George Mason University - School of Law

George Mason University’s law students agree that “the professors are brilliant” and “Mason is a hidden gem that prepares students for actual practice better than any other law school out there.” However, there’s plenty more to say about the school that incites a disagreement typical of students who are being taught to argue for a living. Some contend that “one of the school’s strengths is the four-semester legal writing requirement” while some refer disparagingly to “the nightmare of a writing program that the school has instituted.” Others synthesize the two arguments: “The students often complain about the [legal writing] program, but most recognize that it is tremendously useful and will help them with future legal opportunities.” Students are similarly divided on GMU’s pedagogical ethos: some assert that “there is a very good blend of theory and practical knowledge conveyed” in the curricula, while others maintain that “the emphasis on economics in many ways is distracting from understanding the black letter law” or that “this is a patent law heavy school with unequal opportunities for students with social science rather than hard science backgrounds.” GMU is stringent about its graduation requirements, leading some students to complain about “too many required courses,” yet students also appreciate that “there are many classes available to practice both courtroom advocacy and writing skills, and taking part in these classes has given me invaluable experience for litigation.”
In terms of faculty, administration, and other on-campus support, students feel that GMU’s “administration is vested in student outcomes” and that “the staff is unbelievably open to outside discussion and help providing high government contacts and networking.” The university’s ten minutes away from Washington, D.C., provides a major asset to job-seeking graduates “with ready access to fabulous internships and other educational opportunities at a public school price.” This proximity also creates a culture of working lawyers amongst its faculty: “most of the professors aren’t just professors. They’re also practicing attorneys or policy specialists who have major influences on their respective fields, and on the development of those fields.” Students find the school’s facilities “extremely up to date” and “outstanding,” and extol the librarians: “The librarians are perhaps the most wonderful people on campus.” There are some complaints about the law school’s relationship to the rest of the university: students claim “the law school is like the estranged step-child to the main campus,” that they “could use better amenities,” and that they sometimes “feel like nothing more than a cash cow to the main campus in Fairfax” due to rising tuition prices in the last few years. That said, Virginia locals appreciate the “in-state tuition rate,” which is “relatively cheap.”

Even as they argue about, well, everything, GMU students seem to like each other, reporting that the school’s culture has a “down-to-earth personality” and that “George Mason invites very bright and hard working students.” “There is a social scene if you want it but most prefer to keep it to the weekends,” and students observe a “Great community.” They attribute this to the intimacy of the program: “GMU has small class sizes. This leads to more approachable professors and a greater camaraderie between the students. Though it is still competitive, I have not seen any animosity or heard about nefarious acts by students.” This supportive social atmosphere is mirrored in the “Safe, well-lit campus,” which is “metro accessible” to D.C. and the other surrounding areas. This, as well as the school’s wide offering of evening classes, makes GMU a good choice for working or commuting students: “Being an evening student I appreciate the fact that the night courses are taught by the same faculty as the day classes.”
GMU hardly conveys that liberals need not apply, but prospective students are well-advised to know that “the school has a noticeable libertarian (not necessarily conservative) bias, but the faculty and students are accepting of other viewpoints and willing to engage in respectful debate.” Some attest that “there is no ideological diversity” and that the school could use “more diversity of viewpoints on the faculty,” but many others value the school’s “conservative perspective deriving from its focus on law and economics.” In general, though, GMU’s law students feel “camaraderie” in their peer community, and like that GMU is “not a cutthroat environment.”