Four local colleges offer higher education

/ Potomac News
Published: July 31, 2008

Residents looking to begin or continue their post-high school education have several options in the Prince William County area. Four colleges and universities serve area residents in Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
George Mason University was established as an independent university in 1972, after 15 years as a Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia. GMU has made technology a primary focus and offered 68 undergraduate, 72 masters, 27 doctoral and one professional degree program in law to a total of 29,889 students in the fall of 2007. The university has a main campus in Fairfax and branches in Prince William County and Arlington, offering numerous undergraduate programs and graduate degrees in fields such as law, education, business and nursing.

The Prince William campus, at 10900 University Blvd. near the city of Manassas, houses programs in the life sciences, including bioscience, biotechnology, bioinformatics and biodefense. The Prince William campus also offers programs in teacher education, administration of justices, business, information technology, health and fitness, recreation, exercise science, health promotion, parks and outdoor recreation, sport management, therapeutic recreation, tourism and events management and athletic training.

The campus is also home to the Freedom Aquatic and Health Center, which offers group fitness classes, exercise equipment and a swimming pool.

For more information about the Prince William campus, call 703-993-8350. For general information about George Mason University, call 703-993-1000. Or visit the Web site at http://www.gmu.edu

NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NVCC)
Northern Virginia Community College is the largest institution of higher education in Virginia, with six campuses, including one in Manassas and one in Woodbridge. It is the second largest multi-campus community college in the country. In the 2007-2008 academic year, there were 61,000 students taking credit courses.

Apart from taking college transfer classes in liberal arts, business and computer science, students can take specialized vocational and technical courses such as automotive technology, biotechnology and welding at Manassas; or air conditioning and refrigeration courses and massage therapy courses taught at Woodbridge.

For more information on the Manassas Campus, at 6901 Sudley Road, call 703-257-6600. The Woodbridge Campus, 15200 Neabsco Mills Road, can be reached at 703-878-5700. Or visit the Web site at http://www.nvcc.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
The University of Mary Washington was first established in 1908. It opened first as a college for women and has evolved over the years into the coeducational university it is today. In 2004, its name legally changed from Mary Washington College to the University of Mary Washington. In the fall of 2004, the university offered more than 40 majors and programs of study to approximately 4,000 students enrolled at the university’s Fredericksburg campus. Mary Washington’s college of Graduate and Professional Studies is located in Stafford. For more information, call 540-654-1000, or visit http://www.umw.edu

STRAYER UNIVERSITY
With more than 100 years of experience educating working adults, Strayer University provides undergraduate and graduate degree programs on area campuses in Woodbridge and Manassas and other Northern Virginia locations. The local campuses offer degree programs in accounting, business, education, health services administration and informational technology, among others.

Strayer University offers undergraduate certificates, diploma programs and associates, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

For more information, call 1-888-4-STRAYER or visit http://www.strayer.edu-info.com. For details, call 703-878-2800 for the Woodbridge campus or 703-330-8400 for the Manassas campus. The Woodbridge campus is located at 13385 Minnieville Road; the Manassas campus is at 9990 Battleview Parkway.