New Graduate Students

• Pass your entrance exams
• Read the Graduate Student Handbook (you will need your PatriotPass password to access this link. See previous section to set up your password.)
  • This has all the information you will need about your degree program in general, but not all your specific tasks that change from semester to semester
• Have your initial advising meeting with Dr. Gregory Robinson.
  • In this meeting, Dr. Robinson will help you create a spreadsheet to track the courses you need, and how the courses you have taken will be assigned to fulfill the correct requirements on your degree audit
• For DMA students, ask Dr. Carrie Ann Delaney for the CRN (course section number) for your private lessons, since these change every semester
• Register for classes via Patriot Web
  • If you are still confused about exactly which courses you can register for to meet your Music History and Music Theory requirements, reach out to Dr. Robinson again.
• Sign up to audition for major ensembles, if you will play in them. These are scheduled by the head of each instrumental studio, so they will likely have reached out to you about this already.

• After you receive your admission decision, MA students should schedule your student advising meeting. You will meet with Dr. Karalee Dawn MacKay, your faculty advisor, to create an individual plan of study to determine which classes you will be taking. 
• You must determine if you will confirm your intent to enroll or not (you can also defer your enrollment to the following fall or withdraw) prior to the start of the semester. You will not be able to register without confirming your intent to enroll, found in your graduate application portal. 
• Register for classes selected with your Faculty Advisor in Patriot Web. Failure to do so will delay your graduation.
• Attend the Arts Management Program’s New Student Orientation (for MA and BAM students). Your invitation to attend the Arts Management Program’s New Student Orientation will be FOUND in your Mason gmu.edu email account. Make every effort to attend this as you will be able to:
  • Meet your fellow MA student peers
  • Meet and talk with current and recent alumni to hear success tips
  • Learn policies and expectations for Arts Management students
• Read and review the Arts Management Graduate Handbook

• Read the Graduate Student Handbook
  • This has all the information you will need about your degree program in general, but not all your specific tasks that change from semester to semester
• Have your initial advising meeting with Prof. Robert Yi
  • In this meeting, Prof. Yi will help you create a spreadsheet to track the courses you need, and how the courses you have taken will be assigned to fulfill the correct requirements on your degree audit
• Register for classes via Patriot Web
  • If you are still confused about exactly which courses to register for, please reach out to Prof. Yi again.

• Read the Graduate Student Handbook
  • This has all the information you will need about your degree program in general, but not all your specific tasks that change from semester to semester
• Have your initial advising meeting with Prof. Robert Yi
  • In this meeting, Robert Yi will help you create a spreadsheet to track the courses you need, and how the courses you have taken will be assigned to fulfill the correct requirements on your degree audit
• Register for classes via Patriot Web
  • If you are still confused about exactly which courses you can register for to meet reach out to Prof. Yi again.

• Please contact your faculty mentor and/or academic advisor for information:
  • Art Education – Prof. Robert Yi
  • Music Education – Dr. Tina Beveridge
  • Theater Education – Prof. Mimsi Janis

For domestic students who have moved to Virginia from outside the state, you will be considered and billed as an ‘out of state’ student at Mason. To be considered an ‘in-state’ student for domicile and tuition billing, Virginia law can be complicated. Decisions around domicile are made exclusively by the Domicile team in the Office of the University Registrar. Please visit that website or email the Domicile team for all information around domicile, including appeal requests. Appeal requests or an attempt to change domicile status for subsequent years requires providing extensive supporting documentation.

• The requirements for international students are primarily overseen by the Office of International Programs and Services, with information around visas and I-20s updating frequently. Please visit the Office of International Programs and Services for all information.
• All international GTA students must schedule and complete the CELTD Oral English Language Assessment before they begin any instructional duties.
  • The assessment is administered remotely and may be taken before the student arrives in the U.S.
  • It must be completed no later than the first day of classes.
  • Once scheduled, students must email Asma Omarzad with the date and time of their assessment.
  • To schedule the test, students should visit the GTA Testing site.

• Sign and submit your assistantship contract to Meghan Blydenburgh (this is different from the assistantship offer you received earlier in the summer). These are due no later than Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
• Finish all other hiring/onboarding paperwork required by HR
  • Much of this will be handled by Meghan Blydenburgh, George Mason’s Finance and HR Coordinator
• Complete mandatory training sessions. You will receive an email from Asma Omarzad with instructions for how to complete these trainings. Some only need to be done once, some are repeated. These trainings can be found at MasonLEAPS (Learning Evaluation and Performance System). You will also receive email reminders about these trainings as their deadlines approach.
  • Use your MasonID credentials to log in, and all trainings you must complete will be listed under “Your Action Items”.
  • Submit your certificate of completion of these trainings no later than August 23^rd
  • Reach out to Asma Omarzad if you have any trouble with MasonLeaps
  • Required trainings:
    • Returning GTAs must complete a refresher of the Graduate Teaching Training due to updated university policies.
    • FERPA 101 must be completed by all new GTAs and by returning GTAs every two years.
    • Security Awareness Training – Due within the first 14 days of employment
    • Access, Compliance, and Community Required Trainings– Due within the first 30 days
    • University Policy 1204 (Prohibited Relationships with Students) – Due within the first 30 days
    • Civility and Violence Prevention Training – Due within the first 90 days
    • Emergency Preparedness Training – Due within the first 90 days
  • Make sure you know how to navigate Canvas, and you have set up the page for the course you are teaching
    • Learn more about how to use Canvas
    • If you are still having trouble, you can drop in or send an email to the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning (Innovation Hall, Suite 412)
    • If your course has not been set up in your Canvas profile yet, you can email Canvas for help. You can also ask them for a “sandbox course,” if you want to practice using Canvas
  • If you are using a textbook for your class, get a copy of it early.
  • Make sure you have contacted the faculty contact overseeing the course you are teaching.
    • For MUSI 100: Fundamentals of Music or any course in Music Theory: Dr. Megan Lavengood
    • For MUSI 101: Introduction to Classical Music: Dr. Thomas Owens
    • For MUSI 102: Popular Music in America: Dr. Carrie Ann Delaney
    • For MUSI 103: Musics of the World: Dr. Gregory Robinson
    • For MUSI 171 and MUSI 273: Keyboard Skills: Dr. Linda Monson and Dr. Ina Mirtcheva-Blevins
    • For all instrumental methods classes: Applied Area Director (in most cases, this will be the professor who is teaching your private lessons)
  • Create your syllabus for the class you are teaching. Even if your faculty contact has already provided a syllabus and curriculum for you to use as a base, you must tailor it specifically to the current section you are teaching.
    • Remember to plan your tests and assignments so that you can submit midterm grades
    • Include the final exam schedule
    • Submit your syllabus for record to Lauren Rigby. There must be a syllabus on record for every class taught, as required for our accreditation.

• Pay your tuition bill. Tuition is due by the first day of classes. Remember that if you add or drop classes during the first week, your tuition will be adjusted, and you may need to make another payment to make up the difference.
• All other important dates are included in the Fall 2025 Academic Calendar, including registration deadlines, the add-drop period, midterm grades, and breaks
• Final exam schedule