George Mason University’s mission of access to excellence translates to more than 5,000 Patriots earning degrees or certificates at the 2019 Winter Graduation ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 19.
Thirty-three percent of those earning bachelor’s degrees report that they are first-generation college students. Graduates hail from 54 countries, 37 states and the District of Columbia.
Students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science, Schar School of Policy and Government, Antonin Scalia Law School and School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution will participate in the morning ceremony. Josi Braithwaite, BA Communication, ’19, will give the student address at the morning ceremony.
Humanitarian and author Zainab Salbi, BIS ’96, who founded global relief organization Women for Women International, is the featured speaker at the 10 a.m. and the 2 p.m. Winter Graduation ceremonies at EagleBank Arena on the Fairfax Campus. Salbi will be presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Mason Board of Visitors member Lisa Zuccari, BIS ’89.
Students from the School of Business, College of Health and Human Services, College of Education and Human Development, Volgenau School of Engineering and College of Visual and Performing Arts will participate in the 2 p.m. graduation ceremony. Tiffany Dawson,BS Management ’19, will give the student address at the afternoon ceremony.
Deborah Willis, PhD Cultural Studies ’03, University Professor and chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, was scheduled to speak at the afternoon ceremony but was forced to cancel due to illness.
For those earning bachelor’s degrees, 34% are in STEM fields and 9% are in health sciences. The top five undergraduate majors in this graduating class are information systems and operations management; criminology, law, and society; psychology; computer science and accounting.
For those earning graduate degrees, 23% of degrees are in STEM fields and 4% are in health sciences. The top five master’s degree programs are special education, curriculum and instruction, education leadership, business administration and data analytics engineering. The top five doctorate majors are education, psychology, conflict analysis and resolution, economics, and communication.
Those who are unable to attend may watch the livestream here. More information about graduation can be found on the Winter Graduation page on the university’s website.