Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Art with Concentration in Animation/Illustration

at San Jose State University USA

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.

The mission of the San José State University Art History area is to enrich the lives of its students by providing an in-depth knowledge of cultural traditions and the skills necessary for applying that knowledge in the service of our multicultural society. The program also provides students with the communication skills, research techniques, and methods of critical inquiry that have become a vital part of modern life. Course offerings include a wide range of themes and topics in ancient, Renaissance, Baroque, modern, contemporary, Islamic and global art. Examination of the visual culture of these diverse areas encourages students to become responsible citizens through an understanding of the aesthetic, cultural and ethical choices inherent in human development.

Urban planning began at SJSU in 1970 and SJSU offers the only accredited Master in Urban Planning degree in Silicon Valley. Urban planners balance visionary thinking with pragmatic problem solving - working in partnership with multiple stakeholders to address challenges related to growth and change. Urban planners work within the frameworks of formal and informal institutions to solve problems related to affordable housing, climate change, economic development, environmental protection, public health, and transportation. The program has a long history of working in partnership with local communities to address their planning needs.

Located in downtown San José, the largest city in Northern California and the urban core of Silicon Valley, the department takes advantage of its location in a rapidly changing and socially complex region by collaborating with local planning agencies and community-based organizations. Faculty and students engage in public service projects designed to assist local communities in addressing topical planning issues, while also providing students with real-world professional experience. The program has a strong network of alumni who work in the region in city, county, and state government agencies, private sector firms, and nonprofit organizations. We have a strong track record of placing graduates in both public and private sector employment in the Bay Area and beyond.

 As a graduate program, Urban Planning attracts a diverse student body, including many non-traditional students who come to the program with a wealth of knowledge and experience. A special mission of the program is to promote planning education opportunities for a diverse student population, including working students who prefer to attend the program on a part-time basis. We are among a small number of fully-acredited MUP programs with a complete part-time option for our graduate students.

Over the past 30 years, our nationally recognized program has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most comprehensive photography programs in the West. Located within the School of Art & Design, the Photography Program at San José State University is the largest in the California State University system and one of the largest in the Western United States. Our curriculum engages students in a diverse range of contemporary practices in the medium, from traditional silver-based photography and historic alternative photo processes, to innovative approaches to digital and video imaging.

In addition to our emphasis in photography as a fine art, our program also includes a strong commercial photography component, a feature that makes our undergraduate program unique. Covering a full spectrum of technical, aesthetic, conceptual, and theoretical issues, one of our primary objectives is to enhance the student's ability to conceptualize an idea and gain the ability to visually articulate concepts.

Throughout its 150-year history, photography has served as a powerful means of self-expression, a catalyst for cultural change and a medium for social commentary. We encourage students to produce thoughtful artwork that deals with meaningful issues. We also recognize the increasing interdisciplinary nature of photography, and encourage interested students to explore related media including installation, film and video, and electronic media.

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)

The Journalism and Mass Communications Department's Public Relations program is nationally recognized and the only degree program of its kind in Northern California. One of the largest PR programs in the United States, this dynamic program has been a consistent leader in preparing students for success in a wide variety of strategic communications careers.

Program Highlights

• The most comprehensive PR curriculum in Northern California.
• Rated one of the 'premier' programs in the U.S. in a national survey conducted by Marquette University.
• All majors are required to complete an internship providing an excellent foray into the field of Public Relations.
• The School of Journalism and Mass Communications is 100 percent wired for the Internet with student-friendly Mac and PC labs.
• Students in campaigns class plan public relations programs for actual clients, including Cisco Systems, Intel, American Cancer Society.
• One of the few programs in the nation to have course electives in Special Events Management and the Principles of Fund-Raising.

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.

The B.S. in Geology offers a flexible program that prepares students for admission to graduate programs in the geosciences, and for entry-level positions in engineering, geophysical and geological firms; in engineering, hazardous materials, regulatory, or ecological firms; in computer mapping firms; and in local, regional, and state government agencies.

The B.A. in Earth Science provides a broad background in the Earth Sciences. It is a path for students planning on teaching science in middle schools and high schools, or who are interested in interdisciplinary fields such as environmental and sustainability issues.

This degree provides a foundation for taking the relevant California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET), which? is required by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to verify subject matter competency in the Earth and Space Sciences. Students interested in becoming teachers must meet credential program standards and undergo screening for admission. See SJSU's Secondary Education homepage for information on application and admission to credential programs.

San Jose State University has an outstanding curriculum in molecular biology that includes courses providing a strong theoretical background as well as intensive hands-on laboratory experience. Graduates from this program typically pursue PhDs, MDs and other health science-related graduate degrees, or careers in the biotechnology industry. Biotechnology is one of the most rapidly growing industries in the Bay Area and the world with an accelerating need for employees with training in the biological sciences. Career opportunities for students with a concentration in Molecular Biology include teaching, research, drug development, marketing, management, and patent law.

The faculty in the Molecular Concentration were trained at prestigious institutions including UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, the Salk Institute, and Stanford University, and their research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.  Students in our program have the opportunity to directly interact with their professors, an important advantage over programs at many other universities.