College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS)

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences—the largest college on campus—houses programs spanning disciplines from philosophy to economics. Students benefit from concentrated faculty involvement in a traditional liberal arts college setting. Our educational approach blends the intellectual with the practical, preparing students for professional and civic life. The college teaches nearly every undergraduate at George Mason and offers a rigorous graduate curriculum and nationally ranked programs (many are underwritten by government grants and private donations). We are committed to providing a challenging education, expanding the frontiers of knowledge through research, and contributing intellectual leadership to the 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

• MA

Art History

• MA

Communication

• PhD, MA
• Graduate Certificate in Science Communication

Criminology, Law and Society

• PhD, MA
• Criminal Justice (MS)

Cultural Studies

• PhD
• MA (Concentration of English MA)

Economics

• PhD, MA

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

Foreign Languages

• MA Concentrations:
• French 
• Spanish 
• Spanish/Bilingual-Multicultural Education 
• Spanish and French 
• Graduate Certificate: 
• Spanish Heritage Language Education

Global Affairs

• MA

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

• MA
• Graduate Certificate

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

• PhD, MA