Tuition Discount for Virginia Educators

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at George Mason University is delighted to offer a tuition discount to Virginia educators.

The discount is 15% off the university’s approved rate for in-state graduate students (current rate information). The discount is available to Virginia educators who meet the requirements outlined below. Exclusion applies to courses that are already discounted, and the fully online programs offered in 8-week modules. Note: If you are taking courses as part of a contract cohort, information about tuition discounts will be provided by your cohort coordinator.

To receive the discount, you'll need to submit a short online form called "Tuition Discount for Virginia Educators."

For the Spring 2025 semester, the form is due by January 28th. We don't want you to miss out on the opportunity to save money on your education — be sure to submit the application form by the deadline!

Go to form

Deadline to apply for the tuition discount

The Spring 2025 tuition discount application must be received by January 28th, to be applied toward fall courses. The discount will not be applied until you have registered for courses for the Spring 2025 semester. If you have any questions regarding the Tuition Discount for Virginia Educators, please contact us at teachva@gmu.edu.

We strongly encourage you to submit your application well before the application deadline because it will make receiving your discount quicker and easier.

How to apply

1. Review the eligibility requirements below.
2. Login to the form to begin the application process. You'll need to know your George Mason email address and password.
3. After you login, you'll get to the "Tuition Discount for Virginia Educators" form. Fill out the form and then click "Submit."
4. An email will be automatically sent to you via your school email address. Please click on the link in this verification email to confirm that your school email address is active and current.
5. One of the questions on the form asks for your supervisor’s contact information. As part of the application process, we will contact him or her to ask for verification that you are a permanently hired employee at a school located in Virginia.
6. Please note: If you need to make any modifications to your application after it has been submitted, the email verification process (steps #4 and #5 above) will restart. Both you and your supervisor will receive new verification emails. If your supervisor has already confirmed your employment, he/she will have to confirm again.

Eligibility requirements

To receive the tuition discount, you'll need to submit the application form by the deadline above and be:

• An educator working in a public or non-public P-16 school located in Virginia.
  Student must be a contractual employee working in a Virginia Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 school as a teacher, counselor, administrator, supervisor, librarian, coach, or support staff member or an educator at the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC).
• A student NOT in one of our fully online degree or certificate programs as listed below:  
  • MEd, Curriculum & Instruction (concentration in Teaching English as a Second Language)
  • MS, Learning Design & Technology
  • Certificate in Learning Technology - eLearning
  • Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
  • MEd, Special Education
• A resident of Virginia, as determined by the university's admissions office.
  Student's domicile must be in Virginia as determined by George Mason University's admissions office. For questions, please see the Domicile FAQ.
• A student who has been accepted into a graduate program in the College of Education and Human Development.
  Student must be primarily enrolled in a CEHD graduate program (i.e., master's, PhD, certificate, or non-degree graduate program). The tuition discount is not available, for example, to students who take CEHD courses but are primarily enrolled in programs offered by another college at the university.
• A student registered for one or more courses that are graduate-level, for-credit, and full-fee.
  The tuition discount cannot be applied to already discounted "contract" courses. (Contract courses are those offered to teachers and other educators through arrangements made between a qualifying organization and George Mason University). The tuition discount also cannot be applied to non-credit-bearing courses.

Frequently asked questions

• When will I know if I received the discount?

  Please click on the button below to login and check the status of your application. As soon as your application is approved, you will receive a congratulatory email from CEHD with further information.
  

  Check your application status

• Why should I submit my tuition discount application early?

  We strongly encourage you to submit the tuition discount application form as soon as possible but no later than the January 28th deadline. 

  If you submit the tuition discount application form to CEHD before January 21st and are approved for a discount, your balance due on Patriot Web will automatically reflect the discounted rate.

  If you submit the tuition discount application form to CEHD after January 21st, the process may be more cumbersome. This is because we cannot guarantee that your application will be approved and the discount applied before your payment for Spring 2025 is due to the Student Accounts Office. If this is the case, you will need to pay your bill in full by the due date to avoid university late fees and/or holds. Then, once CEHD notifies you that your tuition discount has been approved, you’ll need to wait two business days for the discount to be reflected as a credit on your balance due on Patriot Web. You can then request a refund through the Student Accounts Office.

• Will I need to submit the application form again next semester?

  No! If you are approved in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025, you will be approved for the entire 2024-2025 academic year. You will only need to fill the form out each Fall.

• What if I'm an out-of-state student?

  A tuition discount for CEHD out-of-state students is available.

• What about the other fees on my bill?

  The Virginia Educator discount only applies to tuition and mandatory student fee. Other fees are not included.

• Can I get the tuition discount on the courses I took in past semesters?

  No. The discount cannot be applied retroactively to previous semesters.

• Who do I contact about additional questions?

  If you have additional questions, please contact us via email at teachva@gmu.edu or phone at 703-993-3470 (please leave a voice mail).