Graduate orientation marks the beginning of the fall semester for new graduate students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Held on August 26, 2010, students at orientation are greeted by the deans of the college and many college faculty members excited to kick off the new school year. University services are represented at the orientation in order to help new students take full advantage of their Mason careers.
The fall 2010 semester begins Monday, August 30 at George Mason University and the college adds 667 new graduate students to its certificate, master’s and doctoral degree programs. Currently, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers 19 graduate certificates, 21 master’s degree programs and 11 doctoral programs of study, not including those pending approval.
The graduate programs routinely cross disciplines, feature high-end faculty and research, promote highly involved field work and study abroad programs, produce experienced student researchers, and focus on practical application.
Many of the certificate programs focus on today’s pressing issues, such as emergency management and homeland security, critical analysis and strategic responses to terrorism, and applied conversation science. The applied conversation science certificate is offered by the Mason Center for Conservation Studies in conjunction with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., bringing students up close and personal with experts in the field.
Traditional master’s and PhD programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences also have their strong selling points. The English department’s creative writing master’s program is ranked 36th in the country, according to the September/October issue of Poets & Writers magazine. The non-fiction concentration is ranked seventh in the nation.
Student in the economics master’s and doctoral programs get the chance to participate in a nationally ranked program with highly respected economists and experts. Faculty members Donald Boudreaux, Tyler Cowen, Russell Roberts, Peter Boettke and Bryan Caplan are among a power-packed lineup of faculty members who are recognized nationally.
The PhD program in communication helps train students for careers in a rapidly growing field that is seeing more job growth than qualified candidates to fill these positions. Newer programs, such as the master’s in global affairs and the PhD in linguistics, aim to add new areas of expertise to the existing stalwarts.
After their sneak preview at orientation, the new students will delve into their graduate journey at Mason, lending their talents to make a difference in the vast variety of fields in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Image: Graduate students pack the Center for the Arts to meet representatives from their programs of choice.