George Mason University is an institution of higher education in northern Virginia. George Mason calls itself a “distributed university” because it operates three campuses, each with a specific focus in its course offerings. The campuses are the Arlington Campus in Arlington, Virginia, the Prince William campus in Manassas, Virginia, and the Fairfax campus in Fairfax, Virginia.
George Mason College was established in Fairfax in 1957 as a two-year branch college of the University of Virginia. The college was named for George Mason, a Virginia planter and statesman who helped write the Constitution of the United States but refused to sign it because he disagreed with parts of the final document. George Mason became a four-year college in 1966 and added graduate programs in 1970. It adopted its present name when it severed its ties to the University of Virginia in 1972.
The university’s website at https://www.gmu.edu/ offers additional information.
