George Mason University enrollment has surpassed 40,000 for this year, which is a record not only for GMU, but also for any school In Virginia.
GMU also reports its largest freshman class in school history, with 4,500 freshmen enrolled.
George Mason’s enrollment announcement precedes the official count, which has not been yet released by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
GMU’s record enrollment bucks the national trend of steadily falling college enrollment over the past decade.
“In a state where higher education has been around for more than 300 years, this is a moment in history of which we are particularly proud,” said University President Gregory Washington. “It is particularly gratifying knowing that we are holding steady on our student-to-faculty ratio and maintaining our overall graduation rates, which are well above the national average.”
GMU’s six-year graduation rate is 71%. Its student-to-faculty ratio is 16-to-1.
Nearly 80% of GMU graduates remain in Virginia and the D.C. area after graduation.
India remains the largest source of international students at the university, accounting for 1,500 enrollments over the past three years.
George Mason University, whose main campus is in Fairfax, is also the largest public research university in Virginia, with more than $200 million in George Mason-sponsored research in 2020. The school ranked No. 9 among public institutions for innovation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 rankings of best colleges, and No. 18 overall.
The school marked its 50th anniversary last year.
