Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Graphic Design

at San Jose State University USA

The field of packaging includes disciplines of engineering, graphic design, project management, advertising, and material science. Every product manufactured from health care and beauty products to washing machines and drugs require packages to protect and sell the product.

Almost every firm that makes a physical product has a packaging department with 20-40 individuals engaged specifically in packaging technology and applied engineering. A huge multinational like Johnson and Johnson can employ hundreds of individuals involved with some area of packaging their products.

SJSU's Packaging Program is one of a handful of programs in the USA providing technical expertise in the multidisciplinary field. The number of potential jobs for graduates and careers available with a background in packaging is driven by not only the uniqueness of the skills learned by the students but also by the fact that there are very few places to learn the skills necessary to design and develop package systems.

The number of positions available combined with the fact that there are only a handful of schools in the USA teaching Packaging creates a situation where Packaging has a 100% placement rate. In fact there are more jobs available than candidates available to fill them. This has been the fact for the last 60+ years since Michigan State University began the first Packaging program at the request of an Industry looking for people with package design skill sets.

Career development is another key advantage of an individual involved with packaging. Packaging professionals engage with almost every group in an organization, marketing, production purchasing, legal, product development, and graphics. A firm values individuals that have a broad picture of the operations and packaging interacts with these groups as part of their daily tasks. This makes individuals with packaging backgrounds valuable to a company as they understand how all of the operations combine and work together to accomplish corporate goals.

Program Learning Objectives

• Assess a package’s functional properties
• Demonstrate knowledge of package material properties to meet particular physical needs.
• Describe a package production system in order to present design and develop cost comparisons between various package configurations.
• Assess a distribution channel to identify particular stresses incurred.
• Design a package system (primary, secondary and tertiary) to contain, protect and transport products from manufacturer to consumer.
• Develop reproducible test methodologies for evaluating particular properties in a package/material.
• Organize and assemble presentations describing package systems, operations, designs, and cost comparisons.

The department mission is to serve society, the public sector, and private industry by:

• Providing undergraduate and graduate civil engineering education that prepares students to apply engineering knowledge to the diverse issues of resources, infrastructure and the built environment;?
• Contributing to the development and codification of knowledge through faculty scholarship; and
• Meeting the needs of working professionals for continuing education.

The Masters of Science in Software Engineering program is one of several degree programs provided by the Computer Engineering department at SJSU. The program provides students with an educational experience that builds on traditional computer science and engineering, and then takes an integrative approach to software engineering. With the increased globalization of the software development workforce there is less programming being performed in the United States. Therefore it becomes increasingly important that graduates understand developing technologies and architectures and their influence on software engineering processes, where large-scale design is pre-eminent, and where component integration is the standard mode of development. The program offers a strong testing and quality assurance component.
The software industry increasingly requires those with a suitable engineering background for their cutting edge projects. Graduates with an MS in Software Engineering can expect to find significant opportunities in software development, management, and marketing.

A wide variety of computing equipment is available. Courses are usually conducted using the specialized equipment at the department, with a variety of sophisticated workstations and state-of-the-art software engineering tools.

Program Learning Outcomes:

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of advanced knowledge of the practice of software engineering, from vision to analysis, design, validation and deployment.
• Be able to tackle complex engineering problems and tasks, using contemporary engineering principles, methodologies and tools.
• Be able to demonstrate leadership and the ability to participate in teamwork in an environment with different disciplines of engineering, science and business.
• Be aware of ethical, economic and environmental implications of their work, as appropriate.
• Be able to advance successfully in the engineering profession, and sustain a process of life-long learning in engineer or other professional areas.
• Be able to communicate effectively, in both oral and written forms.

If you see your future career as a call to adventure, the International Business concentration may be for you. The concentration provides a broad base of business courses and additional coursework focused on global business. As a graduate, you will be well prepared for a career with a global business or organization. Your further marketability will depend on your personal characteristics, your life experience, and your academic performance in the International Business concentration. Employing companies or organizations then provide further training necessary for the job. An undergraduate degree in International Business is not a professional degree or one that targets a specific job. Rather, it is an excellent base on which to build.

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.

Economics is a general program, flexible enough to allow for a variety of student objectives. The BA program has over 21 units of open electives. These elective units give students the flexibility to supplement the thinking skills developed in economics with technical skills developed in such fields as finance, marketing, and public relations. A bachelor degree in economics serves as an excellent springboard to an MBA or law degree.

Spatial Art is an interdisciplinary program that encompasses a broad range of media including Ceramics, Glass, Installation Art, Metal Fabrication and Casting, Multimedia, Performance Art, and Sculpture. It provides excellent facilities and resources for students who wish to realize their ideas in three-dimensional form. The area is guided by a faculty with varying philosophical approaches and technical expertise and a common concern for spatial issues.

Technical facilities include well-equipped shops in a variety of areas. The jewelry lab allows for smithing and casting of small metal works. The large ceramics facility has complete clay mixing capacity and fifteen kilns which can serve almost any purpose, including a fifty cubic foot gas kiln. The glass area is a modern lab with heat recuperative furnaces, as well as slumping and casting facilities. A large foundry and outdoor sculpture yard provide for the realization of ideas in cast and fabricated metal, stone and mixed media, including large scale work, with all the major welding equipment, vacuum casting capability, two 285 lb casting crucibles, a 140 cubic foot burnout kiln, and a fork lift. The wood shop is fully equipped for furniture making and construction of sculpture in wood, foam and plastics. The machine shop has mills and lathes, and metal-cutting bandsaws. Other shop facilities include a laser cutter, plastic vacuum former, spray booth, sandblaster, and sheet-metal working machines.

Many Spatial Arts students work in the area of installation. There are seven galleries of varying size within the Art building that can be used on a weekly basis for such projects. There are also two brand new shipping containers, known as the Freight and Cargo Galleries, for installation projects. Students also have access to University and School digital and video equipment that may be needed as a part of installation work. Graduate students are encouraged to explore and utilize any and all of these facilities as resources. As they grow in their abilities to visualize and express the form and content of their ideas in three-dimensional terms, they may see each concept dictating its own technique and material. The resources of the Department of Art and Art History faculty and laboratories offer rich critical and technical support.

The Master of Science in Statistics prepares students to become practicing statisticians in business, government and industry fields. It features theoretical and applied coursework in statistics and advanced statistical techniques, and its skills-based coursework emphasizes writing and communication skills and provides students with practical project experience. The program was developed in concert with industry and is designed to dovetail into professional career opportunities.

Persons with bachelor’s degrees in engineering, the sciences, economics, business, the social sciences or other fields that use statistics are encouraged to apply. Those with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics or statistics are welcome to apply for the program in order to advance their technical and theoretical skills.

Students in the BS, Microbiology program prepare for positions in industries that use or detect microorganisms and for graduate studies in basic, applied or medical microbiology. The program includes specialized instruction in basic microbiology, immunology, medical microbiology, microbial physiology, bacterial genetics and bacterial diversity.  It is also designed to accommodate those who wish to pursue certification as Clinical Laboratory Scientists (medical technologists). Electives, such as hematology, and internships that meet state certification requirements are offered.

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.