Bachelor of Arts, Major in Biological Sciences

at San Jose State University USA

Learning Outcomes

• Describe and explain how peoples and societies evolve across time and space demonstrating the importance of context (social, political, economic, cultural, environmental, ideological, and technological).
• Illustrate the complexity of historical causality and describe past events from multiple perspectives.
• Analyze the credibility of historical sources and arguments, revising interpretations as new evidence warrants.
• Conceive and carry out historical research, constructing persuasive evidence-based arguments using primary and secondary sources according to recognized standards of the historical discipline.

The Master of Science in Data Analytics, offered by the Department of Applied Data Science, is developed in partnership with industry experts targeting students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. Students receive the advanced education necessary to apply analytics to solve real-world problems by immersing them in the full data analytics process lifecycle.

Students learn how to build portfolios of data analytics projects by leveraging the interrelationship between domain data knowledge and emerging information technologies. Students advance their knowledge and skills through the integration of:

• Identifying domain-specific problems, defining requirements, and establishing measurable organizational objectives.
• Performing data exploration, preparation, visualization, and governance.
• Applying programming, statistics, database, data mining, and machine learning technologies to build models for descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive data analytics.
• Engaging in the development, validation, and monitoring of data analytics systems to meet requirements and objectives.

Today most organizations treat analytics as a strategic asset, and analytics is central to many functional roles and skills. This program prepares students for a career in data analytics in almost all industry domains. Potential career roles for graduates include data analyst, data administrator, business intelligence analyst, and information research scientist.

Philosophy is an adventure of the mind. Philosophy majors read and discuss ideas generated by some of the greatest thinkers in history, putting these ideas in conversation with each other and with contemporary concerns. Philosophy students also learn to look at theoretical and practical problems from a philosophical perspective.

Because the study of philosophy develops a student's ability to analyze ideas and arguments, to think critically, and to write well, a major in philosophy provides skills that are valued by many kinds of employers and serves as appropriate pre-professional preparation for various fields, including law, medicine, psychology and theology. Additionally, the major provides preparation for students interested in obtaining a background for graduate work in philosophy.

The philosophy major is made up of three parts:

• Three lower-division courses consisting of a year-long sequence in the history of philosophy and a logic course;
• Seven upper-division courses that offer deeper exposure to different areas in philosophy; and
• One upper-level seminar that provides an opportunity to engage deeply with the works of a particular philosopher or philosophical tradition.

American Studies concentration provides a San José State home for the study of U.S. cultures. Our courses, research, and events emphasize the cultural, political, and social aspects of the United States, past and present. In addition to our core faculty, we draw our instructors from departments throughout the university in order to integrate disciplines and themes.

In order to major in American Studies, students choose the American Studies concentration within the Humanities major. American Studies graduates master knowledge and skills helpful to careers in teaching, advanced study in law and public policy, or going directly into museum work or business. Employers and graduate schools value the critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills of a broad liberal arts education like American Studies.

In both the major and minor, the student will take our most popular course, the full year "Introduction to American Civilization" and then quickly graduate into small seminars like "American Popular Culture," "The American Dream," and "Nature and World Cultures." The student will cap the major off with a senior seminar on an advanced research topic. Recent seminars focused on "American Autobiography," "The Fantastic in Literature," and "Jailed Artists and Writers in the U.S."  For a transfer student from another college, there's an alternative option for completing the minor that is just as dynamic, completely based in our upper division coursework.

This 120-unit program provides a strong foundation in physics while allowing sufficient electives for the student to pursue a second program of study in another field (e.g., science education, business, math, engineering or a second science; transfer students must take at least 12 units of upper division physics major courses at SJSU with a GPA of 2.0 or better in these courses).

The award-winning program prepares students for careers in feature film animation, games, television, and any other media that uses animation and storytelling as a core communication tool.

The curriculum combines both traditional and innovative educational strategies, including color theory, design, perspective, and conventional and digital painting. Additionally, students will study the principles of both traditional and 3D animation, physics of motion, modeling, storyboarding, character design, and visual development. Upper-division classes offers students an opportunity to specialize in their area of choice.

Established over thirty years ago, the main objective of the Industrial Design Program is twofold: first, for students to understand the evolving needs of humanity; and second, for students to address those needs by giving form to solutions. Graduates will emerge from the program prepared to design sustainable solutions to world problems. They will be trained in designing for and from all perspectives and to take into account the diversity of human existence. In our program, students will get to put their concepts into practice from the convenience of our Seid Lab, funded by an alumni and holding the most cutting edge fabrication equipment, available strictly to Industrial Design students.

Our distinguished faculty recognizes that, to become impactful industrial designers, students must have a firm comprehension of all things related to the human experience. As such, the program takes full advantage of the university setting by collaborating with SJSU’s Anthropology, Business, and Engineering programs. Additionally, because of our ideal location at the center of Silicon Valley, guest speakers from local tech companies and design studios are often invited to give talks, as well as critique student work.

Industrial design is not just the design of objects that facilitate everyday living; it’s also the design around experiences and services. With the world in constant flux, we aspire to equip future industrial designers with essential tools—a balance of theory, skill, and practice—necessary to become global citizens and effect change throughout the world.

The Bay Area needs well-trained technical writers and editors. The high-tech companies of Silicon Valley require people who are able to write quality manuals, reports, and web updates; write clear business reports and promotional materials; communicate effectively both with consumers and within the company; and understand each step of the publication process.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that demand for technical writers will continue to increase for the foreseeable future, especially in regions of the country like ours. Download more information about the demand for technical writers. [pdf]

So what is Professional and Technical Writing (PTW)? Simply put, PTW is writing done in a workplace environment designed to persuade, inform, or instruct. While “professional” generally applies to business writing and “technical” generally applies to writing about technical topics, most professional writers would find the distinction superficial because they are frequently required to do both.

At the core of all science, physics helps us understand chemical reactions, protein folding, the Earth’s interior, and the life cycle of stars. Physicists invented the semiconductor, the laser, and the electron microscope. They play key roles in the design and operation of spacecraft and in the development of electronic and optical instrumentation. The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers a Master of Science in Physics and two concentrations: Computational Physics and Modern Optics. Our faculty are experts in lasers and optics, computational physics, condensed matter, astrophysics, and physics education research. The department receives on average approximately $1.8 million annually in external funding for sponsored research.

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It attempts to answer fundamental questions such as, What is language? How does it work? How is it represented in the mind? What features do all human languages share in common? How do languages change over time?

Within universities, linguistics is often grouped together with other social and behavioral sciences such as anthropology and sociology. However, the concerns of linguistics also overlap with those of English, philosophy, and other humanities, with certain physical sciences such as acoustics, and computer science. And because language is ultimately situated in the brain, linguistics is sometimes considered one of the "cognitive sciences," along with psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence.

The linguistics faculty at SJSU offers expertise in many areas within linguistics, including

• Computational linguistics (computer processing of language)
• Morphology and syntax (the structure of words and sentences)
• Phonetics and phonology (the sounds of language)
• Psycholinguistics (language and the brain)
• Semantics (meaning)
• Sociolinguistics (language and society)