Mason Recognized in Top 100 of Academic Ranking of World Universities

By Catherine Ferraro

For the second year in a row, Mason was ranked as one of the top 100 North and Latin American universities by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The analysis is conducted annually by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Institute of Higher Education.

Results can be found on the institute’s web site.

Universities are ranked by several indicators of academic or research performance. These include the number of alumni and staff members who have won Nobel Prizes or Fields Medals; the prevalence of highly cited researchers; the number of faculty articles published in the journals Nature and Science; and the frequency with which articles are indexed in major citations indices. The per capita academic performance of an institution is also considered.

“Mason is honored to be recognized for a second year in a row by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities,” says Mason Provost Peter Stearns.

“This is an illustration of how committed Mason is to strengthening its relationships and boosting its global reputation with universities in the United States and abroad.”

As an institution that has made global education a priority, Mason offers a wide range of academic programs, from undergraduate degrees in global affairs and global and environmental change to doctoral programs in climate dynamics and other fields that foster global understanding. Several programs also require global residencies in which students learn how to live and work in a global society.

The university has also established research and educational collaborations abroad that provide opportunities for students and faculty members to work outside of the United States, participate in international research initiatives and address social issues around the world.

For example, the Sino-America 1+2+1 dual degree program, which Mason joined in 2004, is an international education initiative that brings American and Chinese universities together to offer dual degrees to Chinese undergraduate students.

In the program, students spend their freshman year at a Chinese university, their sophomore and junior years at an American university and their senior year back at their original university in China. After completing the program, students receive baccalaureate degrees from both schools.

The first 15 graduates of Mason’s 1+2+1 program received undergraduate degrees at a graduation ceremony in China in summer 2008, followed by 25 more students in summer 2009. Currently, there are approximately 90 students in the program in their second and third years of study.

Mason also provides its students opportunities to study almost anywhere in the world through its Center for Global Education. The center offers short-term, semester and yearlong honors study abroad; international internships; and intensive language programs in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South America and the South Pacific.

Through Mason’s numerous centers and institutes, faculty members and students are working on some of the most pressing issues around the globe, including conflict analysis and resolution, Earth observing and space research, health policy research and international education.

Article Link : http://news.gmu.edu/articles/1173

Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2009 List : http://www.arwu.org/Americas2009.jsp

Mason Ranking for 2010

Mason ranked # 2 on U.S. News and World Report's new list of “Up-and-Coming Schools” for 2010. Although we lost our top position for this year but I am confident we will be on top again next year.

Check the complete list here.

Mason tops the list of schools to watch for 2009

By Dave Andrews and Tara Laskowski Mason was named the nation’s number one university to watch on U.S. News and World Report's new list of “Up-and-Coming Schools” published on Friday, Aug. 22. The list, comprising 70 colleges and universities across the country, identifies “schools that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities.” In its annual peer assessment survey, U.S. News asked education experts to identify schools that met those criteria. This is the first time a list of up-and-coming schools has been created. "Being recognized by U.S. News & World Report for this is both an honor and validation of our efforts,” says Mason President Alan Merten. “This acknowledgment is something that every one of our faculty, staff, students and alumni should be proud of.” Celebrating its 37th anniversary in 2009, Mason has strong academic and research programs, which concentrate on producing successful students and accomplished alumni with a global focus. The university has a reputation for forward-thinking academic offerings. In the 1980s, Mason established the first engineering school in the country to focus on information technology to meet the workforce needs of an emerging high-tech economy. Mason was also the first university in the country to offer doctoral programs in conflict resolution, bioinformatics, computational social sciences, and information technology; and the first to offer a graduate degree in biodefense. In the past three years, Mason has added 27 degree programs, including advanced degrees in climate dynamics, information security, and neuroscience; as well as undergraduate degrees in conflict analysis and resolution, global affairs, global and environmental change and film and video studies. The university also partnered with the Smithsonian Institution in fall 2007 to create the Smithsonian Semester, which allows students to live on-site at the Conservation and Research Center of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and study global-scale conservation issues and civic concerns. The university boasts some of the most cutting-edge research in the biosciences, from cancer research to thwarting biological weapons. Its new biomedical research laboratory is one of 13 nationwide being built with the help of a $25 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The university's students are innovators as well. From discovering new galaxies to lobbying legislators on policy issues, Mason students have success in all areas. Mason has one of the strongest undergraduate research programs, and students regularly publish research that contributes to the knowledge of their field. The school has produced acclaimed authors, popular television personalities, celebrated Olympic athletes and renowned scientists. Mason is a young university that continues to grow. The school is in the midst of its largest structural transformation ever, investing more than $500 million in construction between 2002 and 2013. Highlights include multiple new academic buildings, an on-campus hotel and conference center and what will soon be one of the largest academic, residential communities in Virginia. “For universities or colleges to achieve and maintain excellence, it is imperative that they continually seek ways to be innovative, enhance their academic programs and upgrade their facilities,” says Provost Peter Stearns. “This strategy has allowed our faculty to pursue their research, and students to achieve their educational goals.” Ranking List http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-uc-rank Source http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/12396/