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The Schar School welcomed its first cohort into the newly launched National Security and Public Policy master’s program.

Gabriella Grabovska came to the United States in 2022 just after Russia invaded her homeland of Ukraine. The Kyiv native’s first visit to the United States was as a ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ student in the Schar School of Policy and Government. Now, four years later, she’s leaving with ambition, experience, and a clear mission.

Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns. In the case of ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ lacrosse twins Kaitlyn and Regan Bestick, that road has split and come back together several times. Now, as they compete in their final season together and prepare to separate again, they reflect on their time in the Mason Nation.

Eighty-one energetic Patriots traveled to Richmond on March 5 for Mason Lobbies, where ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ President Gregory Washington joined House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, BA Economics ’93, and Senator Saddam Salim, BS Public Administration ’12, MPA ’15, in welcoming students to the General Assembly for a whirlwind day of advocacy.

A new minor, the only one of its kind in the Washington, D.C., region, teaches the arts of lobbying and advocacy. Read about the program and how a collaboration between a mentor and a student developed it.

The Schar School of Policy and Government at ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ is proud to partner with the Peace Corps as a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program institution, expanding opportunities for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) to pursue graduate education while continuing their commitment to service in communities across the United States.

TraCCC becomes CONTRA: The first center to examine transnational crime and corruption adds criminal networks to its mandate and changes its name.

The 2026 Peter N. Stearns Provost Scholar-Athlete Awards have been announced. Meet the four Schar School students who are not only elite athletes but elite scholars.

Honors College student Marisa Parikh embodies the drive, curiosity, and global mindset that define ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ students. She serves as president of Be the Change, a student-led organization dedicated to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on campus. Under her leadership, the group focuses on raising awareness and inspiring action around the goals that most directly affect George Mason students. 

Researchers led by a team from the Schar School analyzed decades’ worth of data to draw a map of the world’s biggest buyers and sellers of illicit kidneys. See what nations perpetrate this international crime.