Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy

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 MA History, Concentration in History Education is designed for middle and secondary school social science teachers. The curriculum broadens the candidate's knowledge of U.S. and World History. In addition, the program increases the candidate's academic proficiency in history subjects and his/her professional competence in special areas of interest within the field of history and social science education. This is a terminal degree. Candidates who plan to pursue more advanced graduate training in history should apply to the regular Masters degree program outlined above.

The History Department also offers an M.A. program with a concentration in history education, which is reserved for public and private middle and secondary school teachers, who already are teaching or have entered (or plan to enter) the social science teacher education program at SJSU. This program is specially designed for teachers who have, or will soon have, credentials. Since this is strictly a terminal degree, anyone intending to pursue a higher degree should enroll in the standard M.A. program.

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 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.

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.

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)

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.

The mission of the Master of Science program in Industrial/Organization (I/O) Psychology at San Jose State University is to provide students a fundamental grounding in theory, research, and application in the field of I/O Psychology. The field of I/O psychology encompasses a wide range of scientific and applied pursuits, and enjoys close collaboration between researchers and practitioners. The program therefore strives to inculcate the value of the scientist-practitioners: to appreciate

• The theoretical and practical value of pure and applied research,
• The practical needs of organizations to benefit from scientific research methods and findings as well as "clinical" skills and interventions, and
• The impact that grappling with applied problems and solutions can have on the development of theory and methodology.

Broadly speaking, the M.S. I/O program is intended to prepare graduates for professional practice and the conduct of research in areas such as:

• Personnel Selection, Placement and Appraisal
• Training, Employee and Management Development
• Organizational Development
• Research Design, Data Collection and Statistical Analysis
• Survey Design, Administration, Analysis, Interpretation and Feedback
• Job Analysis and Performance Measurement
• Work Motivation, Job Satisfaction and Productivity
• Team Building and Self-Managing Work Team Design

The Master of Science program gives students the opportunity to further their knowledge in foundational and applied topics, preparing them for advanced industrial or research positions. Students are expected to complete six graduate level courses, two electives, and two semesters of project work. Full-time students generally take two years to complete the program. The program is available to students with a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related discipline. In order to ensure small class sizes and individual supervision of projects, the size of the program is limited and applications are competitive.

The Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (Accrediatation Board for Engineering and Technology),

Within a few years of graduation, our ME graduates are expected to have:

• Applied engineering knowledge and skills to make positive impact on society through employment in industry, advanced study, entrepreneurship, and/or public service;
• Communicated effectively and performed professionally in both individual and multi-disciplinary team-based project environment;
• Engaged in and continue to engage in lifelong self-directed learning, including gathering and evaluating information independently, to maintain and enhance their professional skills;
• Determined and responded to ethical implications on issues such as public safety and intellectual property protection, and also weighed global and societal impacts of engineering solutions to contemporary problems.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the time they graduate, our students are expected to have acquired the following:

• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
• An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
• An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
• An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
• An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
• An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
• An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.