Contact Information
advising.gmu.edu
We encourage students to meet with their Academic Advisor at least once per semester to discuss any academic needs, degree progress, goals, interests, opportunities, or concerns. Schools and colleges across Mason offer a variety of academic advising services, including in-person and virtual advising meetings. These meetings can be scheduled appointments or drop-in advising where students are seen on a first-come, first-serve basis and no appointment is required. For more details on advising services for their major, students can utilize the Advisor Locator.
Here is a listing of the Schools/Colleges at George Mason:
Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (Carter)
College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)
College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) *If a student is not currently declared in a CEC major but wants to speak with an advisor, they should contact Undeclared/Undecided CEC advising. Only contact advising for the major you want once you meet the eligibility criteria to declare.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS)
College of Public Health (CPH)
College of Science (COS)
College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)
Costello College of Business (Costello)
Schar School of Policy and Government (Schar)
Exploratory (EXPL) (Exploratory Academic Advising services are offered to any current undergraduate students who have not yet decided on their major or want to explore other programs)
How will advising and class registration work this summer?
Your student registered for two sessions - an On-Campus Orientation session and a Virtual Advising & Registration Session. The Virtual Advising & Registration session will cover academic advising and class registration for the fall 2026 semester. Students will join a Zoom room with advisors from their school, who will provide them with information on their major and everything they need to build a schedule. Technology Requirements for the Virtual Advising & Registration Session are as follows:
- In order to access GMU Zoom and Mason email, students will need to set up their Net ID and password.
- A direct link to access your Zoom room will be sent to your George Mason inbox 2 days prior to your registered session date.
- Students will need access to a Wifi Enabled device with a web browser on their registered virtual date. For the live sessions, we encourage students to use a device with a webcam.
- During advising and registration, students may be asked to download documents from the college to reference along with the session.
**Due to FERPA Regulations, family members and supporters are NOT permitted in the Virtual Advising and Registration sessions. This part of Orientation is for Students ONLY.
Here are some questions families frequently ask us:
What does it actually mean to be "Exploratory" and how long can a student do it?
"Exploratory" is a formal major at the university, intended to give students curricular flexibility and decision-making guidance as they choose their major or transition between majors. Students can be "Exploratory" until they have earned 60 credit hours.
What major should my student choose if they want to go to medical school?
"Pre-med" is not a major and medical schools do not have preferences regarding undergraduate majors. Regardless of major, all pre-health students must complete the required prerequisites for their desired profession: https://prehealth.gmu.edu/professions/. Some majors, such as Biology and Neuroscience, tend to overlap significantly with many of the required prerequisites, but pre-health students are encouraged to choose the major at George Mason that they are most interested in.
