Proximity to D.C.

“George Mason University has a strategic location that offers students in the civil engineering program great opportunities to move their careers forward. I received an internship offer when I went to the career fair. I had the pleasure of speaking and meeting with different construction companies and leaders in the field of civil, environmental, and infrastructure engineering.”

— Hussein Elsayed, senior in civil and infrastructure engineering.

Mason, Virginia’s largest public research university, is located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor, near Washington, D.C. The area is rich with opportunities for internships, jobs, research, and entertainment.

A photo of the DC skyline at night with a colorful busy highway.

Mason’s location near Washington, D.C., as well as the Dulles tech corridor, provides our civil and infrastructure engineering students with a variety of internship and career opportunities. We also offer professionals in the area the opportunity to enhance their skills through advanced degrees.

Our students have regular contact with industry and government agencies. They benefit from internships with local companies and networking opportunities with our advisory boardalumni, and student organizations.

Our department has a close working relationship with some of the top engineering firms in the area. These companies fund scholarships, hire our students and advise us on our curriculum.

Some of the companies we work with include:

Faculty Excellence

Many of our faculty members do research for government agencies and the contractors who support them, including U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the research branches of Virginia's state agencies.

Easy Access to Industry, Culture, Entertainment, and Natural Resources

Our Fairfax Campus is located in the Washington, D.C., metro area, which is rich in culture and history. It's also less than an hour from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. You can travel to the nation’s capital by taking our free shuttles to the Metro to visit world-class museums, attend live theater and concerts, or go to sports events. If you head west, you can hike the trails of the Appalachian Mountains, or enjoy the waters of the Shenandoah River.

Three major airports serve the region: Washington Dulles InternationalReagan National, and Baltimore Washington International. Or you can keep your feet on the ground and travel by train from Union Station in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia. You can also catch buses at Union Station.

Group of students digging ground in lake and pushing a canoe.

Mason civil engineering students prepare to race their concrete canoe in the Potomac River during the annual Concrete Canoe Competition sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers.