Colleges in Fairfax County
There are 5 colleges in Fairfax County drawing students from all areas of Northern Virginia as full-time residents and commuters. George Mason University is located next to the City of Fairfax, and offers 168 degree programs for about 30,000 students. Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) has campuses in Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Loudoun, Manassas, Reston Center, Springfield (Medical Campus), & Woodbridge. and Extended Learning Institute (ELI Distance Learning). NVCC is an inexpensive alternative to earning a degree, transfer credits to a four-year institution, get technical certifications, and attend courses for career enhancement through several learning divisions. The Northern Virginia Center offers undergraduate and graduate courses from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech (VPI). The Northern Virginia Center is located at the West Falls Church Metro Station, and programs are designed for working adults seeking degrees in business administration through the Darden School of Business, computer science, engineering, information technology, languages, natural resources, science and technology studies, and several other fields. The Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program (CGEP) also provides advanced degrees designed for working adults. This is a distance learning program offering Master’s degrees, certificate programs, & webinar programs through GMU, ODU, UVA, VCU, & VT (VPI). Stratford University (Falls Church) offers two and four-year degrees, as well as postgraduate degrees for Accounting & Business Management, Medical Technology & Nursing, Hotel, Restaurant, & Hospitality Management, Information Technology, Telecommunications, & Software Engineering.
This image of George Mason is a 7-foot statue on the Fairfax campus between the Johnson Center and the de Laski Performing Arts Building. It portrays the statesman presenting his first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights.The largest of all colleges in Fairfax County is the main campus of George Mason University (GMU) which is next to the City of Fairfax. It was founded in 1957 as a branch campus of the University of Virginia (UVA). In 1959 the institution became George Mason College of the University of Virginia. The Fairfax Campus was expanded to 600 acres in 1966. In 1972 the Virginia General Assembly separated UVA from GMU. Since then George Mason University has become part of NCAA Division I athletics. The institution has also opened campuses in Arlington (Virginia Square-GMU Metrorail Station on the Orange Line), the 124 acre Prince William Campus in Manassas at Innovation Park, and the Loudoun Campus in Sterling (Route 7-Leesburg Pike). George Mason University enrollment includes 35,000 full-time students (7,000 resident). The Arlington Campus originally served as the George Mason University Law School. It has expanded to include the Colleges of Education & Human Development, Health & Human Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences, Visual & Performing Arts, and Schools for Conflict Analysis & Resolution, Management, and Public Policy. The George Mason University Science and Technology Campus in Prince William County near the City of Manassas, showcases the Freedom Aquatics & Fitness Center, Hylton Performing Arts Center, Verizon Auditorium, Mason Enterprise Center (small business services), Mason Center for Team & Organizational Learning (The EDGE), and the National Center for Biodefense & Infectious Diseases. Fields of study at the Prince William campus include:
- Applied Information Technology
- Advanced Biomedical Science Program
- College of Education and Human Development
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Science
- College of Visual and Performing Arts
- Criminology, Law and Society
- Environmental Science and Policy
- Governor’s School @ Innovation Park
- Recreation, Health & Tourism
- School of Nursing
Besides the six campuses of Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), there are educational centers at Arlington, Fort Belvoir, Innovation Park (Manassas), Quantico, and Reston. NVCC has more than 160 associate degree and certificate programs, ELI courses, and more than 1,000 developmental courses and course work designed for Associate of Arts and Associate of Science Degrees. The Guaranteed Admissions Agreements and Articulation Agreements with four-year Virginia institutions have made NVCC a smart and inexpensive path to four-year degrees. NVCC also offers full-time students basketball, cross-country, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball teams governed by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Intramural sports are also part of NVCC athletics.
