Mason Impacts Students; Students Impact the World
Use your studies to build the foundation for a future that will enable you to tackle global questions and challenges:
Submit your Completed Mason Impact Project
Students who are part of the Mason Impact program are:
- Well-rounded scholars: You'll participate in multi-disciplinary and foundational learning in the classroom, through field work, and with research projects.
- Engaged citizens: You'll partner with organizations across campus to advocate for others and get involved in the global community.
- Prepared to act: Transformative learning experiences give you the opportunity to make a difference.
Mason Impact (MI) Courses provide the skills and knowledge for you to tackle global challenges. These courses are offered through every college and school, so no matter what you major, your studies can leave an impact.
Your Mason Impact Course may specialize in Research and Creative Activities (RS), Community Engagement and Civic Learning (CECL), and Career, Industry, and Entrepreneurship (ENTR). Through your time at Mason, you will experience courses focusing on each of the areas.
See where you can start making an impact through this list of MI designated courses.
Or if you want an experience tackling a global challenge, then browse the list above for Mason Impact + course and co-curricular experiences that engage you in a project that makes an impact.
Areas of Focus
Research and Creative Activities (RS)
You will conduct research to make an intellectual or creative contribution to your field of study, taking ownership of a project in the process.
Students will get support from Mason's Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research (OSCAR) in finding their path through an undergraduate research experience.
For sustainability based projects, visit the Patriot Green Fund for more information.
Visit the Research and Creative Activities page for more information (coming soon).
Community Engagement & Civic Learning (CECL)
Students participate in local, regional/state, national, or global community partnerships in the public or private sector that involve a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, resources, or services.
To learn more about Mason's commitment to community engagement and social justice visit the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning.
Visit the Community Engagement & Civic Learning page for more information (coming soon).
Career, Industry, and Entrepreneurship (ENTR)
Students see a problem as an opportunity to recommend a policy, start a business, create a prototype, or participate in their future profession. An MI+ENTR experience provides the opportunity for students to identify and address problems and challenges within a professional context.
Visit the Career, Industry, and Entrepreneurship page for more information (coming soon).
Through a Summer Team Impact Project, the Department of Bioengineering and the School of Dance collaborated on research into sensorimotor learning. Colleagues from the Department of Psychology and Mason's SMART Lab also participated.
Mason Impact Projects
You can choose to complete project that conducts in-depth studies that add to the world's knowledge, creates a new product, and enhances our communities.
Upon completion of your Mason Impact Project, you'll submit the best representation of your project to the Office of Undergraduate Education. At graduation, you'll receive a notation on your transcript containing the title of your project.
Students must submit projects to the student submissions page.
For more information, contact the Undergraduate Education Office.
Mason Impact Projects
The projects can:
- Be led by an individual student or a team of students.
- Be substantial in breadth, scope, scale, maturity, effort, and time involved.
- Draw from academic research and scholarly practice.
- Be presented to a public audience appropriate to the project and discipline.
The project submission can come in many forms including:
- papers
- novels
- slides
- videos
- audio
- anything that showcases your best work
Faculty or Staff Mentors
This could be your course professor, a one-on-one research guide, club sponsor, or any member of the Mason community. They will:
- Guide you through the process.
- Help develop and clarify your concept.
- Encourage you to embrace all-encompassing perspectives.
- Help share your knowledge with the world.
Student Learning Outcomes through Mason Impact Projects
- Understand how academic knowledge is generated and communicated, and how it can be used to address questions or problems within your discipline and in society.
- Identify and negotiate multiple perspectives, work collaboratively within and across multiple contexts, and engage ethically with your subject and with others.
- Use inquiry skills to articulate a question; engage in an inquiry process; and situate the concepts, practices, or results within a broader context, including:
- Asking increasingly complex questions about significant problems, debates, or challenges.
- Evaluating and choose inquiry methods that are appropriate to a project.
- Explaining how a project has value to local, civic, professional, scholarly, or global contexts.
- Design and carry out a project (individual or collaborative) that explores our original question, seeks a creative solution to a problem, applies knowledge to a professional challenge, or offers a unique perspective.
- Professionally communicate knowledge from your project through a presentation, publication, or performance to an audience beyond the classroom.
MINI Grants for Mason Impact Projects
You may be eligible to receive up to $500 for expenses and supplies needed to complete a Mason Impact Project. To be eligible you must:
- Be an undergraduate student currently enrolled at Mason.
- Plan on completing a Mason Impact Project the semester that you receive funding.
- Not be receiving funding from OSCAR or CECiL to complete this project during this semester.
- Be either part of a Mason Impact + course, experience, or conform to the definition of a Mason Impact Project, which can be found above.
Once you receive funding, you will be expected to submit your project to the Office of Undergraduate Education as a Mason Impact Project receiving a transcript designation. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the semester.