Campus Life

Welcome to our community! Click here to hear a message for new graduate students from Dr. Marc d'Alarcao, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at San José State University (SJSU). SJSU is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, a diverse region that approximately three million people call home. 

The more that you explore San José, the more likely you will find that the South Bay Area is not only a rich environment for technology, but a vibrant incubator for the arts and other creative activity. Click here to discover some popular locations that give downtown San José its character, including the Hammer Theatre Center, the Tech Interactive, San Pedro Square Market, Little Italy, Japantown, Paseo de San Antonio, the SAP Center (home of the San José Sharks), Paypal Park (home of the San José Earthquakes),  and more. 

Downtown San José, where you’ll find our main campus, is a bustling metro area that you can navigate easily using public transit. Diridon Station, just minutes away from SJSU, is your best starting point to explore the region. Students can ride the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses and light rail trains for free, as well as receive discounted rates for CalTrain, Amtrak, Highway 17 Express, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and other services. 

 If you’re feeling the Spartan spirit, check out the SJSU Bucket List here.

As a graduate student, you have access to a wealth of campus resources and centers that can improve your SJSU experience, support your well-being, and guide you along your academic and professional journeys. Please see the Domestic and International Steps to Enrollment pages on the Graduate Admissions website for a checklist of tasks to ensure a successful start to your educational career at SJSU. For example, you will want to obtain a Tower Card from the Bursar’s office as soon as possible, as this serves as your student identification card. 

Most SJSU graduate students make frequent use of the MLK Library, Writing Center, Career Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Student Health Center, and other units. Services from these centers are available to you at no cost throughout your SJSU career. Graduate students may take advantage of Transportation Solutions, an office that can provide you cost-saving transportation resources to lessen the financial cost of your commute and provide connections to the rest of the Bay Area. The SJSU CARES office is also available to support and provide referrals around basic needs including food, housing, and emergency assistance. International graduate students may access International Scholar and Support Services (ISSS) for support regarding immigration, visas, employment and more.

Alongside your graduate advisor and/or program coordinator, the College of Graduate Studies (CGS) is your central source of support at SJSU. We oversee your graduate program curriculum, coordinate orientation and graduate student programming, develop resources and advocate for your success. We also provide guidance for thesis and dissertation submission and review. The Dean’s Office, led by Dean Marc d’Alarcao, includes several support staff members as well as our Associate Dean of Inclusive Student Success, Dr. Amy Leisenring, who works to ensure that programs and policies are equitable and inclusive of all students. Our Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Dr. Jeffrey Honda, works closely with graduate programs to maintain policies, support curriculum, and review student petitions. You will also become familiar with Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations (GAPE), an important office within CGS that processes your graduate application and provides resources to facilitate your advancement to candidacy and graduation. Click here to hear from GAPE Director, Tricia Ryan, as she explains the role of GAPE in greater detail.

Our teams are here to serve you. You can contact the CGS Dean’s Office at at graduate-studies@sjsu.edu and the GAPE Office at graduate@sjsu.edu. 

SJSU has the largest number of international graduate students in the CSU system. We encourage you to connect with International Scholar and Support Services (ISSS) for support regarding visas, employment eligibility, and acclimating to the local area and campus. ISSS works closely with the College of Graduate Studies to coordinate support for our international graduate students, including hosting informational town halls and putting together FAQ pages. ISSS also collaborates often with the Career Center, providing professional development support that is curated to the needs of international graduate students.  

SJSU offers a wide array of events for graduate students. Scroll down to the bottom of the events website for more details on specific events and activities. To find out information regarding class and final exam schedules in addition to the academic year calendar, click here. The calendar tab provides useful dates and deadlines for adding/dropping classes, holidays, graduation, posting of grades, registration, and fee schedules for a given academic year.   Watch for special opportunities like the SJSU Grad Slam, Research Week, the Innovation Challenge, and the SpartUp! Incubator events.

Student life at SJSU is dynamic, presenting graduate students with numerous opportunities to get involved with campus. Increasingly, graduate students are finding new ways to connect with one another especially within their programs. Graduate students are welcome to join the 450+ registered student organizations at SJSU to build community, participate in athletics, develop professional skills, or connect more deeply with an identity you hold or a culture you belong to. While many organizations are driven by our undergraduate population, new clubs are emerging with graduate student leadership. If you don’t see a club or community that suits you, you may consider starting a new one. Information about opportunities related to research, scholarship and creative activity is available through the Research and Innovation division.  Various affinity and support groups can be found in the Office of the President’s Diversity site for student resources. 

The adjustment to graduate school can present new challenges regardless of whether you’re coming from the workforce or straight out of your undergraduate schooling. The College of Graduate Studies has created a playlist of videos in which graduate students and alumni share their advice and experiences adjusting to graduate school.