MBA Program

Born and raised in Paris, France, Ava Uppal, BS Marketing ’19, fondly recalls baking with her mother and turning simple ingredients into heartfelt memories. Now, as a part-time MBA student and a working mother of two, she’s a small business owner and author of a new cookbook.

With an undergraduate degree in American government, Lou DiGioia, MBA ’07, always assumed his career would be in the political arena.

As George Mason doctoral student Jericho McLeod reviewed literature on disease transmission as part of his PhD work, he and George Mason professor Eduardo López noticed a gap in the models and now seek to correct it.

Each summer, MBA students at the Costello College of Business travel abroad as part of their global residency experience. John Davis, the Costello MBA student ambassador, shared his experience and the project he and his team completed in the UAE.

Andrew Edwards, MBA ‘23, had recently completed his undergraduate business degree at a local university while working as a chef in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, when the COVID pandemic hit, and his job prospects seemingly dried up. While graduate school was always part of his larger plan, now was a good time as any to get started.

The Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University’s Graduate Students of the Year for 2023-2024 exemplify the highest standards of academic excellence, leadership, and dedication to their field. Here, they explain why they chose Mason, and offer advice to others considering master’s degrees in business.  

When hearing the term “sustainability” in business circles, there’s often a misconception that it hinders growth. For the last three years, the MBA elective course Environmentally Sustainable Operations has offered interested graduate students from across George Mason University the opportunity to work with companies from multiple industries on making the business case for sustainability.

Mason alumna Kristen Cavallo was named the Virginia Business Magazine Business Person of 2023, a distinction that recognizes her achievements in growing companies while emphasizing diversity in leadership.

Ioannis Bellos, academic director of Mason’s MBA program and associate professor of information systems and operations management at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University joined Mason in 2012 after graduating from Georgia Tech, where he completed his PhD in operation management.

For John Davis, the welcoming staff and unwavering support, as well as the discussion-based class structure he found at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University were the ideal conditions to succeed in the MBA program.