School of Art & Design

Click here if applying to M.A. in ART HISTORY & VISUAL CULTURE

Click here if applying to M.A. in ANIMATION/ILLUSTRATION

NOTE: The School of Art&Design is not accepting applications for Spring-2010 admission. See below for Fall-2010 application deadline.

Applying for Admission to M.A. in ART HISTORY AND VISUAL CULTURE

You need to apply for admission both to (1) the School of Art & Design and to (2) the University, but you may defer application to the University until you receive word regarding the outcome of the Art History Review.  The Art History Review is held in early Spring (for Fall admission) and early Fall (for Spring).  Application deadline: January 15 2010 for entrance into fall 2010.

Students admitted to the program in Classified Standing ordinarily have completed a minimum of 24 upper-division units in Art History and a minimal gpa of 3.0 overall.  You may, however, apply for admission to Conditionally Classified status before you have completed 24 units.  Please confer with the Art History Graduate Advisor if you are unsure about your preparation.

What to submit to the Art History Admissions Review

• School of Art & Design Application Form: click here to download file
• Transcripts: An official set of college transcripts must be sent with your application to Art & Design.  (A second set of transcripts will be necessary for your application to the University.)  If you are currently enrolled in courses, your grades from these should also be submitted as soon as possible to supplement your transcripts.
• Academic Summary Form:  click here to download file
  Include a summary list of all Art History courses you have taken and also of all foreign language courses.  If you have fluency in reading and writing languages other than English, please let us know.
• Letters of Recommendation:  You should ask three persons familiar with your academic work to send letters of recommendation to the Art & Design Graduate Office (clearly indicating that they are for the Art History Review).  If your work is already known to SJSU’s Art History faculty, then you may list those faculty members as references on your application and not request formal letters.  The letters should address your academic and professional preparation for graduate study and your abilities in research and writing. 
• Statement of Purpose:  Submit a brief essay stating why you wish to study for an MA degree in Art History at San Jose State University and explaining, if possible, how graduate study will enable you to attain personal and/or professional goals.  If you have an intended area of specialization, please let us know about it.       
• Writing/Research Sample:  Submit at least two examples of your writing, such as term papers in Art History or related courses, presented in standard soft-cover folders (no ring-binders, please).  Identify on the covers of these papers that they are intended for the “Art Graduate Admissions Review” and include your name, the title, school, instructor, and course or other circumstances for which the papers were produced.  The Art History faculty will read these papers to evaluate your abilities as a writer and researcher; we are not interested in previous grades or comments on this work.

All of these materials are to be submitted to:
School of Art & Design
Graduate Office
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0089

If your materials are not received in the Art & Design Graduate Office by this date, you will not be able to participate in the Review. Application materials may be mailed to the School of Art & Design (not to the Graduate Studies office of SJSU) or hand-delivered to the Art & Design Graduate Office (Art 121). If you have any questions, please contact:
o Deborah Wijas, Graduate Secretary, 408.924.4346
dwijas@email.sjsu.edu or
o Anne Simonson, Graduate Advisor, 408.924.4345 simonson@email.sjsu.edu
o Stan Welsh, Graduate Advisor, 408.924.4373 swelsh@email.sjsu.edu

General Review and Notification Procedures
Upon receipt of your materials and application, the Graduate Office requires two weeks to set up all of the review materials and arrange them for faculty use during the approximately three-week period of the actual review. Faculty have access to the materials for individual viewing for two weeks and then meet as a group on two consecutive Fridays for the final voting. Art History applications are evaluated by the Art History faculty. Final outcome of the voting is determined by ranking all of the applicants in the order of their faculty support and then accepting the top-ranked applicants. Letters of acceptance or denial will be mailed out within one week after the review is concluded.

The School of Art & Design Admissions Review process thus takes approximately 6-7 weeks (from the February 1 deadline) before you are informed. No information regarding the outcome of the review will be
given out by the Art & Design Graduate Office prior to the mailing of the formal letters. Please do not contact us for early results.

Return of application materials
Please be advised that in order for us to return your materials, you MUST enclose a self-addressed, stamped, envelope. It should be sturdy enough to protect your slides or other materials from damage. If you do not send an SASE and you are not accepted into the program, we cannot store the materials beyond the end of the semester in which the review is conducted and will have to dispose of them thereafter.

University Admission Procedures (Step 2)
Application instructions, deadline information, an online SJSU application for Domestic (U.S.) students, and a downloadable application for International students can be found at: http://www.sjsu.edu/gradstudies/Prospective/How_To_Apply.html

Domestic students should defer application to the University until you receive word regarding the outcome of the School of Art & Design Portfolio Review. Once you receive notification of your acceptance by the School of Art & Design, you must apply to the University and begin coursework within the next two semesters to retain your eligibility.
Online application through CSU Mentor is available at:
http://www.csumentor.edu/admissionapp/grad_apply.asp

University deadlines for International Students are earlier than School of Art and Design deadlines, so International students should either observe the University admissions deadline for the semester for which admission is sought, before being informed of whether you have been accepted in the School of Art &
Design, or you can defer applying until you know the outcome and apply for the first semester for which you can meet the University deadline. Please note, however, the $59.00 San Jose State University application fee is non-refundable, in the event you are not accepted into the School of Art & Design.

University application materials should be sent to the following address:
Graduate Studies and Research
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0025

DO NOT SEND YOUR SJSUAPPLICATION OR THE SJSU APPLICATION FEE TO THE SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN"

When First Admitted to the Program

• You will want to distinguish between three “levels” and “locations” of people and places at SJSU:

• “The University,” for graduate students, typically means the Graduate Studies & Research Office (Dean Pam Stacks; Associate Dean Rhea Williamson; Tenth Street Administration Offices; 408/924-2480), which will admit you to SJSU and issue your diploma.
• “The College” of Humanities & the Arts is one of seven colleges on campus and houses the schools of Art & Design and Music & Dance and the departments of English & Comparative Literature, Foreign Languages, Humanities, Linguistics & Language Development, Philosophy, and TV, Radio, Film & Theatre.   Dean Karl Toepfer and Associate Dean Thom Huebner have offices in WSQ 120, 408/924-4300.
• The School of Art & Design (Director Linda Walsh; Art 116; 408/924-2320) has about 1200 undergraduate majors and 100 MFA students in Fine Arts as well as approximately 30 M.A. students in Art History.  You will be working with the Art Graduate Advisor (Prof. Anne Simonson is presently serving also as the Art Grad Advisor: Art 119, 408/924-4345) and Graduate Secretary Deborah Wijas (Art 125, 408/924-4346) from the time you apply to be an Art History M.A. student until you are ready to graduate.
• The Art History Program is part of the School of Art & Design.  The Art History Program Coordinator also serves as the Art History Graduate Advisor (Prof. Anne Simonson, Art 119, 408/924-4345)

• Apply to the University for admission, if you have not already done so, and meet the University admission requirements (which may include the TOEFL exam) as specified in the Graduate Catalog.  First check the Graduate Studies website http://www.csumentor.edu/ and then apply to the University through CSU Mentor: http://www.csumentor.edu/
• Confer with the Art & Design Graduate Office to be sure that all your paperwork is in order as soon as you receive University notification of your successful application.  You will be working with both the School and the University in this process.  First you apply to the School of Art & Design; once accepted to the Art History Program, you apply to the University; once the University notifies the School that you are eligible for admission, then the Art & Design Graduate Advisor formally admits you to the University and enables you to register. 
• Confer with the Art History Graduate Advisor, before you register for classes, to discuss course selection, the comprehensive and foreign language exams, faculty areas of special expertise, and general information about the program.  Questions to ask include Are you in Classified or Conditionally Classified Standing?  Do you wish a key to the Art History Graduate Study Room? Especially if you have been admitted in Conditionally Classified standing(either because you have not completed 24 upper-division units in Art History or because your gpa raises questions about your ability to complete the M.A.), your first semester or two should be planned carefully.
• Introduce yourself to the Visual Resources Center Librarian Stacy Mueller (Art 110, 408/924-4351).  The VRC (aka Slide Room and Digital Collection site) hires student assistants and helps hire readers to assist faculty.
• Plan to meet Art Reference Librarian
  Edith Crowe 808-2037, Edith.Crowe@sjsu.edu and familiarize yourself with her webpages:  http://sjlibrary.org/research/databases/sguide_subjectList.htm?subID=6 
• Call or email Art History Association officers (contact numbers available from Anne Simonson) to find out about student activities, the ARTH listserv, the fall orientation.
• Attend the Orientation to meet faculty and fellow graduate students.
• Practice reading in your foreign language.  
• When eligible for Classified Standing (IF you were admitted as Conditionally Classified), you must file a “Change of Classification” form.
  This form (and many others) are available on the Grad Studies website: http://www.sjsu.edu/gradstudies/Current/Forms.html  The form needs to be signed by the Art History Graduate Advisor, and return it to the Art Graduate Office.

For further information about the program, please consult the
Art History Graduate Advisor
Prof. Anne Simonson, 408/924-4345, simonson@email.sjsu.edu and/or

Art & Design Graduate Office
Ms. Deborah Wijas, 408/924-4346, wijas@email.sjsu.edu )

and read the description to be found in SJSU’s
Catalog (http://info.sjsu.edu/home/catalog.html).

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APPLYING TO THE MA PROGRAM CONCENTRATION ANIMATION/ILLUSTRATION

This process has two steps: application to San Jose State University is separate from application to the School of Art & Design. Although you must apply for admission both to (1) the School of Art & Design and to (2) the University, you may defer application to the University until you receive word regarding the outcome of the Animation/Illustration review. The Review is held in early Spring (for Fall admission) and early Fall (for Spring).

• Application deadline: January 15 2010 for entrance into fall 2010.
• School of Art & Design Application Form: click here to download file
• Transcripts:
  An official set of college transcripts must be sent with your application to Art & Design. (A second set of transcripts will be necessary for your application to the University.) If you are currently enrolled in courses, your grades from these classes should also be submitted as soon as possible to supplement your transcripts.
• Academic Summary Form:  click here to download file
  Include a summary list of all Art History courses you have taken and also of all foreign language courses.  If you have fluency in reading and writing languages other than English, please let us know.
• Include a summary list of all Art and Art History courses you have taken and also of all foreign language courses. If you have fluency in reading and writing languages other than English, please let us know.
• Letters of Recommendation:
  You will need three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your academic work. The letters should address your academic and professional preparation for graduate study and your abilities in Animation/Illustration. Reference letters should be addressed to the Art & Design Graduate Office (clearly indicating that they are for the Animation/Illustration). If SJSU Animation/Illustration faculty members are already familiar with your capabilities, you may list those faculty members as references on your application and forego formal letters.
• Statement of Purpose:
  Submit a brief essay stating why you wish to study for an MA degree in Animation/Illustration at San Jose State University and explaining how graduate study will enable you to attain personal and/or professional goals. If you have an intended area of specialization, please let us know about it.
• Portfolio Requirement:
  Include 15 visual examples of your creative work accompanied by a cover sheet with descriptions of each work submitted. Illustration and all forms of production art should be submitted in a portfolio of printouts spiral bound in an 8 ½ x 11-inch portfolio. Applicants working in media or methods that are not well represented by still images should submit materials on a CD or DVD. All the materials will be reviewed, however if your CD, DVD, is not a compatible format to show images, it will jeopardize your admittance to the program.
  

San Jose State University | School of Art & Design