Admissions

We have one cycle of admissions per year, and applications open on October 1st. The deadline is March 1st. Acceptance letters will be mailed no later than the first week of April of the following year. Applications will only be accepted for fall terms. Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in order to apply.

Our application is a two step process:

1. First you should apply through Cal State Apply. Create an account, then search for SJSU Master of Design—it is listed in CalApply as "SJSU Extension". You can also enter "Design" in the search box. Select the "Master in Design" program at San José State and complete the application.
   
2. Use our Slideroom portal to submit the following documentation:

• A Resume
• Unofficial transcripts
• A short Personal Statement of Purpose
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• A pre-proposal for a thesis/creative project
• A Portfolio with a selection of your artwork
• And a link to your online Portfolio

*Scroll down for our documentation breakdown and guidelines

International students must demonstrate English language proficiency.

One of the following is required (all test scores must be less than two years old):

• A TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of at least 590 (paper based), 243 (computer based), or 96 (internet based), with a score of 5 in the Writing Section;
• PTE (Pearson Test of English) score of at least 68;
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS - institution code 4687) score of least 7.0;

A GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is not required.

Incomplete or late applications or submitted documents wil be rejected.

Applications for Fall 2025 open in October in 2024. Deadline: March 1st, 2025.

Sign up HERE to receive updates and information.

Register for our Info Sessions:

November 5, 2024
InfoSession Registration / November
6:00 PM | Virtual

December 3, 2024
InfoSession Registration / December
6:00 PM | Virtual

*Registration required (please click on the links above to register)

Required Application Documents Breakdown

• A resume (1-2 pages, PDF) summarizing the applicant's education, awards or recognition, work experience, travel, languages, and special skills.
• An unofficial transcript (PDF) from each institution from which they have obtained a degree.
• A short personal statement (1-2 pages) discussing aesthetic influences, creative interests, professional aspirations as an artist and explaining why you are pursuing a graduate degree in Animation. If possible please include comments on the specific areas on which you would like to concentrate (animation, games, TV productions, film etc.) and the goals the applicant intends to pursue upon completion of the MDes degree. In your statement, please make sure to address the following questions:

1. Why are you interested in doing a master of design? Why now? Why at SJSU?
2. How has your background (professional experience and/or previous studies) sparked an interest in a masters degree? And, what are your career goals after graduation?
3. What area(s) of animation or specific topic(s) would you be interested in exploring as a basis for your culminating master's project?

• Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to you, the applicant's creativity and aptitude as well as to the quality of past work and potential of future achievements. Letters can be from professors or supervisors/directors who have worked with you. The department does not provide official recommendation forms. 
• A “pre-proposal” with an indication of the type of project you want to develop while in our program  (1 page maximum) - 

  Do you want to work on a short film? Do you want to develop a pilot for a TV show? Do you want to create a video game? A central piece of our curriculum is the development of a creative project, from beginning to end. Please tell us what kind of project you would like to develop while in our program. This should be a brief, summarized description, no longer than 1 page. 
  
  Adding sketches, drawings, or preliminary designs to that page is ok, if you feel images are essential to convey your ideas. If you already have a theme or topic in mind, please give us a brief outline. 

  Since there’s a variety of projects that can be developed in our program, it is important to us to know what kind of creative project you are most interested in. That doesn’t mean you have to commit to do exactly the project you are describing in your pre-proposal. Most likely your project will take a different shape and/or direction as you progress through our curriculum, but your initial ideas are important to us.

• A portfolio of previous work submitted on “SlideRoom”. Make sure you are uploading work to the ANIMATION specialization (and not Experience Design, which is a different program). Your portfolio will give us an idea of where you are as an artist, giving us a window into your tastes and abilities in the arts. Please read the requirements carefully:
  12 pieces maximum. We want to see a selection of your best and most recent artwork. If the artwork was part of a collaborative project let us know exactly what was your specific contribution.
  
  These are the types of art work we accept:
  • Storyboards
  • Animatics
  • Graphic Novels
  • Animated Scenes
  • Concept Designs
  • Character Designs
  • Paintings and/or Drawings
  • 3D Models
  • 3D Rigs
  • Sculptures in clay showing characters that you have designed
  • Illustrations
  • Digital Paintings
  • Samples of digital work such as modeling, rigging, or lighting

If a sample of work submitted is longer than three minutes, it may not be viewed in its entirety.

IMPORTANT: Do not submit a pre-formatted portfolio. Submit separate images of individual works, 1 piece per page. Please make sure that the image fills the slide.

For each portfolio piece, please indicate:

1. Title of each piece and year of making
2. Medium (painting, 2D animation, 3D animation, drawing, etc.)
3. For each of you portfolio entries under “Description”, please specify exactly what you did (the whole piece, animation of all characters, lighting of the shot, storyboards etc.) and write a short sentence explaining why you chose to include that  piece in this portfolio

*Do not add captions, descriptions, titles, or other extraneous text within the area where you upload your image. Use the “Description” area in SlideRoom to add any extra information.

Please remember that we are looking for personal work that gives us a sense of who you are as an artist, rather than technical exercises. Please do not include generic class assignments (bouncing ball or walk cycles, for example), or figure/life drawings, unless you believe they offer a view of a personal and/or unique approach as an artist.

• A link to your online Portfolio - We would like to see your online Portfolio. Please do no include links to Art Station, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other social media sites. We would like to see your own online portfolio/url, featuring your artwork.