships as well as a commitment to obtaining their degree

Osher Re-Entry Scholarship Program

• For re-entry students who have experienced a cumulative gap in their pursuit of higher education of at least five years and have documented financial need

Veteran Nursing Pathway

• The veteran nursing pathway shortens the time required to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) by co-enrolling at Mason and a partner community college AAS-Nursing program. Applicants can earn their BSN in as little as one semester after completing the AAS-Nursing degree and obtaining their RN license. The majority of classes are offered in a seven-week format and all of the courses are offered online.

Congressional Fellowship Program for Master’s in Public Policy

• The Congressional Fellowship Program for Master’s in Public Policy provides fellows with the skills in policymaking and analysis necessary for understanding and solving critical problems.

Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) Program – Adult Degree Completion Program

• BIS is one of the most efficient programs at George Mason University for military veterans to complete a bachelor’s degree. Up to 45 credits from a JST can be transferred and applied toward graduation, as well as most credits from other colleges and universities worldwide. BIS is structured with support and advising to aim your self-designed degree toward professional advancement, graduate school, or both. Create the degree that meets your needs, and utilize your earned education benefits to achieve your goals.

Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2)

• The EMDP2 is a two-year program designed to ready military personnel for medical school. The program includes coursework and training to prepare for the Medical College Admission Test. It is made possible by a partnership between Uniformed Services University and George Mason University’s College of Science.

War and the Military in Society Concentration (MA – Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Recent events have demonstrated the degree to which military issues affect social groups, global politics, and the world economy. Understanding the ways in which armies are raised and funded, the reasons troops serve, the conditions military personnel and civilians endure during wartime, and the multifaceted and evolving ways in which nations conceive of the military apparatus has direct bearing on future policy decisions.

Operation Educate the Educators

• In 2012, the College of Education and Human Development joined the Operation Educate the Educator Initiative, a joint commitment across many universities to prepare school personnel to work with military-connected children. In response, faculty in the School of Education developed an online training module to prepare educators to understand the diverse needs of military-connected children in order to better serve their academic and social-emotional needs across school settings. Currently, teacher candidates view this training during their course of study.
• In 2019, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), this work was extended and the online training is now offered at TTAC Online for teachers across the state of Virginia, and a requirement for schools seeking their Purple Star Designation from VDOE.

Security-Related Programs (Graduate Certificates/Programs – Schar School of Policy & Government)

• With a faculty drawn from the alphabet agencies and think tanks of nearby Washington, D.C., the Schar School of Policy and Government’s security studies programs take students on an immersive academic experience unlike any other. The programs prepare students to become leaders who face down the country’s and the world’s largest challenges in policy, intelligence, terrorism, biodefense, emergency management, and diplomacy, among others.

Naval Ship Design (Graduate Certificate – Volgenau School of Engineering)

• The graduate certificate in naval ship design provides students with the fundamentals and hands-on experience to be effective ship designers and design managers. Through coursework and experiential learning, students will develop specific knowledge in the art of naval ship design and acquire the skills to support the management of new and in-service design programs.

Veterans Affairs Practica/Externships

• The Department of Psychology current places multiple students in the clinical psychology doctoral program into externships at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in both Washington DC and Baltimore, where they train and work with veterans 1-2 days/week for a year.

• The Department of Health Administration and Policy places several Health Administration and Health Informatics graduate students in practica with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Washington DC VA Medical Center.