Bachelor of Arts, Major in English with Concentration in Professional and Technical Writing

at San Jose State University USA

If you have a drive for innovation and the passion to create a new business or add value to an existing business, the Concentration in Entrepreneurship is an excellent choice for you. With an entrepreneurship degree from San José State University, you will have the fundamental skills and analytical tools across different business functions that are necessary to start a new business. You will also gain a global perspective of entrepreneurship and an insight into how to cope with change in a rapidly evolving environment due to global competition, new technology, and changing customer requirements.

The undergraduate concentration in Creative Writing invites students to become involved in the creation of new literary art. Like all English majors, Creative Writing concentrators begin their studies with the three-course Transatlantic survey sequence, giving them a solid grounding in literary history. Later, they take writing workshops in various genres, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting. They are encouraged to work on the Department’s 150-year-old literary magazine, Reed, and to participate in other literary programming on campus, for example the readings and conversations with visiting authors sponsored by SJSU’s Center for Literary Arts.

The Master of Science in Informatics degree program at the San José State University School of Information prepares graduate students for exciting careers focused on analyzing and managing data—and making that data secure and actionable for users within a specific field, such as health or cybersecurity.

The MS in Informatics program is ideal for students with technical and non-technical backgrounds who are interested in exploring connections between people and technology.

Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MS in Informatics program, students will be able to:

• Apply technology informatics skills to solve specific industry data and information management problems, with a focus on usability and designing for users;
• Evaluate, manage, and develop electronic records programs and applications in a specific organizational setting;
• Demonstrate strong understanding of security and ethics issues related to informatics, user interface, and inter-professional application of informatics in specific fields by designing and implementing appropriate information assurance and ethics and privacy solutions;
• Identify user needs, ideate informatics products and services, prototype new concepts, and evaluate a prototype’s usability;
• Work collaboratively in teams and use project management practices effectively to solve user-centric information and data problems;
• Conduct informatics analysis and visualization applied to different real-world fields, such as health science and privacy.

MS in Artificial Intelligence (AI) program provides students with a state-of-the-art educational experience to become outstanding, socially responsible engineers of AI systems. This program focuses more broadly on building engineering systems powered by advances in machine learning and AI. Students will learn the theoretical foundations and gain practical skills to manage and engineer various data forms, to make predictive analyses, to derive actionable insights, and develop intelligent hardware and software systems and related cutting-edge AI technologies. The program draws on insights from mathematics, statistical analysis, computer science, software engineering, and systems engineering and is, therefore, best suited for students with software/computer engineering, computer science, mathematics, and closely related backgrounds.

Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Identify and apply fundamental concepts, algorithms, and methodologies to formulate, analyze, design, and evaluate artificial intelligence and machine learning systems;
• Tackle complex machine learning and artificial intelligence problems using contemporary principles, algorithms, technologies, methodologies, and tools;
• Lead and participate in a team to develop AI and machine learning applications;
• Recognize the ethical, economic and environmental implications of their work, as appropriate;
• Sustain a process of life-long learning in engineering or other professional areas; and,
• Communicate effectively and persuasively with a variety of audiences.

Students in the Systems Physiology concentration prepare for professional health schools (medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, pharmacy, and so forth), for graduate study, or for research positions that require knowledge of physiological systems and especially of physiological data collection and recording. The Systems Physiology concentration provides a specialized, focused program pertaining to bodily systems.

The B.S. Recreation Degree Program offers a specialized concentration in Recreation Management. This concentration will help prepare students to take entry level supervision positions in recreation organizations in the public, nonprofit and private sectors.

Students completing the degree are eligible to take the National Recreation and Park Association’s certification exam to earn the Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) certification as well as the California Board of Recreation & Park Certification (CBRPC) exam to hold the title - Recreator Certified (RC).

Employment is secured through many types of agencies and settings. One could work in Federal, State, County, and/or City recreation agencies/parks. Other exciting and varied employment can be found at College unions and Campus Recreation centers; Non-profit/volunteer agencies; Armed forces; For-profit recreation companies – such as in Resorts or Theme parks, Camp and Outdoor Education recreation programs; Tourism enterprises; Corporate Recreation and Employee Wellness Programs; and in Event planning and management.   

The concentration is comprised of core classes (accredited by COPART), targeted units of specialized recreation management classes and flexibility within approved elective units. Check out the variety of our course offerings by accessing the degree from the link titled “Recreation Management course Requirements” from the Recreation Management home page.

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 Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW) curriculum is based on a basic liberal arts foundation obtained through guided coursework from general education approved courses. This liberal arts foundation provides students the necessary knowledge and skills to engage in critical thinking about social problems and develop an understanding of the social structures of American society. Foundation social work courses meet the primary program goal of preparing students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for beginning social work practice. In addition to the core social work curriculum, electives are offered to expand interest in various areas such as child welfare, family welfare, alcoholism and the family, and social work with the aging. Unlike many of their counterparts in other disciplines, BASW graduates are required to undertake as part of their education extensive agency field internships to prepare them for practice upon graduation.

BASW graduates are employed in many different work settings under public and private agencies and programs that may include: family service agencies, children and youth services, juvenile justice agencies, elementary and/or secondary schools, ethnic oriented service agencies, residential treatment programs, substance abuse programs, domestic violence programs, homeless shelters, mental health services, aging services, nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, home care agencies, mental retardation/developmental disabilities services, vocational rehabilitation services, public health agencies, community action agencies, child and adult day care centers, income maintenance programs, and legal services agencies.

Marketing examines the most dynamic aspect of business. As you go through the marketing courses you'll feel the excitement of learning about and dealing with issues and trends faced by real world marketing managers, even as they struggle with the same realities and opportunities. In the Marketing concentration students will learn about creating a product or service and managing relationships with customers. In the effort to continuously keep pace with the Silicon Valley, the marketing program is designed to spark student innovation and provide multi-disciplinary opportunities through an academically challenging curriculum. For instance, a cluster of high technology marketing electives is offered to keep majors on top of the latest advancements in the marketing field.

Keeping in step with the global marketplace, you may take courses in International Marketing, providing instruction on national and international concepts for developing and selling products. The marketing program also focuses on the business functions concerned with market definition and objectives, product or service development, customer segmentation and product positioning. When you graduate, you will have the confidence of entering the world of marketing ready and primed to take part in this fast-changing and exciting career field.

Students in the MSAE Program can specialize in sustainable aviation concepts, aerospace structural design, astrodynamics, space systems engineering, hypersonics or propulsion.  They have opportunities to work with AE faculty and NASA engineers to design, build, test, and launch microsatellites like the TechEdSat, participate in the design, building, and testing of our brand new hypersonic facility, learn how to use machine/deep learning for structural health monitoring, optimize spacecraft trajectories or explore the potential of electric and hybrid propulsion systems for general aviation, commuter, and large air transports.  In addition, students can participate in exciting extra-curricular projects, such as the High-Altitude Rocket Project (HARP). MSAE students present their work in professional conferences such as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech, the International Planetary Probe Workshop, and the International Symposium on Sustainable Aviation.

Students select a faculty advisor who helps structure a program of study that meets individual needs and addresses areas of interest. While working closely with a faculty advisor, each student completes a thesis or a project that results from an in-depth study of a particular research topic of interest.