SJSU Institutional Information

Information last updated 7/27/2022

Background Information

San José State University, the largest university in the populous southern tip of the San Francisco Bay Area, annually delivers a comprehensive university education to over 37,000 students and awards an average of 9,558 bachelor’s and master’s degrees across 250 areas of study and nine colleges in 2021. Founded in 1857, SJSU is California’s oldest public university. Today, we rank fifth in enrollment within the 23-campus California State University, the largest university system in the United States. We provide affordable, high-quality university education to a largely local community (Santa Clara County residents, 39%; other California counties, 44%). Situated in downtown San José, the capital of Silicon Valley and one of the nation’s most highly educated and entrepreneurial regions, our proximity to major innovators and high-tech leaders offers unparalleled access to intellectual resources and opportunities for research partnerships, internships and placement. As the top provider of education, engineering, computer science and business graduates to Silicon Valley employers, we monitor emerging trends and markets to adapt curricula to match 21st Century workforce needs.

SJSU has one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse student populations with a majority minority student population: eighty-three percent (83%) of students reported as non-white in fall 2021. Asian Americans (34%), Hispanic Americans (28%) and African Americans (3%), constitute the largest minority populations, while those declaring mixed or other racial background is 5%. The gender split among students is roughly equal (50% female). Forty-one (41%) percent of our students reported as first generation students in fall 2021 and 24% were Pell Grant recipients. The diversity of our campus is one of our primary strengths, and SJSU promotes diversity in research with a host of programs supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other funders. The Wall Street Journal included SJSU among its Top Colleges for Diversity (2021). SJSU ranks 15th in the United States for the number of Baccalaureate and 20th for Master’s degrees awarded to minority students (2017 Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Top 100). SJSU is 7th in Top Public Schools (2019 U.S. News & World Report) and 5th in the Social Mobility Rankings (2019). Money Magazine ranked SJSU as #1 Most Transformative College in the U.S. (2020). We are a minority-serving institution (MSI) because we are both an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).

SJSU's mission and its recent Strategic Plan: Transformation 2030 targets research as an institutional priority. In the last five years, in particular, SJSU has ramped up its commitment to research, scholarship, and creative activity (RSCA) in order to build capacity for RSCA within the institution. In particular, we have launched an initiative to decrease teaching loads to free up time for faculty to conduct RSCA and integrate students into their research endeavors. All newly hired tenure and tenure track faculty now receive a reduction in their teaching load of one course per semester to further their (RSCA). Additionally, associate and full professors may apply for the same teaching load buyout to support their RSCA for five years. Currently, 66% of all tenured and tenure track faculty at SJSU have this reduction in course load.

SJSU faculty, please note: While we strongly suggest you tailor the content of this boilerplate to fit any specific requirements of your proposal, cutting and pasting of all or parts of this text into your proposal is not considered plagiarism as it is being freely provided to you by SJSU through the RD unit.