Bachelor of Arts, Major in Geography

at San Jose State University USA

Materials Engineers design, characterize and manufacture the "stuff" of our everyday world. Semiconductors, metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites are examples of the materials used to make everything around you - from your computer to the chair you are sitting in, from artificial body parts to the skin of the space shuttle. Materials scientists and engineers work in nanotechnology, biotechnology, aerospace, alternative energy, microelectronics and virtually every industry sector.

Major areas of study are the relationships between materials' structure, properties, processing, and performance. The MatE programs stress the roles of design, development, and process engineering, and also prepare the exceptional student for research and graduate study. The Department has excellent laboratory facilities for courses and student research.

Our RTVF major program offers training and experience in radio, television, film, and multimedia production as well as courses in history, research, and aesthetics of these media. The department operates a full time 24-hour a day radio station, KSJS 90.5 that provides entertainment, sports and community service to the Bay Area. The department also creates feature films through SPARTAN FILM STUDIO as well as other faculty, staff and student production projects.

San José State University recognizes the need for an interactive and productive education in the field of the arts. RTVF students are given multiple opportunities to perform, write, and direct their own works in preparation for a successful career in the Hollywood arts.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communications embraces the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley, emphasizing cultural and intellectual diversity, the First Amendment, and the free flow of ideas.
Students pursuing a Master's in Mass Communication are eligible for graduate assistantships within JMC. These positions are competitive and priority is given to new graduate students. They will spend the semester supporting one or two professors with a variety of projects. Each professor will have unique tasks for their student assistant. The graduate assistantship is an opportunity for the student to gain professional experience in an area of interest and supplement their academic development.

The Master of Science in Accountancy, offered by the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, is a flexible 30-unit degree program designed for both accounting and non-accounting undergraduates who aspire to a profession in accounting. Coursework includes advanced financial reporting, auditing, taxation, IT auditing, and financial statement analysis. Students with an undergraduate degree in accounting enroll in a course of study to earn a master’s degree that fulfills the 30 additional units required for CPA licensure. Ambitious, highly motivated people with undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, sciences, or business will need to complete the intensive Certificate in Accounting Fundamentals summer program before they can be admitted into the MSA degree program.

The Master of Arts in Geography emphasizes human and physical geography with an emphasis in advanced learning in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) and urban geography. GIS is a rapidly growing field and our courses will give students the analytic and problem-solving abilities necessary to begin rewarding careers immediately after graduation. Students may also pursue a more generalized study of cultural, physical, or environmental geography. Most students follow an individualized program that includes courses and seminars in related disciplines, such as Environmental Studies and Urban and Regional Planning. In addition to their graduate coursework, all candidates for the Master of Arts in Geography must complete a Master's thesis project.

Although the department requires knowledge of the fundamentals of geography and GIS, it welcomes students whose undergraduate work has been in other disciplines, and who can apply their training to geographic problems. The MA degree is a 30 Credit program and many of our classes are offered in the late afternoon, evening, or on-line.

• Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and interpret published research on the theoretical foundations of geographical information science.
• Demonstrate the ability to explain contemporary issues in geographic information science in the context of current theory.
• Demonstrate the ability to define a research problem and design and execute a research program.
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate and interpret research results in the context of current theory.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate research results in written, graphic, and verbal form.
• Demonstrate understanding of how geographic information science and technology may be applied to a variety of problems.

Students in the BFA program will have accomplished these objectives and will have produced a portfolio of work that will enable them to apply to graduate schools. The required BFA Seminar gives students an opportunity to consider contemporary and historical issues and allows them to evaluate their work and the work of others within a broader context. BFA students are required to complete a senior project that reflects a personal direction. They exhibit the resulting body of work that is then reviewed by a committee of faculty members.

The overall objectives of the Pictorial Art Area are as follows: Visual sensitivity in the pictorial art is developed in a number of ways. In Beginning Drawing students learn to translate the perceived world into two-dimensional constructs such as line and tone. While formal elements of composition are specifically addressed in 2-D Concepts, they remain an integral part of all pictorial courses. As students progress through more advanced courses, they engage in more sophisticated levels of visual thinking. This will be reflected in their work in the utilization of more complex formal means, both representational and abstract, and to express content. In critique sessions, students are encouraged to articulate visual ideas.

In Pictorial Art, students learn to conceptualize their ideas and execute them. This is true on every level from introductory courses to the most advanced. In some courses, such as Expressive Drawing, the emphasis is on the discovery of personal content through abstraction of the observed world or through the development of non-representational vocabulary. In other courses, such as Representational Drawing and Life Drawing, the emphasis is on perception and learning more traditional methods of rendering and depiction. In more advanced courses students are given the opportunity to choose the stylistic means of expression which best gives form to their visual ideas.

Students in Pictorial Art area are exposed to a wide variety of techniques and technical processes. This ranges from the simple and straight-forward use of pencil and charcoal in drawing through the slightly more complex techniques of watercolor, acrylic and oil painting to the more involved processes of hand-drawn and photo-generated serigraphy, as well as the chemical processes of lithography and intaglio printing. By the time they graduate students will be proficient in several of these areas. The Art History requirements for the major give the students a broad understanding of the major movements of the past and present in both the Western and non-Western worlds. In addition, slide lectures and books presented in the classroom put course work into a historical and cultural context.

An approved program for each candidate may be designed in consultation with the advisor on the basis of each individual's objectives. The program shall include at least 30 semester units earned beyond the bachelor's degree in 200-level (ie: graduate level) and 100-level (ie: upper division undergraduate level) courses approved for graduate credit. This total includes 4 semester units of thesis research. At least 12 units must consist of 200-level courses. All students are required to take a 2-unit seminar (GEOL 285). All candidates are required to submit a master's thesis.

All candidates must complete the equivalent of the requirements of the San José State University B.S. Geology degree, including a minimum of four weeks of field camp, as well as two semesters each of Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics.

The oral examination for the Master of Science degree is scheduled with the student's thesis advisor. The candidate must demonstrate competency in written English. An oral presentation of thesis research is to be made before an open meeting of the Geology Department. The thesis must be approved by the student's thesis committee and submitted in final form, as outlined in the Thesis Section of the San José State University catalog, to the Graduate Division of the university in accordance with the published deadlines.

All students wishing to study graphic design, interior design or industrial design are admitted to the BA Design Studies Program. The BA Design Studies program is a liberal arts degree that allows students to choose from a broad range of university classes to curate their education with an emphasis on design. Students wishing to specialize in or achieve a  BFA in Interior Design, BFA in Graphic Design, or the BS in Industrial Design must successfully pass the required portfolio reviews held by each program.

The Sport Management Graduate Program at San Jose State University is housed in the Department of Kinesiology within the College of Health & Human Sciences. There are approximately 100 graduate students in the department, including a cohort of roughly 15 Sport Management students that are accepted into the program annually. Students from a variety of disciplines (e.g., Business, Hospitality, Kinesiology, Sociology, etc) are encouraged to apply.

A major focus of the program is to develop culturally informed professionals capable of management and leadership across the many sport industry professions.  In addition, the balance between applied research and practical experiences ensures that our graduates have a deep and transferable knowledge base as they enter the job market, as well as potentially influencing sport scholarship by pursuing higher levels of education.

The goal of the Sport Management Graduate Program is to prepare graduate students for a variety of management positions in the major sports industry segments: Professional Sport, Intercollegiate Athletics, Interscholastic Athletics, Youth and Community Sport, Sport Tourism, Health and Fitness, International Sport, Event and Facility Management, Sports Governing Bodies and Associations. The requirements for the 30-unit program are: Two core research methods courses, four sport management courses, including marketing, finance, legal aspects, and leadership, two electives, an internship course and a final master's project. SJSU’s location in California’s Bay Area affords a wide array of exciting internship
opportunities. Completion of the program will enable individuals to be prepared to work in the wide range of disciplines within the sports industry, including high school and intercollegiate athletics, professional sport, corporate fitness and health, public relations, sport marketing, event management, private businesses, and community services.

Geography majors complete a program of study that leads to a general geography degree and includes major electives that allow them to focus more specifically on a particular area of Geography. The program prepares students to understand the environment around us and interpret human and non-human patterns across the Earth's surface. The major allows flexibility in course selection while providing a strong foundation in human, physical, and regional aspects of our discipline. Geography at SJSU also features a strong technology component based on applications of GIS, digital cartography, remote sensing, spatial analysis, and data visualization. Geography is essential to the growing need for global literacy and our faculty is committed to working with students to develop the skills that will serve them well whether in a career or moving on to graduate studies. Career opportunities for graduates with these skills are wide open.