Mason is Virginia’s most diverse, most innovative university

George Mason University was again ranked as Virginia’s most diverse and most innovative university (among national institutions), and as one of the most diverse and innovative in the nation, by U.S. News & World Report in its just-released evaluations.

Mason, rated a top-tier (R1) research university by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, was also ranked as an A+ School for B Students by U.S. News, an acknowledgement of Mason’s commitment to access and excellence.

“For Mason, diversity is more than a goal, it is at the very core of our mission of delivering Access to Excellence. Mason has become one of the Commonwealth’s leading public research universities as well as the place where students from all backgrounds find pathways to life success,” President Anne Holton said. “We recently welcomed our largest incoming class. The fact that more students each year want to attend Mason is a testament to the great work of our faculty and staff and the value that a Mason education provides.”

Mason is ranked 33rd nationally in educational innovation, ahead of institutions such as Dartmouth, Columbia and Northwestern, and 37th nationally in diversity.

It is ranked 153rd overall and 72nd among all public universities.

Mason also is No. 43 out of 101 schools ranked for “first-year experience;” that is, making freshmen feel connected to the university.

Mason is transforming the way it engages first-year students through its Student Experience Redesign initiative to better enable student success. As part of that, the university is building the Mason Care Network to enhance student coaching and advising.

“What we want to do is to provide a mechanism to accommodate and serve our diverse student population,” Provost S. David Wu said. “The Student Experience Redesign initiative creates a comprehensive network of people, technologies and systems that help us care for students of different backgrounds and needs.  Most importantly, our students are immersed in a learning environment in which they are being enriched by people who think differently and have different backgrounds.”

“We’re proud to be an R1 institution that is recognized for its innovation and diversity,” said Michelle Marks, Mason’s vice president for academic innovation and new ventures. “Few institutions can claim our outcomes as there is little disparity in graduation rates across ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Our faculty and staff are committed to creating a learning environment that works for everyone at Mason.”

In Mason’s other U.S. News national rankings: