As a public institution in Virginia, George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government is one of the top values in education, offering a world-class education at affordable tuition rates with many opportunities for financial support.
The Schar School considers master’s and certificate applicants for merit-based scholarships as part of the application process. Scholarship decisions are made at the same time as admissions decisions, and students who wish to be considered need to indicate their interest in merit-based scholarships on their graduate application. No separate financial application is necessary. Each year, more than 75% of admitted students are offered some form of merit-based award.
At the master’s and certificate level, we do not offer full tuition scholarships, research assistantships, or graduate assistantships.
We highly encourage students to apply by our priority application dates for your specific program. However, applicants who have requested scholarship consideration will still be considered on a case-by-case basis throughout the application term.
Schar School Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's students are not eligible for these merit-based scholarships. To learn more about opportunities available to BAM students, please visit the Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's page.
Spring 2025 applicants
Dean's Merit: Awarded to in-state master's applicants- Award amounts vary up to a maximum of $10,000.
Dean's Fellow: Awarded to out-of-state master's applicants- Award amounts vary up to a maximum of $25,000.
Dean's Fellow (Certificate): Awarded to out-of-state certificate applicants- Award amounts vary up to a maximum of $10,000.
Foundation Awards: Awarded to in-state and out-of-state master’s applicants- Award amounts vary up to a maximum of $10,000.