View source for San Jose State University

{{Short description|Public university in San Jose, California, US}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = San José State University
 | image                  = SJSU Seal.svg
 | former_name            = Minns' Evening Normal School (1857–1862)<br />California State Normal School (1862–1921)<br />San Jose State Teachers College (1921–1935)<br />San Jose State College (1935–1972)<br />California State University, San Jose (1972–1974)
 | image_upright          = .6
 | motto                  = "Powering Silicon Valley"
 | established            = {{start date and age|1857}}
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]] [[research university]]
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[Coalition of Urban Serving Universities|USU]]|[[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program|Space-grant]]}}
 | parent                 = [[California State University]]
 | accreditation          = [[WASC Senior College and University Commission|WSCUC]]
 | endowment              = $242 million (2024–25)<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU 2024/2025 Annual Budget Report |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fabs/docs/2024-25_Annual_Budget_Report.pdf |website=Finance and Business Services |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=16 October 2023 |page=52}}</ref>
 | budget                 = $481.8 million (2023–24)<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU 2024/2025 Annual Budget Report |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fabs/docs/2023-24_Annual_Budget_Report.pdff |website=Finance and Business Services |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=16 October 2023 |page=11}}</ref>
 | faculty                = 2,177 (fall 2024)<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Quick Facts |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/fac_quickfacts_live/DB_QUICKFACT?%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3AshowVizHome=n |publisher=Institutional Effectiveness & Analytics at San José State University |access-date=January 14, 2023}}</ref>
 | administrative_staff   = 1,424 (fall 2022)<ref name="auto"/>
 | founder                = [[George W. Minns]]
 | president              = [[Cynthia Teniente-Matson]]
 | provost                = Vincent Del Casino<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/about/|title=Meet the Provost|website=San Jose State University|language=en|access-date=October 16, 2018}}</ref>
 | students               = 37,661 (fall 2024)<ref name=Enrollment>{{cite web |url=https://prd-analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/enroll_dashboard_live/Enrollment?%3Aorigin=card_share_link&%3Aembed=y/EnrollSummary?%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=card_share_link|title=Enrollment Summary |publisher=SJSU |access-date=January 14, 2023}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 27,354 (fall 2024)<ref name=Enrollment/>
 | postgrad               = 5,468 (fall 2024)<ref name=Enrollment/>
 | city                   = [[San Jose, California]]
 | country                = U.S.
 | coor                   = {{Coord|37.3353|N|121.8813|W|format=dms|display=inline,title|region:US-CA_type:edu}}
 | campus                 = [[Urban area|Large city]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=San+jose&s=all&id=122755|title=IPEDS-San Jose State University}}</ref>
 | campus_size            = {{convert|154|acre|ha}} on main campus and {{cvt|62|acre|ha}} on south campus
 | free_label             = Newspaper
 | free                   = ''[[The Spartan Daily]]''
 | colors                 = Blue and gold<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/communications/brand/visual-style/color/web.php |title=SJSU Color Palettes |publisher=University Marketing and Communications |date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=July 22, 2022}}</ref><br/>{{color box|#0055A2}}&nbsp;{{color box|#E5A823}}
 | mascot                 = Sammy Spartan
 | nickname               = [[San Jose State Spartans|Spartans]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[NCAA Division I]] [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|FBS]] - [[Mountain West Conference|Mountain West]]|[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]|[[Mountain Pacific Sports Federation|MPSF]]|[[West Coast Conference|WCC]]
}}
 | website                = {{official URL}}
 | module                 = {{Infobox historic site
| embed = yes
| name                 = 
| native_name          =
| native_language      = 
| image                = 
| caption              = 
| type                 = 
| mapframe             = yes
 |mapframe-wikidata = yes
 |mapframe-switcher = zooms
 |mapframe-zoom = 14
 |mapframe-marker = college
 |mapframe-marker-color = #0055A2
 |mapframe-stroke-color  = #0055A2
 |mapframe-shape-fill  = #E5A823
| coordinates          = 
| location             = 
| area                 = 
| built                = 
| architect            = 
| architecture         = 
| governing_body       = 
| owner                = 
| designation1         =  CHISL
| designation1_offname =  First Normal School in California (San Jose State College)
| designation1_date    = 1/6/1949
| designation1_number  = 417<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/417 |title=First Normal School in California (San Jose State College) Historical landmark  |publisher=California State Parks Office of Historic preservation |access-date=September 20, 2023}}</ref>
| designation2         = 
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}}
 | logo                   = San Jose State University logo.svg
 | logo_upright           = 1
 | NRHP                   = 
}}

'''San José State University''' ('''San José State''' or '''SJSU''') is a [[Public university|public]] [[research university]] in [[San Jose, California]], United States. Established in 1857 as the state's first [[normal school]], it is the [[List of oldest schools in California|oldest public university]] in the [[western United States]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=SJSU History Information |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/people/annette.nellen/website/sjsu_history_information.htm |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref> and is the founding campus of the [[California State University]] system.<ref name="SJSU Facts: 1857-1879">{{cite web|title=San José State University: About SJSU: 1857-1879 |publisher=San José State University|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/history/timeline/1857/|access-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library">{{cite web|title=SJSU Special Collections and Archives|publisher=San José State University|url=http://libguides.sjsu.edu/content.php?pid=55118&sid=417049|access-date=October 29, 2013|archive-date=April 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427013352/http://libguides.sjsu.edu/content.php?pid=55118&sid=417049|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Located in [[downtown San Jose]], San Jose State's main campus spans {{convert|154|acre||abbr=}}, or roughly 19 square blocks. It is accredited by the [[WASC Senior College and University Commission]]<ref name="San Jose State University">{{cite web|title=Western Association of Schools and Colleges SJSU Accreditation|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/wasc/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref> and is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R2: High Research Spending and Doctorate Production".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=San Jose State University |url=https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/institution/san-jose-state-university/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION |language=en-US}}</ref> It is a federally-designated [[Hispanic-Serving Institution]] as well as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Recruiter |first=College |title=List of AANAPISIs - College Recruiter |url=https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2020/10/19/list-of-aanapisis/ |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=www.collegerecruiter.com}}</ref>

SJSU comprises nine academic colleges, who offer over 250 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.<ref name="majorsandprograms">[https://catalog.sjsu.edu/content.php?catoid=13&navoid=4973 | SJSU Catalog | San Jose State University Retrieved January 14, 2023.]</ref> Its enrollment is about 37,000 students annually, including around 28,000 undergraduate and 9,000 graduate and professional students.<ref name=Enrollment/> As of fall 2022, graduate student enrollment, Asian, and international student enrollments at SJSU were the highest of any campus in the CSU system.<ref name=Enrollment/>

San Jose State's sports teams compete as the [[San Jose State Spartans|Spartans]] in the [[NCAA Division I]] [[Mountain West Conference]] and have won 10 team national championships and 50 individual national championships. SJSU athletes have competed in every [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] since [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]] and have [[List of American universities with Olympic medalist students and alumni|amassed 21 medals]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Going for Gold and Blue: SJSU's Olympic Timeline – Washington Square: The Stories of San Jose State University |url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/wsq/2016/06/20/going-for-gold-and-blue-sjsus-olympic-timeline/ |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=blogs.sjsu.edu}}</ref>

== History ==
{{main|History of San Jose State University}}
[[File:Dashaway-Hall-1867.jpg|left|thumb|183x183px|Dashaway Hall, one of six sites in San Francisco that housed the State Normal School before a permanent location was chosen in San Jose.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Counter |first=B. |title=San Francisco Theatres: Dashaway Hall |url=http://sanfranciscotheatres.blogspot.com/2021/07/dashaway-hall.html |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=San Francisco Theatres}}</ref>]]

=== Establishment ===
After a private [[normal school]] closed in [[San Francisco]] after only one year, politicians [[John Swett]] and Henry B. Janes sought to establish a normal school for [[San Francisco Unified School District|San Francisco's public school system]], and approached [[George W. Minns]] to be the principal for the nascent institution<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last1=San Jose State College |url=http://archive.org/details/historicalsketch00sanjrich |title=Historical sketch of the State Normal School at San José, California : with a catalogue of its graduates and a record of their work for twenty-seven years |last2=San Jose State College |last3=California. State Printing Office |last4=Royce |first4=Ruth |last5=Young |first5=J. D. of the State Printing Office |date=1889 |publisher=[San Jose, Calif. : The College] |others=University of California Libraries |pages=9–19,109–111}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kohrs |first=Donald G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_do_swEACAAJ |title=Chautauqua, the Nature Study Movement in Pacific Grove, California |date=2015 |publisher=Donald G. Kohrs |location= |pages=89–90 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 5 - Five College Institutions Located in the San Francisco Bay Area |chapter-url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/seaside/pdf/ch5.pdf}}</ref> The normal school began operations in 1857 and became known as the '''Minns Evening Normal School'''. Classes were only held once a week, and only graduated 54 female students across its existence, however the program proved to be enough of a success for increased funding to be approved.<ref name="SJSU Facts: 1857-1879" />

In 1861, after the continued success of the Evening School, a committee was formed to create a report on the merits of fully funding a state normal school and presented its report to the [[California State Legislature|California State Legislator]] in January 1862. On May 2, 1862, the [[California State Senate]] elected to fund a state normal school and to appoint a [[board of trustees]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=California |title=Statutes of California |date=1862 |publisher=J. Winchester |pages=472–473 |language=en |chapter=Chapter CCCXLVIII - An Act to establish and maintain a State Normal School |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_blAAQAAMAAJ&dq=SECTION+1.+The+Board+of+Education+of+the+State+of+California,+together+with+the+Superintendent+of+Common+Schools+in+the+Cities+of+San+Francisco.+Sacramento,+and+Marysville,+are+hereby+constituted+(ex+officio)+a+Board+of+Trustees+for+the+Normal+School+of+the+State+of+California,+as+hereinafter+provided.&pg=PA472}}</ref>  The '''California State Normal Schoo'''l was then opened on July 21, 1862.<ref>{{cite web |year=1902 |title=Dailey, Morris Elmer. History of the State Normal School at San Jose |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL2gAAAAMAAJ&q=minns+evening+normal+school%22&pg=PA61 |access-date=November 15, 2017 |website=Books.google.com}}</ref>

Despite continued success, with increasing enrollment and funding, the California State Normal School quickly began to hold contention with the [[San Francisco Board of Education]], which poached students and withheld sufficient school facilities.<ref name="Gilbert33">Gilbert, p.33-34</ref> Because of these issues, the Normal School moved sites six times while in San Francisco, citing noise complaints, sanitary concerns, and lack of access to proper facilities and materials.<ref name="Gilbert26">Gilbert, p.26</ref>

In 1868, more serious talks of finding a permanent location for the Normal School began, with a general consensus that the school needed to cut ties with the San Francisco Board of Education and move out of San Francisco.  After it became public that the Normal School was looking to move for a permanent location, several cities put in bids to home the school, however after the [[San Francisco and San Jose Railroad|San Jose Railroad Company]] paid to have the entire student and faculty body tour the city and potential locations for the school, San Jose became the preferred site.<ref name="Gilbert45">Gilbert, p.45-46</ref> The school moved to San Jose in 1871 and was given Washington Square Park at S. 4th and San Carlos Streets, where the campus remains to this day.<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU History |publisher=San José State University |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/people/annette.nellen/website/sjsu_history_information.htm|access-date=February 26, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly of the session of the Legislature of the State of California (1875) (14597061738).jpg|left|thumb|The first building on Washington Square, which was destroyed in a fire in 1880.]]

The first building on Washington Square was opened in 1871 and fully completed in 1876, however in 1880 the building was destroyed in a fire. After its destruction, Principal [[Charles Herman Allen|Charles H. Allen]] journeyed to [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] to request the California State Legislator for emergency funds for a new building. This caused significant debate in the senate about the effectiveness of the school and if it would be better served elsewhere. The [[California State Senate]] voted to move the school to [[Los Angeles]], but was ultimately kept in San Jose after objections by the [[California State Assembly]].<ref name="Gilbert73">Gilbert, p.73-76</ref> The legislature ultimately settled to give partial emergency funds to the school for the construction of a new building, which finished construction in 1881.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}[[File:California State Normal School, San Jose LCCN2003681544.jpg|left|thumb|Initially built to replace the building that was destroyed in 1880, the second State Normal School Building was destroyed in the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 San Francisco Earthquake]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Second Normal School Building (SJSU) |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/people/annette.nellen/website/SJSUHistory/secondbldg.htm |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref>]][[Image:The California State Normal School Bell, San Jose State University, San Jose, California (3124843887).jpg|thumb|upright|The California State Normal School Bell, forged in 1881, still graces the San Jose campus.|right]]As a part of the construction of the new building, a large bell was forged to commemorate the school. The bell cost $1,200 {{USDCY|1200|1880}},<ref name="Gilbert77">Gilbert, p.77</ref> and was inscribed with the words "California State Normal School, A.D. 1881," and would sound on special occasions until 1946 when the college obtained new chimes.<ref name="traditions" /> The original bell appears on the SJSU campus to this day and is still associated with various student traditions and rituals.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Immediately after the failed attempt to move State Normal School to Los Angeles, California State Senator J.P. West sponsored a bill to create a "Branch State Normal School" in Los Angeles. The bill was passed by both houses, and opened in August 1882. The southern branch campus remained under administrative control of the San Jose campus until 1887.<ref>{{cite web |date=1908 |title=History of the Los Angeles State Normal School, quarter centennial, 1882-1907 |url=https://archive.org/details/losangelesstaten00stat |access-date=September 21, 2021 |publisher=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1919, the school became the southern branch of the University of California, and later became the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|title=San José State University: About SJSU: 1880-1899 |publisher=San José State University|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/history/timeline/1880/|access-date=December 14, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Los Angeles State Normal School Records|publisher=Online Archive of California |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf6n39p118/|access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>

=== 20th Century ===
In 1921, the California State Normal School changed its name to the State Teachers College at San Jose.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 1922, the State Teachers College at San Jose adopted the Spartans as the school's official mascot and nickname. Mascots and nicknames prior to 1922 included the Daniels, the Teachers, the Pedagogues, the Normals and the Normalites.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 1930, the Justice Studies Department was founded as a two-year police science degree program. It holds the distinction of offering the first policing degree in the United States. A stone monument and plaque are displayed close to the site of the original police school near [[Tower Hall (San Jose State University)|Tower Hall]].<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU: Justice Studies |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/justicestudies/about-us/history.php |access-date=April 14, 2022 |publisher=SJSU}}</ref>

In 1935, the State Teachers Colleges became the California State Colleges, and the school's name was changed again, this time to San Jose State College.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 1942, the old gym (now named Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, after SJSU judo coach [[Yosh Uchida]]) was used to register and collect Japanese Americans before sending them to [[Internment of Japanese Americans|internment camps]]. Uchida's own family members were interred at some of these camps.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 1, 2012 |title=For 66 Years, a Force for Judo in the United States |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/sports/san-jose-coach-yoshihiro-uchida-a-force-for-judo.html |access-date=September 21, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1963, in an effort to save Tower Hall from demolition, SJSU students and alumni organized testimonials before the State College Board of Trustees, sent telegrams and provided signed petitions. As a result of those efforts, the tower, a principal campus landmark and SJSU icon, was refurbished and reopened in 1966. The tower was again renovated and restored in 2007. Tower Hall is registered with the California Office of Historic Preservation.<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU Alumni Association |url=http://www.sjsualumni.com/about_us/history.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328000655/http://www.sjsualumni.com/about_us/history.php |archive-date=March 28, 2009 |access-date=December 14, 2009 |work=History |publisher=SJSU}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=California Office of Historic Preservation |url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail.aspx?num=417 |access-date=December 14, 2009 |work=Landmarks (No. 417) |publisher=OHP}}</ref>

During the 1960s and early 1970s, San Jose State College witnessed a rise in political activism and civic awareness among its student body, including major student protests against the [[Vietnam War]]. One of the largest campus protests took place in 1967 when [[Dow Chemical Company]] — a major manufacturer of [[napalm]] used in the war — came to campus to conduct job recruiting. An estimated 3,000 students and bystanders surrounded the 7th Street administration building, and more than 200 students and teachers lay down on the ground in front of the recruiters.<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU Library |url=http://www.sjlibrary.org/research/special/special_coll/exhibit.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613082125/http://sjlibrary.org/research/special/special_coll/exhibit.htm |archive-date=June 13, 2010 |access-date=December 14, 2009 |work=Civil Rights Exhibit 2007 |publisher=SJSU}}</ref>

In 1972, upon meeting criteria established by the board of trustees and the Coordinating Council for Higher Education, SJSC was granted university status, and the name was changed to California State University, San Jose.<ref name="calstate.edu">{{cite web |title=About the CSU: History|publisher=CSU |url=https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/about-the-csu/Pages/history.aspx |access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref> However, in 1974, the California legislature voted to change the school's name to San José State University.<ref name="calstate.edu" />

In 1982, the English department began sponsoring the annual [[Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest |url=http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/ |access-date=December 14, 2009 |work=History |publisher=BLFC}}</ref>

In 1985, the [[CADRE Laboratory for New Media]] was established. It is believed to be the second oldest media lab of its kind in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chamberlain |first=Marcia |title=CADRE '84, Computers in Art and Design, Research and Education |publisher=San Jose State University Art Department |year=1983 |location=San Jose, California}}</ref>

In 1999, San Jose State and the City of San Jose agreed to combine their main libraries to form a joint city-university library located on campus, the first known collaboration of this type in the United States. The combined library faced opposition, with critics stating the two libraries have very different objectives and that the project would be too expensive. Despite opposition, the $177 million project proceeded, and the [[Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library]] opened on time and on budget in 2003. The library has won several national awards since its initial opening.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=dcoronelmartinlustreetrkingjcoronellibrary-sanjose-ca-usa |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223091621/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=dcoronelmartinlustreetrkingjcoronellibrary-sanjose-ca-usa |archive-date=February 23, 2007 |access-date=December 14, 2009 |publisher=Emporis.com}}</ref>

=== 21st Century ===
During its 2006–07 fiscal year, SJSU received a record $50+ million in private gifts and $84 million in capital campaign contributions.<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU: San José State University Ranked First in Private Giving to CSU During 2006–2007 |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/news/releases/releases_detail.jsp?id=2748|access-date=December 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204040438/http://www.sjsu.edu/news/releases/releases_detail.jsp?id=2748 |archive-date=February 4, 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, SJSU received a [[Council for Advancement and Support of Education|CASE]] WealthEngine Award in recognition of raising over $100 million. SJSU was one of approximately 50 institutions nationwide honored by CASE in 2008 for overall performance in educational fundraising.<ref>{{cite web|title=University Advancement |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/advancement/development/ |publisher=SJSU |access-date=January 4, 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901005758/http://www.sjsu.edu/advancement/development/|archive-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref>

In October 2010, SJSU President [[Don Kassing]] publicly launched SJSU's first-ever comprehensive capital fundraising campaign dubbed "Acceleration: the Campaign for San Jose State University."<ref>{{cite news |author1=Sal Pizarro |title=San Jose State kicks off first-ever capital campaign |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/21/san-jose-state-kicks-off-first-ever-capital-campaign/ |access-date=13 March 2023 |publisher=The Mercury News |date=21 October 2010}}</ref> The original goal of the multi-year campaign was to raise $150 million but was later increased to $200 million because of the rapid success of the campaign. The campaign would eventually exceed its goal one year earlier than anticipated, raising more than $208 million by 2013.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Pat Lopes Harris |title=Exceeding Our Goal, Powering Our Future |url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2013/president-delivers-fall-welcome-address/ |website=SJSU NewsCenter |publisher=SJSU |access-date=13 March 2023 |date=August 19, 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, the [[NASA Ames Research Center]] in Mountain View, California, awarded SJSU $73.3 million to participate in the development of systems for improving the safety and efficiency of air and space travel. NASA scientists, SJSU faculty and graduate students worked collaboratively on this effort. The grant was the largest federal award in SJSU history.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Pat Lopes Harris |title=SJSU Receives $73.3 Million Award to Participate in NASA Research |url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2012/sjsu-receives-73-3-million-award-to-participate-in-nasa-research/ |website=SJSU NewsCenter |publisher=SJSU |access-date=13 March 2023 |date=30 January 2012}}</ref>

=== University principals and presidents ===
{{Main|List of presidents of San Jose State University}}

Thirty-two people have led San Jose State since its founding including 8 principals, 15 presidents, 5 acting presidents, and 4 interim presidents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presidents {{!}} History |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/about/history/presidents/index.php |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" style="border-bottom: solid; padding: 5px;|Principals
! colspan="9" style="border-bottom: solid;border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|Presidents

|-
!#
!Name
!Years served
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;"|#
!Name
!Years served
!style="border-left: solid |#
!Name
!Years served
!style="border-left: solid |#
!Name
!Years served
|-
!1
|[[George W. Minns]]
|1857–1862
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|9
|James McNaughton
|1899–1900
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|19
|Hobert W. Burns<sup>A</sup>
|1969–1970
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|26
|[[Don Kassing|Don W. Kassing]]<sup>T</sup>
|2010–2011
|-
!2
|Ahira Holmes
|1862–1865
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|10
|Morris Elmer Dailey
|1900–1918
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|20
|[[John H. Bunzel]]
|1970–1978
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|28
|[[Mohammad Qayoumi]]
|2011–2015
|-
!1
|[[George W. Minns]]
|1865–1866
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|11
|Lewis Ben Wilson<sup>A</sup>
|1919–1920
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|21
|[[Gail Fullerton]]
|1978–1991
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|29
|[[Susan Martin|Susan W. Martin]]<sup>T</sup>
|2015–2016
|-
!3
|Henry P. Carlton
|1866–1867
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|12
|William Webb Kemp
|1920–1923
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|22
|J. Handel Evans<sup>A</sup>
|1991–1994
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|30
|[[Mary Papazian|Mary A. Papazian]]
|2016–2021
|-
!4
|George E. Tait
|1867–1868
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|13
|Alexander Richard Heron<sup>A</sup>
|1923–1923
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|23
|[[Robert L. Caret]]
|1995–2003
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|31
|[[Stephen Perez]]<sup>T</sup>
|2022–2023
|-
!3
|Henry P. Carlton
|1868–1868
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|14
|Edwin Reagan Snyder
|1923–1925
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|24
|[[Joseph N. Crowley]]<sup>T</sup>
|2003–2004
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|32
|[[Cynthia Teniente-Matson]]
|2023–Present
|-
!5
|William T. Lucky
|1868–1873
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|15
|Herman F. Minssen<sup>A</sup>
|1923–1927
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|25
|[[Paul Yu]]
|2004–2004
| colspan="3" rowspan="4" style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;"|
|-
!6
|[[Charles Herman Allen|Charles H. Allen]]
|1873–1889
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|16
|Thomas William MacQuarrie
|1927–1952
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|26
|[[Don Kassing|Don W. Kassing]]<sup>T</sup>
|2004–2005
|-
!7
|[[Charles W. Childs]]
|1889–1896
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|17
|John T. Wahlquist
|1952–1964
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|26
|[[Don Kassing|Don W. Kassing]]
|2005–2008
|-
!8
|Ambrose Randall
|1896–1899
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|18
|[[Robert D. Clark]]
|1964–1969
!style="border-left: 3px solid; padding: 5px;|27
|[[Jon Whitmore]]
|2008–2010
|-
! colspan="12" |<sup>A</sup> = Acting President   <sup>T</sup> = Interim President
|}

== Campus ==
[[File:Tower Hall, San José State University - DSC03889.JPG|thumb|Built in 1910, [[Tower Hall (San Jose State University)|Tower Hall]] is the oldest structure on the SJSU campus.]]
[[File:Central Classroom Building (San José State University) - DSC03921.JPG|thumb|The Central Classroom Building is the third oldest structure on campus.]]
{{See also|Tower Hall (San Jose State University)|label 1=Tower Hall}}
The SJSU main campus comprises approximately 55 buildings situated on a rectangular, {{convert|154|acre|ha|1|adj=on}} area in downtown San Jose. The campus is bordered by San Fernando Street to the north, San Salvador Street to the south, South 4th Street to the west, and South 10th Street to the east. The south campus, which is home to many of the school's athletics facilities, is located approximately {{convert|1.5|mi|km|abbr=off}} south of the main campus on South 7th Street.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

California State Normal School did not receive a permanent home until it moved from San Francisco to San Jose in 1871. The original California State Normal School campus in San Jose consisted of several rectangular, wooden buildings with a central grass quadrangle. The wooden buildings were destroyed by fire in 1880 and were replaced by interconnected stone and masonry structures of roughly the same configuration in 1881.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

These buildings were declared unsafe following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]] and were being torn down when an [[aftershock]] of the magnitude that was predicted to destroy the buildings occurred and no damage was observed. Accordingly, demolition was stopped, and the portions of the buildings still standing were subsequently transformed into four halls: Tower Hall, Morris Dailey Auditorium, Washington Square Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall. These four structures remain standing to this day and are the oldest buildings on campus.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Beginning in the fall of 1994, the on-campus segments of San Carlos Street, 7th Street and 9th Street were closed to automobile traffic and converted to pedestrian walkways and green belts within the campus. San Carlos Street was renamed [[Paseo de San Carlos]], 7th Street became [[Paseo de César Chávez]], and 9th Street is now called the Ninth Street Plaza. The project was completed in 1996.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Completed in 1999, the Business Classroom Project was a $16 million renovation of the [[James F. Boccardo]] Business Education Center. The $1.5 million Heritage Gateway project was completed in the same year. The privately funded project featured construction of eight oversized gateways around the main campus perimeter.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In the fall of 2000, the SJSU Police Department, which is part of the larger [[California State University Police Department]], opened a new on-campus, multi-level facility on 7th Street.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The $177 million [[Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library]], which opened its doors on August 1, 2003, won the [[Library Journal|Library Journal's]] 2004 Library of the Year award, the publication's highest honor.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Library Journal Library of the Year 2004: San José Public Library and San José State University Library|url=http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA423793.html |magazine=Library Journal |author=John N. Berry lll|date=June 15, 2004|access-date=January 11, 2010}}</ref> The King Library represents the first collaboration of its kind between a university and a major U.S. city. The library is eight stories high, has {{convert|475000|sqft|m2}} of floor space, and houses approximately 1.3 million volumes.<ref>{{cite web|title=CSU Library Statistic Reports|url=http://www.calstate.edu/library/content/statistics/|publisher=CSU|year=2012|access-date=March 20, 2014|archive-date=February 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224042708/https://www.calstate.edu/library/content/statistics/|url-status=dead}}</ref> San Jose's first public library occupied the same site from 1901 to 1936, and SJSU's Wahlquist Library occupied the site from 1961 to 2000.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In 2007, a $2 million renovation of Tower Hall was completed. Tower Hall is among the oldest and most recognizable buildings on campus. It was registered as an official [[California Historical Landmark]] in 1949.<ref>{{cite web |title=FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA (SAN JOSE STATE COLLEGE) |url=https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/417 |website=Office of Historic Preservation |publisher=ca.gov |access-date=12 April 2023}}</ref> The building was rededicated in 1910 after numerous campus structures were either destroyed or heavily damaged in the 1906 earthquake. Tower Hall, Morris Dailey Auditorium, Washington Square Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall are the four oldest buildings on campus.<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU Tower Hall|url=http://www.sjsuspartans.com/facilities/sjsu-facilities.html|publisher=San Jose State University Facilities|access-date=January 1, 2014|archive-date=April 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425204948/http://www.sjsuspartans.com/facilities/sjsu-facilities.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Diaz Compean Student Union]] is a four-story, stand-alone facility that features a food court, the Spartan Bookstore, a multi-level study area, ballrooms, a bowling alley, music room and large game room. In September 2010, a $90 million expansion and renovation of the student union commenced. The project added approximately {{convert|100000|sqft|m2}} including construction of new ballrooms, food court, theater, meeting rooms and student program spaces. The expansion phase of the project was completed in June 2014. The renovation phase of the project was completed in August 2015.<ref name="PDC Projects">{{cite web|title=Planning, Design & Construction Projects |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/departments/pdc/projects/ |publisher=SJSU|year=2014|access-date=December 4, 2014}}</ref>

Construction of a new, three-story, {{convert|52000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} on-campus health center at 7th Street and Paseo de San Carlos was completed in March 2015. The building houses the Student Health Center, Student Affairs office, Counseling Services and Wellness Center. The project was completed at a cost of over $36 million.<ref name="PDC Projects"/><ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU Student Union's 'extreme makeover' |url=http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2010/02/11/News/Sjsu-Student.Unions.extreme.Makeover-3869699.shtml|publisher=Spartan Daily|author=Marlon Maloney|date=February 11, 2010 |access-date=June 18, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://spartandaily.com/135277/building-renovations-among-topics-discussed-coffee-hour |title=Building renovations among topics discussed at Coffee Hour|work=Spartan Daily|access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref>

In August 2015, a $55 million renovation of the Spartan Complex was completed.<ref name="PDC Projects"/> The Spartan Complex houses open recreation spaces, gymnasiums, an indoor aquatics center, the kinesiology department, weight rooms, locker rooms, dance and judo studios, and other classroom space. The primary project objectives were to expand existing structures, upgrade the structures to make them compliant with current building codes, correct ADA deficiencies, remove hazardous materials and correct fire safety deficiencies.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

=== Residence halls ===
[[File:Faculty and Staff Housing (2530372232).jpg|thumb|One of three Campus Village student residence buildings towers over the southeast corner of the SJSU main campus. A total of seven residences halls provide on-campus housing for 4,458 students.]]
The SJSU on-campus housing community comprises seven residence halls, which can accommodate a combined total of 4,458 students. When the third phase of the Campus Village is completed, SJSU's total on-campus student housing capacity should increase from 4,458 to 4,928. The projected total cost for this project is approximately $334 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Campus Village 3 Affordability |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/our-projects/CV3/cv3-affordability.php |website=Facilities, Development and Operations |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=15 March 2023}}</ref>

In January 2023, the California State University Board of Trustees approved a public-private partnership between SJSU and local investors that will allow the former [[Al Alquist|Alfred E. Alquist]] state office building site to be transformed into new housing for SJSU faculty, staff, and graduate students.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Marcus Ismael |title=Alquist Redevelopment Project Gets CSU Approval to Advance |url=https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2023/alquist-redevelopment-project-gets-csu-approval-to-advance/ |website=SJSU NewsCenter |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=17 March 2023 |date=January 25, 2023}}</ref> Located one block west of the SJSU main campus, the 1.6-acre (0.65 ha) parcel will be the site of approximately 1,000 new housing rental units. Up to half of those units will be reserved for graduate students.<ref>{{cite web |title=Project Overview |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/our-projects/alquist/alquist-about.php |website=Facilities Development and Operations |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref> The new housing development will comprise one or more high-rise structures up to {{convert|300|ft|m|1}} tall. The estimated total cost of the project is $750 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alquist Redevelopment Finances |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/our-projects/alquist/alquist-finance.php |website=Facilities Development and Operations |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref> The project's design phase is projected to be completed by early 2024. Construction is projected to begin in late 2024 and be completed in 2027.<ref>{{cite web |title=Project Timeline |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/our-projects/alquist/alquist-timeline.php |website=Facilities Development and Operations |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=18 March 2023}}</ref>

=== Additional on-campus facilities ===
[[File:Cesar-chavez-arch.jpg|thumb|The [[Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice|''Arch of Dignity, Equality and Justice'']], 2008 by [[Judy Baca]], on the [[Paseo de César Chávez]].]]
SJSU is home to the {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|adj=on}}, three-story Nuclear Science Facility. It is the only nuclear science facility of its kind in the California State University system.<ref>{{cite web|title=Radiochemistry Society Graduate Programs |url=https://www.radiochemistry.org/graduate_programs/usa/sanjosestate_univ.htm|access-date=February 26, 2022}}</ref>

Located on the main campus, the [[Provident Credit Union Event Center]] seats approximately 5,000 people for athletic events and over 6,500 for concerts.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

A new student recreation and aquatic center opened in April 2019. At a cost of $132 million, the new facility houses multiple gymnasiums, basketball courts, multiple weight and fitness centers, exercise rooms, rock climbing wall, indoor track, indoor soccer fields, and competition and recreation pools with support spaces. The new facility is located on the main campus at the corner of 7th Street and San Carlos on the site of the old aquatic center, which was demolished in 2017.<ref name="PDC Projects"/>

Construction of a new interdisciplinary science building broke ground in April 2019. At a projected cost of $181 million, the new facility will house teaching labs, research labs, faculty offices, a dean's suite and interdisciplinary spaces totaling {{convert|164000|sqft|m2|}}. The project site is located on the southwest quadrant of campus just north of Duncan Hall. The new building was completed in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Science and Innovation Complex |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/science/news/04-science-innovation-complex.php|access-date=February 26, 2022}}</ref>

=== South Campus ===
[[File:Aerial view of the southern half of Spartan Keyes.jpg|thumb|A 2017 view of South Campus, stretching from the parking lot west of [[CEFCU Stadium]] to the golf course.]]
SJSU's South Campus is located in the [[Spartan Keyes, San Jose|Spartan Keyes]] neighborhood, just south of [[Downtown San Jose]]. Many of SJSU's athletics facilities, including [[CEFCU Stadium]] (formerly known as Spartan Stadium) and the Spartan Golf Complex, along with the athletics department administrative offices and multiple training, practice and competition facilities, are located on the {{convert|62|acre|ha|1|adj=on}} south campus approximately {{convert|1.5|mi|km|abbr=off}} south of the main campus near 7th Street. The south campus also is home to student overflow parking. Shuttle buses run between the main campus and south campus every 10 to 15 minutes Monday through Thursday.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In April 2014, a new $76 million master plan to renovate the entire South Campus was unveiled. The estimated cost was later increased to $150 million. The plan called for construction of a golf training facility, new baseball and softball stadiums, new outdoor recreation and intramural facility, new soccer and tennis facilities, three beach volleyball courts, a new multilevel parking garage, a new track and field facility, and a football stadium addition and renovation. The new golf, soccer and tennis facilities opened in 2017. The new softball facility opened in 2018, and the beach volleyball courts were completed in 2019. The intramural facility and parking garage were completed in 2021 along with the first phase of a new baseball facility.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In August 2023, the first phase of the football stadium project was completed at an approximate cost of $70 million.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kevin Nguyen |title=Why SJSU's new $70M Spartan Athletics Center is a 'big deal' |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2023/08/11/new-sjsu-athletic-center-opens.html |website=Silicon Valley Business Journal |publisher=The Business Journals |access-date=3 December 2023 |date=August 11, 2023}}</ref> Known as the Spartan Athletics Center, the 55,000 square-foot, multi-story facility houses a new football operations center, locker rooms, offices, meeting and training rooms and a sports medicine center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Avalos |first=George |date=August 13, 2023 |title=University Adds $70M Athletics Complex |pages=B1 |work=The Mercury News (San Jose, CA)}}</ref> The facility also includes soccer team offices and locker rooms, as well as dining and hospitality facilities, event spaces and premium viewing areas.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spartan Athletics Center|url=https://onespartannation.com/transform/spartan-athletics-center/index.html|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=March 17, 2021|archive-date=March 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322170556/https://onespartannation.com/transform/spartan-athletics-center/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Phase II, which is tentatively slated to include installation of premium spectator seating on the stadium's east side, remains in the planning stages as of 2023.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Remaining South Campus projects are either under construction or still in the planning stages, as of 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/docs/SJSU_South_Campus_Facilities_Development_Plan_Optimized.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=July 10, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115255/http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/docs/SJSU_South_Campus_Facilities_Development_Plan_Optimized.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref>

=== Off-campus facilities ===
SJSU Simpkins International House (360 S. 11th Street, San Jose) provides housing for domestic as well as international students of the university. International House (also known as I-House) is a co-ed residence facility for 70 U.S. and international students attending San José State University. The building has served as a residence hall since 1980, and offers cultural exchanges for U.S. students as well as residents from abroad.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The SJSU Department of Aviation and Technology maintains a {{convert|6000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} academic facility at the [[Reid-Hillview Airport]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

SJSU manages the [[Moss Landing Marine Laboratories|Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML)]] in [[Moss Landing, California]], at [[Monterey Bay]]. MLML is a cooperative research facility of seven CSU campuses. Construction of an aquaculture laboratory at the MLML site was completed in August 2014. The building project included construction of a {{convert|1400|sqft|m2|adj=on}} aquaculture lab building and installation of a {{convert|1584|sqft|m2|adj=on}} tank slab area. The project was made possible by grants from the [[David and Lucile Packard Foundation|Packard Foundation]].<ref name="PDC Projects"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aquaculture.mlml.calstate.edu/|title=Aquaculture at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories|website=Calstate.edu|access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref>

SJSU International and Extended Studies facility (384 S. 2nd Street, San Jose). This off-campus classroom building houses SJSU's International Gateway Programs, a collection of classes geared toward introducing international students to the English language and American culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://igateways.sjsu.edu/AboutUs|title=About International Gateways|publisher=San Jose State University|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525061322/http://igateways.sjsu.edu/AboutUs|archive-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>

University Club (408 S. 8th Street, San Jose), is a 16-room, multi-level dining, special events, and bed-and-breakfast style residence facility for faculty, staff, visiting scholars and graduate students of the university. This building is currently occupied by [[Alpha Omicron Pi]] sorority in agreement with the university.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Known simply as North Fourth Street (210 N. 4th Street, San Jose), this four-story facility houses the Global Studies Institute, Governmental and External Affairs, International and Extended Studies, the [[Mineta Transportation Institute]], the Processed Foods Institute, and the SJSU Research Foundation.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

==Organization==
[[File:Boccardo business complex.jpg|thumb|233x233px|The Boccardo Business Complex at the [[Lucas College and Graduate School of Business]].]]
As a member institution of the California State University System, San Jose State falls under the jurisdiction of the [[California State University#Governance|California State University Board of Trustees]] and the [[California State University#Governance|chancellor of the California State University]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The chief executive of San José State University is the [[List of presidents of San Jose State University|university president]]. On November 2022, the California State University Board of Trustees named Cynthia Teniente-Matson as the new SJSU president. Teniente-Matson previously served as the president of [[Texas A&M University–San Antonio]] and began her tenure at San Jose State on January 16, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cynthia Teniente-Matson Appointed President of San José State University {{!}} CSU |url=https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/news/Pages/Cynthia-Teniente-Matson-Appointed-President-of-San-Jos%C3%A9-State-University.aspx |access-date=2025-06-11 |website=www.calstate.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>

The university is organized into nine colleges:

*[[Lucas College and Graduate School of Business]]<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Business|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/cob/ |publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref>
*Connie L. Lurie College of Education<ref>{{cite web|title=Connie L. Lurie College of Education |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/education/ |publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref>
*[[Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering |url=http://engineering.sjsu.edu/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
*College of Graduate Studies<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Graduate Studies |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/cgs/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref>
*College of Health and Human Sciences (formerly the College of Applied Sciences and Arts)<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Health and Human Sciences |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/chhs/ |publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref>
*College of Humanities and the Arts<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Humanities and the Arts|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/humanitiesandarts/ |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref>
*College of Information, Data & Society (formerly the College of Professional and Global Education)<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Professional and Global Education|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/cies/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref>
*College of Science<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Science|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/science/|publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref>
*College of Social Sciences<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Social Sciences|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/socialsciences/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>

Additionally, SJSU has seven focused schools:

*School of Art and Design<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU School of Art and Design|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/art/|publisher=San Jose State University Graduate School of Art & Design|access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
*[[Lucas College and Graduate School of Business]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Lucas College and Graduate School of Business|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/cob/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 29, 2014}}</ref>
*School of Information<ref>{{cite web|title=School of Information |url=http://ischool.sjsu.edu/about/news/detail/sjsu-school-library-and-information-science-announces-new-school-name-reflects|access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
*School of Journalism and Mass Communications<ref>{{cite web|title=School of Journalism and Mass Communications |url=http://www.jmc.sjsu.edu/|publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref>
*School of Music and Dance<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU School of Music and Dance|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/music/|publisher=San Jose State University School of Music & Dance|access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
*The Valley Foundation School of Nursing<ref>{{cite web|title=The Valley Foundation School of Nursing |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/nursing/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=October 14, 2013}}</ref>
*School of Social Work<ref>{{cite web|title=School of Social Work|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/socialwork/|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref>

== Academics ==
[[Image:Sjsulibrary.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library]] houses over 1.6 million volumes.]]As of spring 2023, San José State University offered 150 [[bachelor's degree]] programs, 95 [[master's degree]]s, 5 [[doctorate|doctoral degrees]], 11 different [[credential]] programs, and 42 certificates.<ref name="majorsandprograms" /> SJSU is accredited by the [[Western Association of Schools and Colleges]] (WASC).<ref name="San Jose State University" />

SJSU's doctoral degree offerings include a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] program in library and information science offered jointly through [[Manchester Metropolitan University]] in [[Manchester]], [[England]],<ref>{{cite web|title=San Jose Gateway PhD Program|date=October 5, 2020 |url=https://ischool.sjsu.edu/gateway-phd|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=September 19, 2021}}</ref> a [[Doctor of Audiology|doctor of audiology]] (Au.D.), an [[doctor of education|Ed.D.]] program in educational leadership, a [[Doctor of Nursing Practice|doctor of nursing practice]] (DNP), and an [[occupational therapy]] doctorate (OTD).<ref name="majorsandprograms" />

As of fall 2024, the university's Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering, with 7,133 undergraduate and graduate students, was the largest college on campus.<ref name="IEA">{{cite web|title=Enrollment by Major/Program |publisher = San Jose State University Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analytics |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/enroll_by_major_live/EnrollmentByMajorDashboard?%3Aembed_code_version=3&%3Aembed=y&%3AloadOrderID=0&%3Adisplay_spinner=no&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link}}</ref> SJSU's Lucas College and Graduate School of Business was the second largest college on campus with a total enrollment of 6,745 undergraduate and graduate students.<ref name="IEA" /> The university's College of Social Sciences, with 5,442 undergraduate and graduate students, was the third-largest college at SJSU.<ref name="IEA" /> Enrollment wise, the Lucas College of Business is among the largest business schools in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=San Jose State University Lucas Graduate School of Business|publisher=The Princeton Review|date=2014 |url=http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/business/BizBasics.aspx?iid=1011072|access-date=December 2, 2014}}</ref> It is accredited by the [[Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business]] (AACSB) at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU College of Business|publisher=SJSU|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/cob/ |access-date=December 14, 2009}}</ref>

===Rankings===
{{Infobox US university ranking
<!-- U.S. rankings -->| Forbes = 87
| USNWR_LA = 
| USNWR_REG = 4
| Wamo_MASTERSU = 30
| THE_WSJ = 16
| THES_W = 1001–1200
| USNWR_W = 1624
}}

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width: 22em;"
|+2024–2025 USNWR Rankings Regional Universities in the West<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/san-jose-state-university-1155/overall-rankings |title=San Jose State University Rankings|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| Most Innovative Schools 
| 3
|-
| Top Public Schools
| 3
|-
| Best Colleges for Veterans
| 3
|-
| Top Performers on Social Mobility
| 12
|-
| Best Value Schools
| 11
|-
| Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
| 15 (At schools where doctorate not offered)
|-
| [[Computer Engineering]]
| 9
|-
| [[Electrical Engineering]] / Electronic / Communications 
| 10
|-
| [[Mechanical Engineering]]
| 12
|-
| [[Nursing]]
| 218
|-
| [[Economics]]
| 214
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width: 22em;"
|+2024–2025 USNWR Best Graduate School Rankings<ref name="2021 USNWR Grad School Rankings">{{cite magazine|title=San Jose State University - U.S. News Best Grad School Rankings|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=September 24, 2020|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/san-jose-state-university-122755/overall-rankings}}</ref>
|-
| Library and Information Studies
| 19
|-
| Occupational Therapy
| 30
|-
| Social Work
| 77
|-
| Speech-Language Pathology
| 74
|-
| Fine Arts
| 110
|-
| Public Affairs
| 121
|-
| Public Health
| 116
|-
| Nursing Master's
| 135
|-
| Part-time MBA
| 143
|-
| Education
| 120
|}

According to the 2024 ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' college rankings, San Jose State was ranked No. 3 in the western United States. SJSU was ranked No. 16 among all 120 "regional universities" in the western U.S.<ref name="USNWR">{{cite web |title=''U.S. News'' Best College Rankings |year=2022 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/san-jose-state-university-1155/overall-rankings |access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref>

SJSU's undergraduate engineering program was ranked tied for No. 12 nationally among 230 public and private colleges that do not offer doctoral degrees in engineering, according to the 2022-2023 ''U.S. News & World Report'' college rankings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-overall |title=Best Undergraduate Engineering Program Rankings |access-date=September 15, 2022 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |year=2022}}</ref>

SJSU was ranked No. 107 out of approximately 500 institutions nationwide on the 2022 ''[[Forbes]]'' America's Top Colleges list. SJSU was ranked No. 43 nationally on the Forbes list of top ''public'' universities and colleges. Forbes also ranked SJSU No. 40 nationally out of approximately 300 colleges and universities on the most recent Forbes list of America's Best Value Colleges (2019).<ref name="America's Top Colleges">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/san-jose-state-university/?list=top-colleges&sh=549eee746064|title=America's Top Colleges |magazine=Forbes |date=September 2022}}</ref>

''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine ranked San Jose State No. 31 nationally out of approximately 625 schools it evaluated for its 2022 "Best Colleges in America" ranking.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value|url=https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/san-jose-state-university/ |magazine= Money|date=2022 |access-date= September 15, 2022}}</ref>'' Money'' also ranked SJSU No. 27 nationally on its 2022 list of Best Public Colleges,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Best Public Colleges |url=https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/best-public-colleges/ |magazine=Money |date=2022 |access-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119133143/https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/best-public-colleges/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> No. 39 on its list of Best Colleges for Engineering Majors,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Best Colleges for Engineering Majors|url=https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/best-engineering-colleges/|magazine= Money|date=2022 |access-date= September 15, 2022}}</ref> and No. 19 on Money's list of Best Colleges in the West.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Best Colleges in the West|url=https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/best-colleges-west/|magazine= Money|date=2022 |access-date= September 15, 2022}}</ref> Finally, ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine ranked San Jose State No. 1 nationally on its 2020 list of "Most Transformative Colleges."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Most Transformative Colleges|url=https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-transformative-colleges/|magazine= Money|date=2020 |access-date= December 18, 2020}}</ref>

SJSU was ranked No. 16 out of more than 800 U.S. colleges and universities in the ''Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education'' College Rankings 2025. The ranking was based on 15 individual performance indicators and responses from more than 170,000 current college students.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/san-jose-state-university |title=Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2022|access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref>

''[[Washington Monthly]]'' ranked SJSU No. 53 nationally out of 603 master's universities (2022). ''Washington Monthly'' ranks colleges based on their "contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022-college-guide/masters/|title=2022 Master's University Rankings|magazine=Washington Monthly |access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref>

The [[Webometrics Ranking of World Universities]], which provides an assessment of the scholarly contents, visibility and impact of universities on the web, ranked SJSU No. 701 out of approximately 12,000 universities worldwide, and No. 200 out of approximately 3,200 U.S. colleges and universities (2022).<ref>{{cite web|title=Ranking Web of Universities|url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/world|website=webometrics.info |access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ranking Web of Universities |url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/Americas/USA|website=webometrics.info |access-date=September 15, 2022}}</ref>

=== Undergraduate admissions ===
Admission to SJSU is based on a combination of the applicant's high school cumulative [[grade point average]] (GPA) and standardized test scores. These factors are used to determine the applicant's California State University (CSU) eligibility index. More specifically, the eligibility index is a weighted combination of the applicant's high school grade point average during the final three years of high school and either the [[SAT]] or [[ACT (test)|ACT]] score.

The CSU eligibility index is calculated by using either the SAT or ACT as follows: ''(Sum of SAT scores in mathematics and critical reading) + (800 x high school GPA) '''or''' (10 x ACT composite score without the writing score) + (200 x high school GPA).''

In fall 2022, a total of 34,783 first-time, first-year (freshmen) applications were submitted, with 26,083 applicants accepted (75.0%) and 4,036 enrolling (15.5% of those accepted).<ref name="analytics.sjsu.edu">{{cite web |title=Applied, Admitted, Enrolled Headcounts by Year (Fall Term) |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/applied_by_year_live/YearDashboard?%3Aembed_code_version=3&%3Aembed=y&%3AloadOrderID=0&%3Adisplay_spinner=no&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link |website=Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Analytics |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=13 March 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:left; font-size:85%; margin-right:1em;"
|+ ''Freshman Admission Statistics<ref name="CDS2023" />''<ref name="CDS2023">{{cite web |title=San Jose State University Common Data Set 2024-25 |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/irsa/docs/cds/20250411_CDS_2024-2025%20FINAL.pdf |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref><ref name="CDS0">{{cite web |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/iesa/docs/cds/2021-22.pdf |title=San Jose State University Common Data Set 2021–2022 |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref><ref name="CDS1">{{cite web |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/iesa/docs/cds/2020-21.pdf |title=San Jose State University Common Data Set 2020–2021 |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref><ref name="CDS2">{{cite web |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/iesa/docs/cds/2019-20.pdf |title=San Jose State University Common Data Set 2019–2020 |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref>
|-
!
!2024
!2023!! 2022 !! 2021 !! 2020 
|-
! Applicants
|37,132
|35,780 || 34,783 || 30,441 || 32,375 
|-
! Admits
|31,419
|28,708 || 26,083 || 25,682 || 21,810 
|-
! % Admitted
|84.6
| 80.2 || 75.0 || 84.4 || 67.4 
|-
! Enrolled
|4,604
|4,519 || 4,036 || 4,220 || 3,325 
|-
! SAT composite (middle 50% range)
|1090–1330
|1070–1320 || 1070–1370 || 1030–1310 || 1030–1240 
|-
! ACT composite (middle 50% range)
|24–30
|22–28 || 21–29 || 20–31 || 19–26 
|-
! Average High School GPA
|3.53
|3.50 || 3.60 || 3.54 || 3.55 
|}
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:left; font-size:85%; margin-right:1em;"
|+ ''Transfer Admission Statistics''<ref name="analytics.sjsu.edu"/><ref name="CDS0" /><ref name="CDS1" /><ref name="CDS2" />
|-
!
!2024
!2023!! 2022 !! 2021 !! 2020 
|-
! Applicants
|11,504
|10,880
| 12,458 || 14,337 || 14,929 
|-
! Admits
|8.036
|7,806
| 8,720 || 10,120 || 10,329 
|-
! % Admitted
|69.8
|71.7
| 70.0 || 70.6 || 69.2 
|-
! Enrolled
|3,144
|2,939
| 3,220 || 3,739 || 4,328 
|}

Among first-time, first-year (freshmen) students who enrolled in fall 2021, [[SAT]] scores for the middle 50.0% ranged from 1030–1310.<ref name="CDS1" /> [[ACT (test)|ACT]] composite scores for the middle 50.0% ranged from 20–31.<ref name="CDS0" /> The average high school GPA for incoming freshmen was 3.54. Approximately 39.0% of all incoming freshmen had a high school GPA between 3.75 and 4.0. and 18% had an incoming average high school GPA of 4.0<ref name="CDS0" />

In recent years, enrollment at SJSU has become impacted in all undergraduate majors, which means the university no longer has the enrollment capacity to accept all CSU-eligible applicants, including some from local high schools and community colleges. Although an applicant may meet the minimum CSU admission requirements, CSU-eligible applicants are no longer guaranteed admission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/orientation/Fall%202013%20Admissions.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=April 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405051404/http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/orientation/Fall%202013%20Admissions.pdf |archive-date=April 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf|title=2018-2019 CSU Undergraduate Impacted Programs Matrix|website=Calstate.edu|access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref>

=== Undergraduate graduation and retention ===
Among all first-time freshmen students who enrolled at SJSU in fall 2017, 30% graduated within four years; 68% who enrolled in fall 2015 graduated within six years.<ref name="Stats">{{cite web |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/grad_retn_by_year_live/GradRetentionbyYear?%3Aembed_code_version=3&%3Aembed=y&%3AloadOrderID=0&%3Adisplay_spinner=no&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link |title=Graduation and Retention Rates by Year |publisher=San Jose State University Institutional Research |access-date=September 20, 2022}}</ref> Among new undergraduate transfer students who enrolled at SJSU in fall 2017, 33.0% graduated within two years, 69% graduated within three years, and 80.0% graduated within four years. Among first-time graduate students who enrolled at SJSU in fall 2017, 52.0% graduated within two years, 78% graduated within three years, and 83.0% graduated within four years.<ref name="Stats" />

The percentage of undergraduate students from the fall 2019 cohort returning in fall 2020 was 86.0% for full-time freshman students, 90.0% for new undergraduate transfer students, and 92.0% for first-time graduate students.<ref name="Stats" />

== Faculty and research ==
[[File:MLML main entrance.jpg|thumb|The [[Moss Landing Marine Laboratories]].|left]]
The university is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R2: High Research Spending and Doctorate Production".<ref name=":3" /> As of fall 2024, San José State University employed 2,177 faculty, 1,300 of whom (or about 60%) were full-time or equivalent (FTEF).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/fac_quickfacts_live/DB_QUICKFACT?%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3AshowVizHome=n |title=Faculty Quick Facts |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>

According to [[National Science Foundation]] survey data, in 2023 San Jose State's research and development expenditures totaled $88.1 million, placing it second in total [[R&D]] expenditures out of all 23 California State University (CSU) campuses and No. 187 out of more than 900 colleges and universities nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingbysource&ds=herd |title= Academic Institution Profiles (Rankings by Total R&D Expenditures) |publisher= National Science Foundation |access-date= February 6, 2023}}</ref>

Research collections located at SJSU include the [[Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies]], the [[Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies]], the [[J. Gordon Edwards (entomologist)|J. Gordon Edwards]] Entomology Museum and the [[Carl Sharsmith|Carl W. Sharsmith]] Herbarium.

SJSU research partnerships include the SJSU Metropolitan Technology Center at [[NASA Ames Research Center]], [[Moffett Field, California|Moffett Field]], the [[Cisco Systems|Cisco Networking]] Laboratory, and the [[Moss Landing Marine Laboratories]]. SJSU is also home to the [[Mineta Transportation Institute]].

Additionally, the university operates the Survey and Policy Research Institute (SPRI), which conducts the quarterly, high-profile California Consumer Confidence Survey and many other research projects.

SJSU is a member institution of the [[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://casgc.ucsd.edu/?page_id=27|title=California Space Grant Consortium Affiliates|work=ucsd.edu}}</ref>

Since 1979, the SJSU Department of Kinesiology operates the Timpany Center (located at 730 Empey Way), a non-profit therapeutic facility open to all and owned by the County of Santa Clara. The center is dedicated to the health and fitness of those with a disability or age-related concerns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Timpany Center |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/timpany/about-us/index.php |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref>

From 1989 to 2024, the SJSU Environmental Studies Department headquartered and operated the [[Center for the Development of Recycling]], an environmental research and service organization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Recycle Stuff |url=https://www.recyclestuff.org/about |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=www.recyclestuff.org}}</ref>

On July 21, 2012, SJSU launched its first [[CubeSat|miniaturized satellite used for space research]], [[TechEdSat]], in a partnership with the NASA Ames Research Center.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 7, 2013 |title=NASA - AAC Microtec-Supported 1U CubeSat Successfully Launched from ISS |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/researchpark/news/partners/2013/aacmicrotec_1ucubesat.html |access-date=June 2, 2014 |publisher=Nasa.gov}}</ref>

Since 2014, SJSU has operated the Silicon Valley Big Data and Cybersecurity Center (BDCC). The center serves as a cybersecurity research and knowledge hub by creating multidisciplinary collaborations between faculty members from across the university and Silicon Valley tech companies.

== Air Force ROTC ==
Known academically as the Department of Aerospace Studies, SJSU's Detachment 045 is one of only two [[Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps]] detachments in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=College Locator|url=https://www.afrotc.com/college-locator/|access-date=February 26, 2022|website=U.S. Air Force ROTC|language=en-US}}</ref> As such, Detachment 045 hosts "crosstown cadets" from other Bay Area schools including [[Santa Clara University]], [[Stanford University]] and [[University of California, Santa Cruz|UC Santa Cruz]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Crosstown Cadets|url=https://www.sjsu.edu/afrotc/crosstown/index.php|access-date=February 25, 2022|website=SJSU Air Force ROTC|language=en-US}}</ref> San Jose State students and crosstown cadets enrolled in the AFROTC program learn leadership skills and participate in a number of other mandatory activities leading to an active-duty U.S. military officer commission.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

== Student life ==
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:left; font-size:85%; clear:right; margin-left:1em;"
|+ style="font-size:85%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2024
|-
! Race and ethnicity<ref>{{cite web |title=Fall 2023 Student Quick Facts |url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/student_quckfact/StudentQuickFacts?%3Aembed_code_version=3&%3Aembed=y&%3AloadOrderID=0&%3Adisplay_spinner=no&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link |website=analytics.sjsu.edu |publisher=SJSU |access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref>
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|35.9|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| [[Hispanic|Hispanic/Latino]]
|align=right| {{bartable|29.6|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|13.6|%|2||background:cyan}}
|-
| Other{{efn|Other consists of [[Multiracial Americans]] & those who prefer to not say.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|9.4|%|2||background:violet}}
|-
| [[Foreign national]]
|align=right| {{bartable|7.9|%|2||background:#008080}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black or African American]]
|align=right| {{bartable|3.3|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| [[Pacific Islander Americans|Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander]]
|align=right| {{bartable|.4|%|2||background:tan}}
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian or Alaskan Native]]
|align=right| {{bartable|.1|%|2||background:brown}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |[[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|40|%|2||background:blue}}
|-
| [[Affluence in the United States|Affluent]]{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the [[American middle class]] at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|60|%|2||background:red}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; float:right; font-size:85%; clear:right; margin-left:1em;"  class="wikitable"

!Student Body Origin (Returning students)
! Fall 2024<ref name=Enrollment/><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://analytics.sjsu.edu/t/IRPublic/views/student_quckfact/StudentQuickFacts?%3Aembed_code_version=3&%3Aembed=y&%3AloadOrderID=0&%3Adisplay_spinner=no&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3AshowVizHome=n&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link|title=Student Quick Facts|website=www.sjsu.edu|access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>
|-
! California: [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]]
| 44.6%
|-
! California: [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] (Outside Santa Clara County)
| 35.0%
|-
! California: Non-local
| 12.6%
|-
! International
| 6.8%
|-
! Other U.S.
| 0.9%
|}

As the oldest and one of the largest universities in the CSU system, SJSU attracts students from California, the United States, and 100 countries around the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=About SJSU |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/global/about/ |website=International Students |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=13 March 2023}}</ref> As of fall 2022, 35,751 students were enrolled at SJSU including 26,863 undergraduate students and 8,888 graduate and credential students. Approximately 51% of students were male and 49% were female. Graduate student enrollment at SJSU was the highest of any campus in the CSU system.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=Enrollment/>

As of fall 2022, the average age of undergraduate students at SJSU was 22.2. The average age of graduate students was 29.0, and the average age of credential students was 31.7.<ref name="auto"/>

Approximately 4,500 students (12.5%) live in campus housing and community impact studies show an estimated 5,000 more students live within easy walking or biking distance of the campus.<ref>{{cite web |title=SJSU Campus Master Plan Final Report |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/campusmasterplan/docs/SJSU-Campus-Master-Plan-Report.pdf |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=14 March 2023 |page=6}}</ref> Additionally, approximately 45% of all first-year (freshman) students live in campus residence facilities.<ref name=CDS0/>

As of 2022, there were over 475 recognized student organizations at SJSU.<ref>{{cite web|title=Recognized Student orgs|url=https://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/student-orgs/index.php|publisher=San Jose State University|access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> These include academic and honorary organizations, cultural and religious organizations, special interest organizations, fraternities and sororities, and a wide variety of club sports organizations.

=== Fraternities and sororities ===
Fraternities and sororities have existed at SJSU since 1896.<ref>{{cite web |author=MC |title=SJSU Fraternity and Sorority Life Timeline |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/frso/history/timeline/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329010522/http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/frso/history/timeline/index.html |archive-date=March 29, 2016 |work=sjsu.edu}}</ref> SJSU is home to 43 social [[fraternity]] and [[sorority]] chapters managed by Student Involvement. Greek life at SJSU comprises both social (NIC & NPC) and cultural (NPHC & USFC) organizations. Eighteen fraternities and sororities maintain chapter homes in the residential community east of campus along S. 10th and 11th streets, north of campus along San Fernando Street, and south of campus along San Salvador Street, S. 8th Street, and E. Reed Street, in downtown San Jose.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/frso/index.html|title=SJSU Fraternity and Sorority Life|work=sjsu.edu}}</ref>

An additional 26 fraternities are [[coeducation|co-ed]] and are either major-related, honors-related, or community service-related. The United Sorority and Fraternity Council (USFC) at San José State University was established in 2003. USFC is the coordinating body for the 17 cultural interest fraternities and sororities at SJSU.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/greek-life/chapters-councils/usfc/index.html|title=United Sorority & Fraternity Council (USFC) &#124; Student Involvement &#124; San Jose State University|website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref> Approximately 6% of male students join social fraternities, and 6% of female students join social sororities.

===Spartan Marching Band===
[[File:San Jose State University Marching Band Drum Major 01.jpg|thumb|A student drum major conducts the Pride of the Spartans marching band during a football game at Stanford University.]]
The Spartan marching band comprises students from every field of study on campus, from first year undergraduates through graduate students, as well as several "open university" members. At each home football game, the Spartan marching band performs a completely new halftime show, plus a pre-game show and a post-game concert. The band reflects all the color and fanfare of major university sports pageantry. The band is unofficially known as "The Pride of the Spartans," and generally performs with a [[color guard (flag spinning)|color guard]] and dance team. The band performs at all home football games, and also travels with the team for select road games.<ref>{{cite web|title=SJSU Marching Band |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/music/current_students/degree_plans/ensembles/band/marching_band_page/|website=Sjsu.edu/schoolofmusic|publisher=San Jose State University School of Music - Spartan Marching Band|access-date=July 7, 2014}}</ref>

=== Student press ===
{{Main|The Spartan Daily}}
[[File:Dwight Bentel Hall (San José State University) - DSC03940.JPG|thumb|The Dwight Bentel Hall houses the School of Journalism and Mass Communications.]]
The school newspaper, ''[[The Spartan Daily]]'', was founded in 1934 and is published three days a week when classes are in session. The publication follows a broadsheet format and has a daily print circulation of over 6,000, as well as a daily on-line edition. The newspaper is produced by journalism and advertising students enrolled in SJSU's School of Journalism and Mass Communications. The journalism school, including ''The Spartan Daily'' newsroom and other student press facilities, are housed inside Dwight Bentel Hall. The building was named after the department's founder and long time chairman, [[Dwight Bentel]].  The journalism school also runs an on-campus advertising agency, Dwight, Bentel and Hall Communications.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

''Update News'' is a weekly, student-produced television newscast that airs every weekend on KICU, Channel 36 in San Jose. The newscast is produced by San Jose State broadcast journalism students, and has aired in the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] since 1982.<ref>[http://sjsutv.wordpress.com/ SJSU-TV | Update News from San Jose State University]. Sjsutv.wordpress.com (March 27, 2011). Retrieved August 23, 2013.</ref>  The newscast previously aired on educational station [[KQEH|KTEH]]. ''Update News'' also features a daily live webcast.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

''Equal Time'' is a news magazine show produced by the San Jose State School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Each half-hour episode examines a different issue in depth, and ends with a roundtable discussion featuring professors and other experts in search of solutions. ''Equal Time'' airs Saturday afternoons on KQED+ (Channel 54 or Comcast Channel 10) in the Bay Area.<ref>[http://equaltimetv.wordpress.com/about/ About Us | Equal Time]. Equaltimetv.wordpress.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.</ref>

Established in 1963, [[KSJS]], 90.5 FM, is the university's student-run radio station. KSJS features live broadcasts of San Jose State athletic events, various types of music including electronic, urban, jazz, subversive rock, and rock en Español, as well as specialty talk shows.<ref>[http://ksjs.org/ksjs/about/ About]. KSJS (September 29, 2008). Retrieved August 23, 2013.</ref>

=== Notable student organizations ===
W6YL is a student-run [[amateur radio]] station that has been in continuous operation for {{age|1927}} years.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kgYtAQAAIAAJ]. United States. Dept. of Commerce. Radio Division (June 30, 1927). Retrieved March 23, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=814990]. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 14, 2022.</ref> Originally founded in 1927 when SJSU was still known as San Jose State Teachers College, SJSU Amateur Radio Club W6YL is recognized as one of the oldest continuously operating student organizations on campus.<ref name="digitalcollections.sjsu.edu">[https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/islandora/object/islandora%3A231_4350?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=b03968ef014ca833911b&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0#page/170/mode/2up]. SJSU (1929). Retrieved March 23, 2022.</ref> The SJSU Amateur Radio Club is a federally licensed radio station that operates under the callsign W6YL on amateur radio bands.<ref>[https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=814990]. FCC (2022). Retrieved March 23, 2022.</ref>

== Athletics ==
{{Main|San Jose State Spartans}}

[[Image:-California- SNS football 1910.jpg|thumb|California State Normal School football. (1910)]]

San José State University has participated in athletics since it first fielded a [[baseball]] team in 1890. SJSU sports teams are known as the [[San Jose State Spartans|Spartans]], and compete in the [[Mountain West Conference]] (MWC) in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

San José State University sports teams have won [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] national titles in [[track and field]], [[golf]], [[boxing]], [[fencing]] and [[tennis]].<ref name="fs.ncaa.org">{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf |title=Championships History (through July 2, 2014) |page=10 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=June 4, 2014 |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320185655/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of December 2022, SJSU has won 10 NCAA national Division 1 team championships<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf |title=Championships History (through January 10, 2014) |page=5 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=June 4, 2014 |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320185655/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and produced 50 NCAA national Division 1 individual champions.<ref name="fs.ncaa.org"/> SJSU also has achieved an international reputation for its judo program, winning 52 [[Intercollegiate sports team judo champions|National Collegiate Judo Association]] (NCJA) men's team championship titles and 26 NCJA women's team championship titles between 1962 and 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Results |url=https://www.ncjajudo.org/all-ncja-results |website=National Collegiate Judo Association |publisher=NCJA |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/sports/san-jose-coach-yoshihiro-uchida-a-force-for-judo.html|work=The New York Times |first=William C.|last=Rhoden|title=Yoshihiro Uchida Has Coached Judo for 66 Years at San Jose St|date=April 1, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncjajudo.org/#!results/c3zb|title=ncja|access-date=June 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/04/02/nearly-a-century-old-yoshihiro-uchida-still-wows-olympians/|title=Nearly a century old, Yoshihiro Uchida still wows Olympians|date=April 2, 2016|website=Mercurynews.com|access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncjajudo.org|title=ncja|website=Ncjajudo.org|access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NCJA Results 1962-Present |url=https://www.ncjajudo.org/all-ncja-results |website=National Collegiate Judo Association |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref>

[[List of San Jose State University people|SJSU alumni]] have won 20 Olympic medals (including seven gold medals) dating back to the first gold medal won by [[Willie Steele]] in track and field in the [[1948 Summer Olympics]]. Alumni also have won medals in [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[judo]], [[water polo]] and boxing.
The track team coached by [[Lloyd (Bud) Winter|"Bud" Winter]] earned San Jose State the nickname "Speed City," and produced Olympic medalists and social activists [[Lee Evans (athlete)|Lee Evans]], [[Tommie Smith]] and [[John Carlos]]. Smith and Carlos are perhaps best remembered for giving the [[1968 Olympics Black Power salute|raised fist salute]] from the medalist's podium during the [[1968 Summer Olympics]] in [[Mexico City]].  In 2005, a monument of the protest was built on Tower Lawn, designed by artist [[Rigo 23]] and titled ''[[Victory Salute (statue)|Victory Salute]]'', the monument encourages passerby's to recreate the historic moment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victory Salute {{!}} Public Art as Resistance in San Jose |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/ha-public-art-tour/public-art/black-power.php |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref>  The track and field program was canceled in 1988 after a series of budget cuts and [[Title IX]] related decisions decimated the program.  The program was reinstated in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_30099219/san-jose-state-bring-back-mens-track|title=San Jose State to bring back men's track |date=July 6, 2016|website=Mercurynews.com|access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref>

After an [[2012 San Jose State Spartans football team|11-2 finish in 2012]], SJSU's football team achieved its first-ever BCS ranking and first national ranking since 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last=Durkin |first=Jimmy |title=San Jose State ranked No. 25 in BCS |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/sjsu-spartans/ci_22065025/san-jose-state-ranked-no-25-bcs |work=San Jose Mercury News |date=November 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517225459/http://www.mercurynews.com/sjsu-spartans/ci_22065025/san-jose-state-ranked-no-25-bcs |archive-date=May 17, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> SJSU was ranked No. 21 in both the 2012 post-season [[AP Poll#College football|Associated Press Poll]] and the [[Coaches' Poll|USA Today Coaches' Poll]].

The Spartan football team had another breakout season in 2020, cracking the AP Poll top-25 for the first time since 2012 and appearing in the College Football Playoff ranking at No. 24. The team also won its first conference championship title since 1991. The Spartans finished the 2020 season 7-1 and ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll.

{{Wide image|Spartan stadium DSC0768-Edit.jpg|600px|[[Utah Utes|Utah]] vs. San Jose State at Spartan Stadium (2009)}}

=== Club sports ===
In addition to its various NCAA Division I sports programs, San José State University has a very active [[collegiate club sports|club sports]] community consisting of approximately 25 sports and 50 teams.<ref name="Club Sports at SJSU">{{cite web |title=Club Sports at SJSU |url=https://sjsusports.com |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> Many of the club sports teams are run and organized by students, although some of the more established teams employ full-time paid coaches and enjoy strong alumni support. The list of club sports active at SJSU includes:

Men's and women's [[archery]], men's and women's [[badminton]], [[baseball]], men's and women's [[basketball]], men's and women's [[bowling]], men's and women's [[boxing]], men's and women's [[cycle sport|cycling]], [[dancesport]], men's and women's [[dragon boat|dragon boat racing]], [[esports]], men's and women's [[fencing]], men's and women's [[figure skating]], men's and women's [[gymnastics]], [[American Collegiate Hockey Association|ACHA]] Division II and Division lll men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, men's and women's [[judo]], [[Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association|MCLA]] Division II men's [[lacrosse]], women's lacrosse, [[mountain biking]], men's and women's [[powerlifting]], men's and women's [[Quidditch (real-life sport)|quidditch]], men's [[roller hockey]], men's and women's [[rugby football|rugby]], [[salsa (dance)|salsa]], men's and women's [[soccer]], [[softball]], men's and women's [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[track and field]], [[triathlon]], [[ultimate Frisbee]], men's and women's [[volleyball]], men's and women's [[water polo]], and men's and women's [[collegiate wrestling|wrestling]].<ref name="Club Sports at SJSU"/>
[[File:Boccardo Gate (San José State University) - DSC03952.JPG|thumb|The Boccardo Gate on the [[Paseo de San Carlos]].]]

=== Traditions ===
The old campus bell, which was originally located in a small tower to the right of the main entrance to the campus, was purchased and installed in 1881 at a cost of $1,217. The bell chimed each morning at eight o'clock until the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]] stilled its voice. When Tower Hall was constructed in 1909, it was specially designed to house the old bell. The bell rang on special occasions until the college obtained new [[carillon|carillon chimes]] in 1946. The old bell is displayed to this day on the Washington Square quad near Tower Hall.<ref name="traditions">{{cite web|title=SJSU Traditions |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/people/annette.nellen/website/traditions.htm |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=September 20, 2021}}</ref>

In 1922, the State Teachers College at San Jose adopted the Spartans as the school's official mascot and nickname.  Mascots and nicknames prior to 1922 included the Daniels, the Teachers, the Pedagogues, the Normals and the Normalites.

In 1925, students debated whether to change the school colors from gold and white to purple and white. Tradition won out, and the students decided to keep the original colors, gold and white. At some point prior to 1929 when the SJSU alma mater was officially adopted, blue was added as an official school color alongside gold and white.<ref name=traditions/>

According to information published in the old SJSU La Torre yearbook, Spardi Gras was first held in 1929 on [[George Washington|George Washington's]] birthday. Spardi Gras was described in the 1929 edition of La Torre as "[an] event which met with unprecedented participance by the entire student body ... a gala occasion of play, sport, and merrymaking later authorized by the Executive Board as an annual event because of its great success."<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=San Jose State La Torre|url=https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/la-torre|publisher=SJSU King Library Digital Collections|access-date=September 19, 2021}}</ref> Spardi Gras was last mentioned in La Torre in 1960.<ref name=":0" />

Another longstanding event at SJSU was "Spartan Revelries." According to information published in the 1960 edition of La Torre, Spartan Revelries was an "all-student college musical event written, produced and presented entirely by students."<ref name=":0" /> It's unclear when Spartan Revelries began, but some believe it started in 1929 as a grand finale to Spardi Gras. In 1949, an official Revelries board was established to carry out the business and management of each year's show, which had grown into a major annual event requiring the efforts of many students and several months of preparation.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=traditions/>

Sparta Camp was an annual event held between 1953 and 1965.<ref name=":0" /> The retreat was hosted by the Associated Students and was held every spring at the [[Asilomar State Beach]]. The event was open to all students with an interest in student government, and students had to apply to go. Participants attended workshops and discussion groups on leadership. A similar event known as Freshman Camp was also held at Asilomar every September to help new students get oriented to the campus and the "Spirit of Sparta."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=traditions/>

The chimes heard on the SJSU campus each quarter hour are Westminster chimes, which were a gift from the class of 1947. They ring the same tones as the famous [[Big Ben]] chimes in England.<ref name=traditions/> Students and alumni show their Spartan pride every Thursday by wearing Spartan blue and gold.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=SJSU Traditions |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/campus-life/traditions.php |access-date=September 20, 2021 |publisher=San Jose State University}}</ref> Each year during homecoming week, SJSU hosts a series of events leading up to the homecoming football game at CEFCU Stadium. Events include the Campus MovieFest Finale and Fire on the Fountain festival.<ref name=":1" />

===Alma mater===
"Hail! Spartans, Hail!" is the university's official [[alma mater (song)|alma mater]]. The lyrics were written by Gerald Erwin, a 1933 graduate. Erwin was a music major who also served as the student director of the [[glee club]]. The song was officially adopted as the school hymn on February 25, 1929.<ref name=":0"/> Whenever the SJSU Alma Mater is played, students are asked to stand, remove their hats and sing along.<ref name="traditions" />

The university also has a fight song, which is typically played and/or sung at the end of football games and other athletic events including pep rallies.<ref name="traditions" />

== Alumni ==
{{Main|List of San Jose State University people}}
<!--Pictures should reflect only the few from the very height of accomplishment. Careful to be even across occupational sectors. Ideally, pictures should be reserved for alumni that actually graduated from SJSU, rather than transferring or dropping out. Pictures for other notable alumni can be inserted on [[List of San Jose State University people]]. Alumni are displayed alphabetically by last name.-->{{multiple image
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<!-- Image 1 -->| image1            = Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham 1977.jpg
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| caption1          = [[Lindsey Buckingham]] (left)<br> (Attended '68-'70) and [[Stevie Nicks]] (right)<br>(Attended '68-'70)<br> Musicians best known for [[Fleetwood Mac]]

<!-- Image 2 -->| image2            = BenNCampbell.jpg
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| caption2          = [[Ben Nighthorse Campbell]]<br>(B.A., '57)<br>First Native American to be elected to the [[United States Senate]] and member of the first [[Judo at the 1964 Summer Olympics|US Olympic judo team]]

<!-- Image 3 -->| image3            = John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman 1968cr.jpg
| alt3              = 
| caption3          = [[John Carlos]] (right) <br>(Attended '68-'69)<br> and [[Tommie Smith]] (center) (B.A., '69)<br> [[Track and field]] athletes known for a [[1968 Olympics Black Power salute|1968 Protest]]

<!-- Image 4 -->| image5            = Dian Fossey sitting, Santa Barbara News-Press 1981-05-06 25.jpg
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| caption5          = [[Dian Fossey]]<br>(B.S., '54)<br> [[Primatologist]] and [[Conservation movement|conservationist]] known for studying mountain gorilla groups

<!-- Image 6 -->| image6            = Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover (Lou Henry Hoover) by Harris & Ewing.jpg
| alt6              = 
| caption6          = [[Lou Henry Hoover]]<br>(DipEd, 1893)<br> Philanthropist and former [[First Lady of the United States]]

<!-- Image 7 -->| image7            = Gordon Moore 1978 (cropped).png
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| caption7          = [[Gordon Moore]]<br>(Attended '46-'47)<br> Founder of the [[Intel Corporation]] and creator of "[[Moore's law]]"

<!-- Image 8 -->| image8            = Gaylord Nelson.jpg
| alt8              = 
| caption8          = [[Gaylord Nelson]]<br>(B.A., '39)<br>[[Governor of Wisconsin]] and founder of [[Earth Day]]

<!-- Image 9 -->| image9            = Coach Bill Walsh.jpg
| alt9              = 
| caption9          = [[Bill Walsh (American football coach)|Bill Walsh]]<br>(B.A, '55)<br> Football coach in the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] and three time [[Super Bowl|Super Bowl champion]]
}}

About 60% of San Jose State's 275,000 living alumni of record reside in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. The other 40% are scattered around the globe, with concentrations in Southern California, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City.<ref>"{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/orientation/Fall%202013%20Admissions.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=April 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405051404/http://www.sjsu.edu/getinvolved/orientation/Fall%202013%20Admissions.pdf |archive-date=April 5, 2013}}"</ref>

SJSU is consistently listed among the leading suppliers of undergraduate and graduate alumni to [[Silicon Valley]] science and technology firms.<ref name="Quartz">{{cite news |year=2017 |title=Silicon Valley hires the most alumni of these 10 universities, and none of them are in the Ivy League |url=https://qz.com/967985/silicon-valley-companies-like-apple-aapl-hires-the-most-alumni-of-these-10-universities-and-none-of-them-are-in-the-ivy-league/ |work=Quartz}}</ref><ref name="Top School for Silicon Valley Hiring">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Study: San Jose State University is Top School for Most Silicon Valley Hires |url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Study-San-Jose-State-University-is-Top-School-for-Most-Silicon-Valley-Hires--316064091.html |access-date=October 2, 2015 |publisher=[[KNTV]]}}</ref><ref name="San Jose State Alums Beat Out Elite School Grads">{{cite web |author=Len Ramirez |date=August 25, 2015 |title=San Jose State Alums Beat Out Elite School Grads For Tech Jobs |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/08/25/san-jose-state-university-sjsu-silicon-valley-tech-jobs-apple-cisco-hewlett-packard/ |access-date=October 2, 2015 |publisher=[[KPIX]]}}</ref> In 2015, San José State University was listed as the top feeder school for [[Apple Inc.]], which employed over 1,000 SJSU graduates at the time. SJSU ranked 9th on the list of top feeder schools for [[Facebook]].<ref name="Ronald Barba">{{cite web|title=Here Are the Top Feeder Schools You Should Attend If You Want a Job at Google, Apple, or Facebook|url=https://tech.co/news/top-feeder-schools-attend-want-job-google-apple-facebook-2015-01/|publisher=TECHCO|date=January 10, 2015 |author=Ronald Barba|access-date=May 14, 2015}}</ref>

Some of the more notable SJSU alumni in science and engineering include [[Ray Dolby]], founder of Dolby sound systems; [[Dian Fossey]], primatologist and gorilla researcher; [[Gordon Moore]], founder of Intel Corporation and creator of "[[Moore's law]];" and [[Ed Oates]], co-founder of Oracle.<ref name="Distinguished Alumni">{{cite web |title=Distinguished Alumni |url=https://alumni.sjsu.edu/s/1771/16/interior.aspx?sid=1771&gid=2&pgid=547 |website=SJSU Alumni |publisher=San Jose State University |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>

Nearly 200 former SJSU students and graduates have founded, co-founded, served or serve as senior executives or officers of public and private companies reporting annual sales between $40 million and $26 billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Student Life |url=https://www.nationalapplicationcenter.com/gotocollege/campustour/undergraduate/23/San_Jose_State_University/San_Jose_State_University5.html |website=San Jose State University |publisher=National Application Center |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> This list includes former [[Intel Corporation]] CEO, [[Brian Krzanich]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Brian Krzanich|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-intel-krzanich-idUSBRE9420WG20130503| work=Reuters|year=2013 |access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref> and current [[Crown Worldwide Group]] CEO, [[billionaire]] [[James E. Thompson]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The World's Billionaires |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-thompson/|magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref>

Notable companies founded by SJSU students and alumni include [[Dolby Laboratories]] (1965), [[Intel Corporation]] (1968), [[Specialized Bicycle Components]] (1974), [[Oracle Corporation]] (1977), [[Seagate Technology]] (1979) and [[WhatsApp]] (2008).<ref name="Distinguished Alumni"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Who is WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum? |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57619158-93/who-is-whatsapp-co-founder-and-ceo-jan-koum/|publisher= cnet|date=February 2014 |access-date=March 11, 2014}}</ref>

Musicians [[Doug Clifford]] and [[Stu Cook]] ([[Creedence Clearwater Revival]]), [[Tom Johnston (musician)|Tom Johnston]] and [[Patrick Simmons]] ([[the Doobie Brothers]]), [[Lindsey Buckingham]] and [[Stevie Nicks]] ([[Fleetwood Mac]]) and [[Paul Kantner]] ([[Jefferson Airplane]]) all attended San Jose State.<ref name="Creedence Online">{{cite web |title= Creedence Online |url=http://www.creedence-online.net/history/|access-date=December 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name="San Jose Mercury News">{{cite news |title=Historic rock landmarks in Santa Clara County |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/lifestyle/ci_9739133|newspaper=San Jose Mercury News|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Patrick Simmons: Vocalist/Guitar|url=http://www.doobiebros.com/biography/patrick-simmons/|publisher=doobiebors.com|access-date=July 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Martin and Lisa |last=Adelson |title=The Penguin Biographies:Lindsey Buckingham |url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/lindsey.htm |work=The Penguin |access-date=July 10, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Martin and Lisa |last=Adelson |title=The Penguin Biographies:Stevie Nicks |url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/stevie.htm |work=The Penguin |access-date=July 11, 2009}}</ref>

SJSU distinguished alumni also include former [[first Lady of the United States]], [[Lou Henry Hoover]], novelists [[Amy Tan]] and [[Jayne Ann Krentz]], fashion designer [[Jessica McClintock]], and competitive eater [[Joey Chestnut]].

SJSU alumni [[Dick Vermeil]] and [[Bill Walsh (American football coach)|Bill Walsh]] earned a combined four [[Super Bowl]] victories as [[National Football League|NFL]] head coaches.<ref name="Distinguished Alumni"/><ref>[http://www.calstate.edu/newsline/Archive/00-01/010417-SJ.shtml Bill Walsh Of The 49ers Is Named SJSU's 2001 Tower Award Winner] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821183146/http://www.calstate.edu/newsline/Archive/00-01/010417-SJ.shtml |date=August 21, 2009 }}, 2001, ''CSU Newsline''</ref>

San Jose State alumnus and [[1964 U.S. Open (golf)|1964 U.S. Open]] winner [[Ken Venturi]] was named [[Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year|Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year"]] and later inducted into the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ken Venturi, U.S. Open Golf Champion and Broadcaster, Dies at 82 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/sports/golf/ken-venturi-us-open-golf-champion-and-broadcaster-dies-at-82.html |work=The New York Times|year=2013 |access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[California Master Plan for Higher Education]]
* [[Education in California]]
* [[List of American state universities]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Benjamin Franklin |title=Pioneers for One Hundred Years: San Jose State College, 1857-1957 |publisher= |year=1957 |isbn=9781258343118 |edition=1st}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}} {{Scholia|organization}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://sjsuspartans.com/ Athletics website]
* {{College-navigator|166027}}

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