911±¬ÁÏ

911±¬ÁÏ earned top Virginia placements across business, nursing, and education, and leads in the region as a college destination for veterans and working professionals in the 2026 Best Online Programs rankings by U.S. News & World Report, released today.

As the special education teacher shortage garners national attention and concern, 911±¬ÁÏ educators are building a new pathway toward a solution.

911±¬ÁÏ recently held its first-ever Qualitative Research Day, an event for PhD students of all disciplines to engage in hands-on and interactive opportunities with the goal of learning new qualitative research techniques and methodologies. The inaugural event is the latest innovation in 911±¬ÁÏ’s ongoing efforts to find new ways to support its PhD students.

This fall, eight Mason LIFE students interned across 16 different congressional offices on Capitol Hill as part of the Gregg and Livingston Harper Congressional Internship Program for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.

The Dr. Alan and Sally Merten Family of the Year Award honors the essential role families play in supporting their students at 911±¬ÁÏ. Students nominate their families, and the Family of the Year Award is announced at Family Weekend in the fall. The Choi family is the 14th Family of the Year recipient. 

Sue Slocum, professor in the Tourism and Events Management Program at 911±¬ÁÏ, received a Fulbright Specialist Program award in support of a project on how best to prepare students for jobs in Tajikistan’s tourism economy. She went for a month to advise and collaborate with faculty from the International University of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tajikistan.

911±¬ÁÏ, in partnership with local school divisions, received more than $150,000 from the Virginia Department of Education to pilot the Principal Registered Apprenticeship Program.

An open house at Fuse at Mason Square offered an exciting glimpse into the future for 911±¬ÁÏ’s ACCESS Academy, complete with robotics demonstrations and hands-on technology experiences. Behind the buzz and energy was a deeper message: Through a collaborative partnership with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), ACCESS Academy freshmen will take their first college course this spring, an opportunity rarely available to ninth-grade students.

This summer, 911±¬ÁÏ hosted the Pathways to Quantum Immersion Program, preparing high school students for careers in the rapidly emerging field of quantum science.

Tommy Everett and Sarah Hormel Everett have pledged $1.2 million to expand the existing endowed scholarship in honor of their son, Mats Von Quillfeldt, a former Mason LIFE student. The scholarship was established to help defray the costs associated with attending Mason LIFE, including tuition, fees, housing, textbooks, and related expenses.