Grants and Writing Resources for George Mason University

Nearly a dozen George Mason students won nationally competitive fellowships and scholarships in spring 2026, Mason News reported in July. One history doctoral student holds both a Fulbright award and a Berlin Program Dissertation Fellowship for research on the racial politics of the German Democratic Republic from 1961 to 1996. In the Honors College, a neuroscience major earned a Goldwater Scholarship.

Undergraduate Research Funding

The Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) runs the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program for students who work with a faculty, staff or graduate student mentor. A fall or spring award is worth up to $1,500, with $1,000 for the student's materials and supplies and $500 for the mentor, and expects about 144 hours of work. The Intensive summer track pays $7,000, of which $6,000 is student pay, for roughly 360 hours. A student can receive URSP funding up to three times.

The Undergraduate Student Travel Fund reimburses up to $700 for presenting a project at a conference in the continental U.S. and up to $900 abroad, one trip a year. Undergraduates completing a Mason Impact project can draw a Mini Grant of up to $500 for research participants, lab equipment or art supplies.

Presenting and Publishing

OSCAR holds its Celebration of Student Scholarship at the end of the fall, summer and spring terms. The spring event is in person, with poster sessions, musical performances and student videos. Winners of the OSCAR Excellence Awards, one for undergraduate researchers and one for their mentors, are recognized at the spring Celebration.

Undergraduates in any major can submit scholarly work to the George Mason Review, Mason's peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal. It prints one issue each spring and pays a cash prize to its top three submissions. Volition prints student poetry, prose, photography and short screenplays twice a year.

Graduate students from the English and Art departments edit two literary journals. Phoebe has published since 1971 and sponsors the Greg Grummer Poetry Award along with fiction and creative nonfiction contests. So to Speak, founded in 1993 by women MFA candidates, publishes feminist and intersectional writing and art.

Graduate Fellowships and Grants

Doctoral candidates in their final semester can apply for a Dissertation Completion Grant. For spring 2027 the grant is $12,500 plus tuition for up to three dissertation credits, and recipients take no other campus assignment or outside job during the term. For summer 2027, the Summer Research Assistantship pays $9,000 to doctoral students and $7,000 to master's students for a summer of thesis or dissertation research at 20 hours a week.

Doctoral students with at least 48 credits of coursework can compete as Doctoral Research Scholars. In the 2026-2027 competition the top tier carries a $25,000 stipend and 6 to 9 credits of tuition for 998 and 999 courses. Conference presenters can apply to the Graduate Student Travel Fund, which pays between $150 and $1,000 a fiscal year depending on distance and type of presentation. Mason's Three Minute Thesis pays $1,000 for first place. For nationally competitive outside awards, the Office of Fellowships advises current students and recent alumni.

Writing Help and Thesis Format

The Writing Center gives free face-to-face, Zoom and written-feedback appointments to Mason students, faculty and staff. Graduate writers can book one thesis and dissertation consultation a week. Each is a 45-minute meeting with a PhD or advanced master's student who reads 7 to 20 pages beforehand and shows the writer how to edit and proofread the draft. Friday write-ins set aside the morning for graduate students to write, in person or on Zoom.

Every thesis and dissertation passes a mandatory format review by University Dissertation and Thesis Services (UDTS), which checks the document against the University Formatting Guidelines and reviews formatting only. Final copies go into MARS, the Mason Archival Repository Service, where an author can delay public access with an embargo.

Since UDTS looks only at format, a Mason thesis can come to our editors first for a final read of grammar and citation consistency. See our George Mason University dissertation and thesis editing and George Mason University essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Write an Analytical Essay: Analysis vs. Interpretation
• ProQuest Readiness: The Final Mechanical Audit
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter