Prospective Students

• Q: I work during the day. Can I obtain the MSSE degree while working?
  • A: Yes—the graduate courses are offered in the late afternoons and evenings. You have up to 7 years (!) to finish the degree, although we naturally don't recommend that you actually take that long. Many of our students are professionals who obtain the MS degree while working full-time.
• Q: I have been in California for X months/years. Am I entitled to in-state tuition?
  • A: I don't know. This information should be obtained from the online catalog, the SJSU web site or Graduate Student Services.
• Q: I am an international student. Is there additional information available?
  • A:The International Programs and Student Services office has an excellent website.
• Q: What form of financial assistance is available from the department?
  • A: Unfortunately, financial assistance is very limited. The department does not offer full scholarships or tuition waivers. A limited number of teaching associate, grader and lab assistant positions are available. However, these positions are generally not open to incoming students. The salary for these positions is not high, and you should not rely on them for financial support. You may also be able to obtain more information from the Financial Aid department.
• Q: I am an international student and need to be enrolled in a degree program to obtain a student visa. However, I do not qualify for admission to the MSSE program. How can I take the courses that I need to prepare myself?
  • A: You may consider enrolling in the BS in Software Engineering (BSSE) program. If you already have another college degree, the "Second Baccalaureate" program may be appropriate for you. Note that San Jose State University is currently not offering admissions for Second Bachelors programs.
• Q: What does it mean to enroll as a "second bachelor student"?
  • A: Second bachelor students are students that possess a bachelors degree in another field. When pursuing a second bachelors degree, these students are exempt from the core GE courses—except that they have to take US and California history and government (usually 6 units) if they haven't already. They are expected to satisfy all of the major requirements. The Software Engineering program allows courses taken elsewhere to count just as for ordinary transfer students. Applications are made for an undergraduate degree at http://csumentor.org (please indicate the current degree you possess). Foreign students are required to have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (or 213 computer based). For more information on the BSSE degree.
• Q: What is "Open University"?

  • A:"Open University" at SJSU allows individuals that are not registered in a degree program to take university courses. There are a number of restrictions.

    - There must be space available in the course after all degree program students have registered

    - The instructor must agree to admit the student

    - The student must fulfill all prerequisites to the course

    - Students who have been denied admission in a graduate program cannot register for graduate courses

    Open University classes are not available to students that intend to apply for a degree program. Note also that open university courses must be transferred into a degree program. Requests to transfer open university courses to the MS Software Engineering degree program will be denied if an application to the MS Software Engineering program was submitted while the course was in progress.

• Q: I concluded that I need to take quite a few courses before I am ready to apply for the MSSE program. Can you advise me what courses I should take?

  • A: If you need "quite a few courses", your best bet is to pursue a "Second Bachelors" degree. An undergraduate advisor for the BSSE program can then best help you chose courses.