Community Impact Programs

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Make a Difference with Your Graduate Degree

Our graduate students are transformative leaders who care deeply about creating positive change in their communities. SJSU offers numerous graduate programs that empower students to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether you’re launching a new nonprofit, trying out innovative counseling techniques or advocating for criminal justice reform, a graduate degree can help you sharpen your skills and passions to create a better world.

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Graduate Degrees

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Transportation Management

This M.S. program is rooted in curriculum designed by nationally-recognized instructors who are academic or industry experts. Students may choose among three graduate certificate options, including High-Speed and Intercity Rail Management, Transportation Security Management, or Transportation Management.

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Public Administration

The MPA program educates and trains individuals to become the leaders, managers and analysts in public and non-profit agencies that serve the Silicon Valley and its diverse population, using tools that enable them to recognize and value diversity, behave with high ethical standards, manage personnel resources fairly, recognize and manage risk, and manage programs and policies efficiently and cost-effectively.

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Environmental Studies

This M.S. program is designed to prepare students for careers as environmental professionals or to pursue further academic training in Ph.D. and other advanced degree programs. Our interdisciplinary curriculum embraces both quantitative and qualitative research and some of the topics that we focus on include human ecology, environmental policy, coastal environments, restoration, resource management and others.

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Justice Studies

This M.S. program prepares graduates for careers in criminal justice administration, research and policy centers, public institutions, community organizations, and nonprofit agencies, as well as for doctoral programs and research positions in public agencies.

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Social Work

This MSW program is dedicated to the achievement of social change, and social, economic, and political justice. Guided by social work values, the goal of the MSW program is to prepare competent graduates for leadership and practice from a transcultural perspective with multiple systems at an advanced professional level. 

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Urban Planning

SJSU offers the only accredited MUP degree in Silicon Valley. Urban planners balance visionary thinking with pragmatic problem solving to address problems related to affordable housing, climate change, economic development, environmental protection, public health, and transportation. The program often partners with local communities to address their planning needs.