San Jose State is the oldest public institute of higher education on the West Coast, founded in 1857. Originally it was a normal school for teachers in the western frontier of the United States. It was also the first school established in what would later become the California State University System.

San Jose State University enjoys a location close to the heart of the city and its museums, yet its elegant buildings and lush lawns transport students and visitors to another era. Like most universities, the campus is a blend of old & new, and one of the showcase buildings that's "new" is the  state-of-the-art Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

 The San Jose campus during its history as the oldest higher learning institution spawned largest university system in the country with 10 universities and 23 state universities for a total of 33 campuses.

San Jose State's 154-acre main campus occupies a rectangle in downtown San Jose, California, bordered by San Fernando Street to the north, S. Fourth Street to the west, San Salvador Street to the south and S. Tenth Street to the east. The four oldest buildings, remnants of the original 19th Century campus, are Tower Hall, Morris Dailey Auditorium, Washington Square Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall. The current campus contains more than 50 major buildings (23 academic buildings, 7 residence halls) on 19 city blocks. The main entrance is at Fourth and San Carlos streets.

The 62-acre South Campus, approximately 1.5 miles south of the main SJSU campus, is the site of Spartan Stadium, other athletic fields, Spartan Village student housing and overflow parking.

Facilities
San Jose State University boasts a year-round, Olympic-sized swimming pool that is Northern California's largest. The Event Center has basketball and racquetball courts, a small weight room and a climbing wall and hosts rock concerts and other events. The Student Union features a bowling alley, a cafeteria, bookstore and game room.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
New eight-story city/university library at the corner of Fourth and San Fernando Streets is first in the nation to be funded, managed and operated by a city and a major university. The $177.5 million cooperative project between the city of San José and San Jose State University opened in August 2003.

San Jose State University is in San Jose, California and is part of the 23 campus California State University system. San Jose State University was founded in 1857, became a state college in 1935, and received university status in 1972. The University now awards bachelor's and master's degrees. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

San Jose State University defines its mission as "to enrich the lives of its students, to transmit knowledge to its students along with the necessary skills for applying it to the service of our society, and to expand the base of knowledge through research and scholarship."

San Jose State University Academics
SJSU is home to eight colleges that collectively offer 69 bachelor's degrees in 81 different concentrations. Some of the more stand-out majors include Aviation, Transportation Management, Child and Adolescent Development, Communicative Disorders and Sciences, Hospitality Management, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Criminal Justice Administration, Linguistics, Nutritional Science, Occupational Therapy, and Recreation.

The University is composed of a number of different schools and colleges: the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, the College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Humanities and the Arts, the College of Science, the College of Social Sciences, and the College of Social Work. There is also a School of Library and Information Science and the Office of International and Extended Services (Continuing Education).

Bachelor's degrees are awarded in a number of different disciplines, including African-American studies, art and design, aviation, the sciences and humanities, engineering, economics, education, environmental studies, industrial and systems engineering, meteorology, nursing, recreation and leisure studies, social sciences, and theatre arts. Minors are also available in a number of programs.

Master's degrees are awarded in 65 fields, including nursing, public health, business administration (MBA), counselor education, elementary education, engineering, art, English, creative writing, chemistry, marine sciences, economics, history, social work, and interdisciplinary studies. A Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) is also awarded. A certificate is available in gerontology. There are no doctoral programs.


San Jose State University, commonly shortened to San Jose State and SJSU, is the founding campus of what became the California State University system. The urban campus has an enrollment of about 30,000 students, and claims to have more graduates working in Silicon Valley than any other college or university.

San Jose State was founded as the California State Normal School by the California Legislature on May 2, 1862, and is the oldest public university in the State of California. The California State Normal School was itself derived from the City of San Francisco's Minn's Evening Normal School, which existed in that city from 1857 until 1862. Thus, the school now called "San Jose State" is even older than the University of California, Berkeley (the "Organic Act," which established the University of California, was signed into law on March 23, 1868).