Students

Olga Diupina, who finished her bachelor's degree in three years, completed several research projects on the accessibility of higher education, finding inspiration in English-language learners’ transition from high school to college.

A science-fiction and espionage romance writer—who is also a Schar School PhD student in the biodefense program—reveals her true identity.

With thousands of people and countless opportunities, there’s a lot to take in at Virginia’s largest public research university. To help George Mason University students find community and boost their on-campus experience, Housing and Residence Life created Learning Communities (LC), where students with common interests live and learn together during the academic year.

Democracy Lab is one of the newest LCs. More than 60 freshmen from the Schar School of Policy and Government are enrolled for its inaugural year.

Starting a new job as a vaccine scientist at the same time as beginning a master’s degree might be daunting for some, but scholarship winner Lewis Grant is flourishing.

Ready for the future: Master’s in Public Administration student Dymon Bailey lands a prestigious state fellowship and a summer job in state government.

Illegal goods can have deadly consequences. Whether it’s a counterfeit face mask that doesn’t provide a frontline worker adequate protection from COVID-19, or a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl (a synthetic painkiller 50-100 times more potent than morphine), millions of lives can be at risk.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers and students at George Mason University is working to stop such criminal activity. Thanks to a nearly $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)—and a $16,000 grant supplement awarded to two undergraduates on the team—they will be investigating how to disrupt illicit supply chains, influence policy, and ultimately save lives.

Playing football for University of Notre Dame was something Steve Elmer said he could only dream of when he was younger. His talent combined with a scholarship had him playing on the field with a golden helmet as freshman. He became one of the team’s most experienced offensive linemen, having 30 starts to his name.

More than 400 students representing120 universities from across 30 countries competed to control a simulated pandemic. Three students from the Schar School advanced to the final round.

When Haider Semaisim works on the federally mandated database of global incidents of terrorism with George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, he does so with pride. It is not only an educational and professional endeavor, he said. “It’s personal.”