Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Art with Concentration in Pictorial Art

at San Jose State University USA

The BA Mathematics is recommended for students who enjoy problem solving and would like to apply problem solving skills along with communication and analyzing skills in a future career. This degree also provides an excellent background for graduate work in mathematics and other disciplines including law and medicine as well as engineering and science.

MS Physics, concentration in Modern Optics is offered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The students in this concentration receive instruction in fundamental areas of physics and gain experience and knowledge in a wide range of subjects related to Modern Optics. All candidates are required to complete a thesis including the defense (Plan A) or take an oral comprehensive examination as culminating experience (Plan B).

The M.A. in Applied Anthropology is designed to help students develop skills in applying or using anthropological knowledge which can be used across a wide range of careers. Specifically, its mission is to enable students to build on their knowledge of cultural anthropology, physical anthropology and archaeology to address real world problems and issues. The program seeks to provide a structure through which students can develop as practitioners by working closely with faculty on projects that are often done in collaboration with regional organizations. Graduates of our program have secured positions in public, private, and non-profit organizations as researchers, designers, administrators, and program developers. The M.A. program is built around three broad sets of research skills: (1) ethnographic methods for understanding how social systems, including organizations and communities, function in the regional environment; (2) assessment and evaluation skills, especially those based on qualitative methods that complement quantitative methods; and (3) the planning and design of programs, organizations, services, and artifacts.

Students graduating from this program should:

• Understand a range of anthropological research methods and be able to conduct research relevant to problem solving in various settings and for different clients or partners
• Know basic models of applying anthropology in different settings and have the skills to be able to function as practitioners in several
• Be knowledgeable about (a) the discipline of anthropology in general and how it contributes to understanding and improving contemporary society; and (b) a particular field of anthropology in greater depth
• Be able to function effectively in at least one content area or domain of application
• Understand personal, political, and ethical issues inherent in research and application
• Develop professionally as practitioners with skills in contracting, project management, and budgeting, as well as the ability to communicate about project goals and findings and the discipline of anthropology to diverse audiences
• To be knowledgeable about the region as a social and cultural system with complex state, national, and global interconnections

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.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

• Language & Communication. Written Expression. Demonstrate advanced (ACTFL) skills in writing French.
• Language & Communication. Reading Comprehension. Demonstrate advanced (ACTFL) skills in reading French.
• Language & Communication. Oral Expression. Demonstrate advanced (ACTFL) skills in speaking French.
• Language & Communication. Listening Comprehension. Demonstrate advanced (ACTFL) skills in understanding French.
• Literacy: Use appropriate terminology in linguistic, cultural, or literary analysis.
• Cultural Analysis and Comparison: Analyze and compare a wide variety of texts drawing upon their cultural knowledge of France and the Francophone world.
• Literary and Cultural Texts and Traditions: Demonstrate knowledge of major periods, genres, authors, movements of French and Francophone cultural history.
• Demonstrate advanced ability to connect with other disciplines and language communities. Demonstrate advanced translation skills.
• Technology: Demonstrate information processing competency, use of appropriate technologies and tools for research, analysis, communication, and presentation.

The BM concentration in Jazz Studies is a degree tailored for students who are intent on pursuing an active career as a professional jazz musician. Emphasis is placed on jazz improvisation, jazz performance styles, jazz arranging/composition, and jazz pedagogy. Jazz Studies students receive in-depth private instruction on their chosen instrument(s) and also receive opportunities to rehearse and perform with the SJSU Jazz Ensembles: Jazz Orchestra and Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble. Students in this program must complete a senior recital in addition to the regular course of study.

The BA in Sociology, offered by the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, educates students about social processes that create, maintain, and transform social institutions and social identities. Sociology provides a framework for understanding social behavior in groups, social change and inequality in society, and solutions to social problems. Analytical and research skills speak to the needs of a changing world. The degree offers students the widest flexibility in terms of future career choices.

The Humanities B.A. Comparative Religious Studies Concentration presents scholarly interpretations of the world's religious traditions.  It aims to be as global as possible in covering the great diversity of religions and as inclusive as possible in covering various methodological approaches to the study of religion.

Faculty members of the Comparative Religious Studies Concentration are committed to guiding students in the kinds of learning needed for this task.  In other words, it is our goal to provide students with the key elements of religious literacy: knowledge of the basic data in the study of religions, respect and tolerance for diverse religious perspectives, and critical thinking skills that can be applied to explanations of religion from insiders as well as outsiders.

The Humanities B.A. Comparative Religious Studies Concentration offers a comprehensive preparation for those who plan to undertake graduate education in theology, history of religions, and other related areas.

The Comparative Religious Studies Minor offers a basic understanding of religious beliefs and practices for those whose careers would benefit significantly from a familiarity with various religious traditions.

The Painting, Drawing, and Prinmaking faculty at San Jose State University are actively involved in the contemporary art community and exhibit nationally and internationally. Faculty work ranges from realism to abstraction, from conceptual to environmental. Graduate students are encouraged to develop their own creative and expressive directions through work with the faculty, individual studio projects, gallery exhibitions, interaction with the professional art community in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the investigation of current issues and concepts as presented in the graduate seminars.

General studio/classroom space is available for painting and drawing and there are well-equipped support facilities such as wood and metal shops. Graduate printmakers have the use of four large studio/classrooms, as well as the intaglio and lithography press prep rooms. A papermaking lab is also available. Three intaglio presses and four lithography presses allow the printer to work in monoprint or in editions, on stones or aluminum plates. The screen printing studio has a large vacuum-exposure table for exposing plates and stencils. The photo darkroom, with graphic arts camera and enlargers, allows printmakers access to a variety of photo-printmaking processes for all printmaking media.

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.