George Mason prepares to recognize more than 5,200 winter graduates

George Mason University will honor more than 5,200 students graduating or earning certificates at Winter Commencement at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at EagleBank Arena on the Fairfax Campus.

The event will be livestreamed on George Mason’s YouTube channel. Doors open an hour before the ceremony.

The winter graduates hail from 89 countries and 45 states, and 27% of bachelor’s degree recipients identify as first-generation graduates.

The guest speaker will be George D. Schindler, former president and chief executive officer of business and information technology company CGI. The student speaker is Caroline Little, graduating with a bachelor of arts in psychology.

Degree celebrations for nine George Mason schools and colleges also will take place this week at EagleBank Arena and those too will be livestreamed.

Tickets are required for all guests at Commencement and degree celebration ceremonies.

The top five majors among the 2,993 undergraduates in the winter Class of 2024 are business; psychology; computer science; information technology; and criminology, law and society.

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors account for 31% of students earning bachelor’s degrees and 35% of students earning advanced degrees. Both totals increased from last year, affirming George Mason’s standing as a top producer of tech talent for Northern Virginia and the state.

For the 1,696 students earning master’s degrees, the top five majors are data analytics engineering, special education, curriculum and instruction, computer science, and business administration.

The top majors for the 200 students earning doctoral degrees are education, biosciences, computer science, psychology, and writing and rhetoric.

The winter graduating class also includes four law school graduates.