George Mason University awarded more bachelor’s degrees to minority students in the 2016-17 academic year than any institution in Virginia, according to preliminary data presented by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
George Mason tied for 46th nationally with 2,326 degrees conferred, a 10 percent increase over 2015-16. Virginia Commonwealth University was next among Virginia universities at No. 53 with 2,196 degrees awarded. There were 2,718 institutions surveyed for the report.
Mason also ranked 25th nationally, and first in Virginia, in bachelor’s degrees conferred to Asian Americans with 966, an increase of 4.0 percent from 2015-16.
The university also made big gains in bachelor’s degrees conferred to African Americans (500, up 15 percent) and Hispanics (638, up 11 percent). Master’s degrees awarded to Asian Americans were up 13 percent to 252.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education used data from the U.S. Department of State for its report on the nation’s top degree-producing institutions for minority students. The sample was limited to institutions that distribute federal Title IV financial assistance.
Mason previously was listed by The Education Trust as among the nation’s 18 top-performing institutions with a graduation rate for black students just 0.3 percent behind that of whites.
You can read that study here.