One of the great perks of living in downtown San Jose is access to San Jose State University. The first of the 23 campus California State University system, SJSU offers 145 areas of study and has flexible options for students of all varieties. In investigating a Master’s in Mass Communications at the university, I discovered how easy it it to take classes through SJSU’s Open University program. This program enables non-enrolled students to take any available class, with permission from the instructor.
The Boccardo Gate, located nowhere near the Boccardo Business Center on Campus. Photo credit: Lisette
I started taking classes last fall (2016) in order to prepare for the graduate program, and had a wonderful experience. Taking classes in advance has allowed me to better prepare for the program, meet the professors in the program, and earn credits to apply towards my graduate degree. Many classes are conveniently offered at night, making it easy to pair courses with full time employment. I was recently accepted into the Master’s program officially starting this fall, so I’m very excited to begin my studies in earnest!
My first day of class. Photo credit: Lisette
So far I have been thrilled with my experience at SJSU. Not only are the professors highly knowledgeable, but the campus is beautiful and the graduate programs are very reasonably priced compared to online programs and private universities. Most days that I have class I’m able to easy bike to and from my apartment to work and campus with ease (weather permitting), and there’s plenty of good coffee and food downtown to fuel my studies.