Overview

George Mason University conducts research that goes beyond the desire to know and understand; we want to make a difference. Our global outlook seeks to improve our quality of life while emphasizing safety and sustainability.

Office of Research Development

The Office of Research Development assists faculty, students and staff in identifying and seeking funding to increase George Mason’s funded research base by providing a limited submission process, coordination/identification of funding sources, hosting seminars and workshops, assisting with and coordinating large and complex proposal efforts, and offering individualized consulting sessions to faculty and research staff.

Office of Sponsored Programs

The OSP supports external funding for research, scholarly and creative pursuits while ensuring the university’s financial, contractual, and regulatory exposures are minimized. OSP provides guidance and support to the university’s community in its research efforts by:

  • Providing assistance in proposal budget development and proposal submission.
  • Reviewing, negotiating, and executing contracts with Mason that involve sponsored projects.
  • Collaborating with researchers, departmental administrators, and other administrators to resolve institutional cost-sharing, contractual, and budget issues.
  • Coordinating account changes, communicating with sponsors, and project closeout.
  • Reviewing and advising the Mason research community on new or revised federal and state laws, rules, and regulations that affect research administration.

Office of Research Integrity and Assurance

ORIA promotes ethical and responsible research by serving as a resource. The office provides policies, procedures, support, training and advice to aid researchers with compliance related to federal, state, university, and local regulations with regard to research. The office identifies compliance risks and alerts the research community, and monitors and investigates instances of noncompliance.

Office of Research Computing

The Office of Research Computing coordinates and supports the computing-related needs of the university’s research community. You can find a summary and pointers about the many aspects of research computing, including hardware and software resources, pre- and post-award support, and facilitation of multi-university research projects.

Environmental Health and Safety Office

EHS has a range of duties, including developing and maintaining laboratory safety policies, offering training and guidance on compliance with regulations and industry standards, and inspecting labs. The office has six functional areas; Emergency ManagementEnvironmental ComplianceFire SafetyOccupational HealthOccupational Safety; and Laboratory Safety(including Biological, Chemical, Laser, and Radiation Safety).

The Environmental ComplianceOccupational Health, and Laboratory Safety groups most closely support Mason research through laboratory risk assessments, medical surveillance, personal protective equipment selection, hazardous waste collection disposal, and safety training, and serves as administrative oversight for the Institutional Biosafety Committee and Radiation Safety Committee.

EHS is part of the department of Safety, Emergency & Enterprise Risk Management, which helps manage health, safety, environmental, emergency and risk management programs.

Office of Graduate Fellowships

Graduate fellowships provide support to master’s and doctoral students for research, writing, fieldwork, language study, professional development, or independent projects undertaken in conjunction with a degree program. The Office of Graduate Fellowships works to increase awareness, participation, and success in extramural fellowship competitions among Mason’s graduate students, with an emphasis on nationally competitive awards.

The Office of Graduate Fellowships offers:

  • Information sessions and announcements for fellowship competitions.
  • Workshops on how to find funding opportunities and craft strong applications.
  • One-on-one coaching and feedback during the application process.
  • General fellowship advising for graduate students
  • Support for faculty mentoring graduate students through the fellowship application process

Additional Research Resources