College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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The George Mason University Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

Does GMU have a good student to faculty ratio?

Use the student to faculty ratio, as well as the faculty composition to get an idea of how much attention you'll receive as an individual student at GMU .

Below Average Student to Faculty Ratio

Student to faculty ratio is one of the standard metrics used to gauge the number of teaching resources a school provides for its students. With 17 students for every one instructional faculty member, George Mason University has more students split among the same faculty when compared to the national average of 15 . This metric might be an indicator that larger class sizes may be the norm, especially in introductory courses.

Breakdown of Instructional Staff

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by George Mason University as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees2,6931,3991,29451.9%
Total of Those With Faculty Status2,6931,3991,29451.9%
Tenured Faculty692686699.1%
On Tenure Track228228-100.0%
Not on Tenure Track1,7734851,28827.4%
Without Faculty Status----
Graduate Assistants846-846-

Reliance on Part-Time Teachers is About Average

At George Mason University ,52.0% of the teaching staff are full time, which is on average when compared nationally.

Use of Part-Time Teachers is About Average

48.0% of the teaching staff at George Mason University are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This use of adjuncts is on par with the national average of 51.4% .

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

You May End Up Getting Taught by a Grad Assistant

George Mason University has 846 instructional graduate assistants that teach or provide teaching-related duties. These responsibilities could range from entirely teaching lower-level courses themselves, to assisting professors by developing teaching materials, preparing or giving exams and grading student work. We suggest you ask the college to what extent graduate assistants are relied on for instruction, so you know what you are paying for.

Additionally, the school has 704 non-instructional graduate assistants.

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