For Graduate Students

HOURS OF OPERATION:  M-F 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

ACADEMIC ADVISING is available virtually, in-person, or via email.  

Virtual or in-person advising appointments:
Must be scheduled in advance.  PhD students email Emily Gibson at egibson5@gmu.edu , MA students email Valerie Sasser at econgrad@gmu.edu using your Mason email account (all University personnel are required to communicate only via Mason email) to request an appointment.  Please include "Advising requested" in your subject line.

Email Advising Questions:
PhD students email Emily Gibson at egibson5@gmu.edu , MA students email Valerie Sasser at  econgrad@gmu.edu using your Mason email account (all University personnel are required to communicate only via Mason email).  Please include a subject line that accurately indicates your question.  We prioritize based on subject lines and date received.

The Department of Economics at George Mason University offers a master's and a doctoral degree in economics. The department is noted for its emphasis on both quantitative and qualitative comparative institutional analysis and its focus on the relations among economic, political, and legal institutions. This is reflected in the specializations associated with the department:  Austrian economics, constitutional political economy, experimental economics, law and economics, new institutional economics, and public choice. We offer a strong core of courses in applied economics and our faculty apply economic theory to a wide range of allied disciplines, including political science, philosophy, sociology, history, and classics.

For our Current Graduate Students in Economics 

The Economics Graduate Studies Office is responsible for matters related to the department’s graduate programs. This office is your department resource for information and questions about the relevant rules and procedures required for completing your graduate degree.

The staff of the Graduate Studies Office provide advising and monitoring of degree requirements for our graduate student cohorts:

  • PhD in economics program
  • MA in economics (On-Campus option)
  • MA in economics (Online option)
  • Bachelors/Accelerated Masters Economics program.

Professor Carlos Ramirez, as the Director of Graduate Programs, has overall responsibility for the administration of the Economics Graduate Studies Office and all its programs which includes graduate funding matters and admission decisions to each of our graduate programs. He also serves as the PhD Director and MA Director of the MA On-Campus option.  

Professor Chris Coyne serves as the MA Director of the MA Online option and primarily oversees admission to the program and advising.

Emily Gibson (Graduate Coordinator) and Valerie Sasser (Graduate Programs Assistant) organize and coordinate the flow of work and information both within the Economics Graduate Studies Office and between the Office and other University units. They should be your first point of contact for advising as well as most of your issues, questions, and forms. Emily Gibson can be contacted by emailing egibson5@gmu.edu , Valerie Sasser can be contacted by emailing econgrad@gmu.edu.