| Graduate
Program: Frequently Asked Questions
How
Do I Find Out What Courses Will be Offered?
How
Do I Register For Classes?
Do
Some Classes Fill Up?
How
Many Classes Should I Take?
Which
Classes Should I Take?
How Do I Find Out
What Courses Will be Offered?
Each semester the department
puts out a booklet with descriptions of courses that will
be offered in the following semester. This booklet is generally
available by the latter part of the preceding semester (e.g.
the course booklet for fall 2003 classes should be available
by late April 2003) and may be obtained by calling the history
office (408) 924-5500.
As a general rule, the Schedule of Classes for a semester
will be on the university's website toward the end of the
previous semester. Go to http://www.sjsu.edu/records/
and click on "Schedule of Classes." A hard copy
of the Schedule of Classes for the semester you are interested
in may be obtained from the Spartan Bookstore about a month
before the end of the previous semester. You may obtain a
copy by going to the website of the Spartan Bookstore. Go
to www.spartanbookstore.com.
At the site, click on "SUPPLIES" from the top menu,
and look at the column on the left side headed "MERCHANDISE."
Then click on "Schedules." You may also obtain a
copy of the SJSU Catalog at the same place on the site. Payment
may be made by credit card. The Schedule of Classes also contains
other information that is useful about such things as fees,
how to add/drop courses, registration procedures, an academic
year calendar, parking information, and a schedule of final
exams, et al.
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How
Do I Register For Classes?
Details of the SJSU touchtone
class registration system are to be found in the schedule
of classes. To register for classes go to http://www.sjsu.edu/records/
and click on "Registration" or call (408) 280-2345.
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Do Some Classes
Fill Up?
In recent semesters, some
graduate classes have filled up and we have had to turn students
away (Graduate classes are limited to fifteen students). While
this may not happen, play it safe and register for the graduate
classes you want to take as soon as possible. In addition,
your early registration helps us to plan our program and sometimes
to take contingency measures. It is most unlikely that an
undergraduate upper division class will fill up (Remember
that you may take 12 of your 30 units toward the M.A. degree
in upper division courses).
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How Many Classes
Should I Take?
There is no hard and
fast answer to this question as peoples' circumstances and
work capacity varies. As a general rule, you should not attempt
more than two classes, especially ones at the graduate level,
if you have significant employment or family responsibilities.
(The vast majority of our graduate students take one or two
classes per semester.) If you are able to be a full-time graduate
student, three classes are a heavy load, though very occasionally
four classes have been managed by students. Keep in mind,
that reading, writing, and other requirements will be much
more demanding than most undergraduate classes you have taken.
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Which Classes
Should I Take?
You should make a decision reasonably
early on as to what will be your primary and secondary fields,
but you do not have to make this decision over the summer
or even in your first semester. Obviously, if it is unlikely
that you will ever want to make U.S. history either your primary
or secondary field, it would be a waste of your time to take
classes in that field. The fields you select as your primary
and secondary ones will be (or should be) mainly a function
of your interest in them.
Conditionally classified graduate students who are
required to complete courses in addition to the core 30 unit
program should complete their “conditional” classes
as early in their program as the schedule permits. While most
“conditionally” classified students do not have
to complete their additional requisite courses before taking
other graduate courses, you are strongly advised to do so,
especially History 102 and History 200, which are meant to
be foundation courses for your further study. In any case,
remember that you cannot become a classified graduate student,
file for candidacy, or complete the degree until you have
completed your “conditional” courses.
It is a good idea to take at least
one graduate class in your first semester. You need to become
familiar immediately with the greater demands that graduate
classes place on you. You should also keep in mind that some
graduate classes are offered only once every two years, for
various reasons. General advice on taking classes follows:
1. If you see a graduate class
that really attracts your interest, take it, as it might not
be offered for a couple of years.
2. Everything else being equal, chose a colloquium over a
seminar. A colloquium will give you a
broader introduction to graduate work by forcing you to read
intensively in a subject area. Most
research seminars will plunge you into a research project
for the better part of the semester,
and it might be better not to do that in your first semester.
3. If you feel your writing, research, and historiographical
skills are rusty or in need of sharpening,
and you want to learn more about graduate studies and the
history academic profession, take
History 200.
4. If your primary concentration will be U.S. history, you
should enroll in History 210a, 210b, or 210c
in order to prepare for the final comprehensive examination.
(This is a three semester colloquia
sequence on important issues and books in American history.
210a covers the period up to 1780;
210b, 1780-1900; and 210c the twentieth century.) It is mandatory
that you take all three classes in
this series. It does not matter in which particular order
you take them.
5. You may have a special field of interest or already know
of a professor with whom you would like
to work, but find that a professor is not teaching a graduate
class in that field next semester.
Then, consider taking an undergraduate class with him or her
if you possibly can.
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