- The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is at the very center of the university’s mission to serve as a hub of intellectual dynamism and diversity, a locus of local and global civic engagement, and an access point to excellence for individuals of all backgrounds. As one of the largest colleges at Mason, CHSS employs more than 700 faculty and staff, delivers critical courses for the university community.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers a wide variety of cost and time-efficient graduate certificates, master's degrees, and more than a dozen doctoral degrees, several of which are nationally ranked. We offer graduate programs online and in person, for both full and part-time students.
Graduate Degree Programs
Anthropology
Art History
Communication
- PhD, MA
- Graduate Certificate in Science Communication
Criminology, Law and Society
- PhD, MA
- Criminal Justice (MS)
Cultural Studies
Economics
English
- PhD Concentrations:
- Linguistics
- Writing and Rhetoric
- MA Concentrations:
- Cultural Studies
- Folklore Studies
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Professional and Technical Writing
- Teaching of Writing and Literature
- MFA in Creative Writing:
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Poetry
- Graduate Certificates:
- College Teaching
- Folklore Studies
- Literature and Composition
- Professional and Technical Writing
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
- Publishing Practice
Foreign Languages
- MA Concentrations:
- French
- Spanish
- Spanish/Bilingual-Multicultural Education
- Spanish and French
- Graduate Certificate:
- Spanish Heritage Language Education
Global Affairs
Higher Education
- PhD in Education Specialization in Higher Education
- MA in Higher Education and Student Development
- Graduate Certificates:
- College Teaching
- Higher Education Administration
History
- PhD, MA
- Graduate Certificate:
- Digital Public Humanities
Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)
- MA Concentrations
- Computational Social Science
- Energy and Sustainability
- Individualized Studies
- Religious Studies
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Social Justice and Human Rights
- War and the Military in Society
- Women and Gender Studies
Middle East and Islamic Studies
Philosophy
- MA Concentrations
- Philosophy and Cultural Theory
- Ethics and Public Affairs
Psychology
- PhD concentrations:
- Applied Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience
- Human Factors/Applied Cognition
- Industrial/ Organizational Psychology
- MA Concentrations:
- Applied Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience
- Human Factors/Applied Cognition
- Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- MPS Concentration:
- Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- Graduate Certificates:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Applied Psychology with a Concentration in:
- Usability
- Transportation Human Factors
Sociology