What is the department policy on admission conditions?

Pursuant to S16-16, “Conditional acceptance to a program is, in effect, acceptance under probation in the major. Typically, a specified set of courses or requirements must be passed prior to attaining good standing in the program. There may be time limits or unit limits established to satisfy the conditions, which, if not met, may lead to disqualification from the major degree program without an intervening term on explicit probation.

Therefore, all conditionally admitted MS in Data Analytics students are on administrative academic probation until meeting the requirements described in their conditional admission offer. Students who either pass the waiver test(s) or the remedial course(s) (CR/NC only) by the end of the first semester that they are admitted into the MS in Data Analytics program will become fully classified. The waiver test(s) is/are offered before the second week of each semester, and they can be taken only once by each student.

Students who do not pass the waiver test(s) are required to enroll in the remedial course(s) for the upcoming semester. Furthermore, students who do not pass the remedial course(s) on their first attempt, will be notified in writing that they are required to repeat the course(s) the following semester and that failure to pass the course(s) after a second attempt may lead to academic administrative disqualification.

Conditionally admitted students will have one academic year (i.e., the first fall and spring semesters following program admission) to clear these requirements unless there are documented extenuating circumstances, or the student has received a verified extension by the Department Chair. While conditionally classified, students are only allowed to enroll in the remedial course(s) and those courses pre-approved by Graduate Advisor.

What is Program of Study?

Program of Study (POS) is a plan of courses to take in sequence for satisfying the course requirements of the MSDA degree.  After consulting with the program advisor, a full-time student should try the best to adhere to the following POS in order to complete the course requirements in time for graduation:

  • Semester 1: DATA 220, 225, 230, 200*
  • Semester 2: DATA 228, 245, 270
  • Semester 3: DATA 240, 255, 298A
  • Semester 4: DATA 298B

* For conditionally admitted students only. Please refer to FAQ: What are DATA 200 and the Waiver Test?

 

What are the differences of tuition and fees between regular- and special-session classes?

According to Bursar Office, following table is for a MSDA student taking classes in Fall 2023. This table just serve as a reference for Resident and Non-resident students. Tuition and fees are subject to change. Please refer to the website of Bursar Office for official amounts.

Resident              Regular Session                                 Special Session

Units     Tuition     Fees    Others   Total           Tuition     Fees     Others   Total

1            $2,082   $1,125      $0      $3,207             $900       $0          $0         $900

3            $2,082   $1,125     $0       $3,207          $2,700       $0          $0      $2,700

6            $2,082   $1,125     $0       $3,207          $5,400       $0          $0      $5,400

9            $3,588   $1,125     $0       $4,713          $8,100       $0          $0      $8,100

12          $3,588   $1,125     $0       $4,713        $10,800       $0          $0    $10,800

 

Non-resident        Regular Session                                 Special Session

Units     Tuition     Fees    Others    Total          Tuition     Fees     Others   Total

1            $2,082   $1,125     $396    $3,603             $900       $0          $0         $900

3            $2,082   $1,125  $1,188    $4,395          $2,700       $0          $0      $2,700

6            $2,082   $1,125  $2,376    $5,583          $5,400       $0          $0      $5,400

9            $3,588   $1,125  $3,564    $8,277          $8,100       $0          $0      $8,100

12          $3,588   $1,125  $4,752    $9,465        $10,800       $0          $0    $10,800

If I am denied by another program, can I transfer my application to the MSDA?

An applicant who is denied by one program due to limited space may have the opportunity to transfer his/her application to either regular or session of the MSDA program if the session has not reached its admission target. The MSDA program will notify such applicants about the opportunity to transfer their applications.  No additional cost will be charged to an applicant to transfer denied application to the MSDA program. There is no guarantee that a transfer-applicant will be admitted to the MSDA program.

What are the differences between Regular Session and Special Session?

The MS in Data Analytics program is offered through two different sessions: Regular Session and Special Session.

Regular Session is state-supported and state-subsidized. The cap on the number of Regular Session students who are accepted to the program each semester is related to the amount of money received from the state. In addition to the state tuition fees (based on the number of enrolled units), non-California resident surcharge fees (currently $396 per unit) might be applicable. Regular Session students pay campus mandatory fees and are eligible to take advantage of San José State University student services, such as Santa Clara County transit services, student body organizations, student health care, and recreational facilities. Enrollment in Regular Session affords California residents other financial support options such as CSU or CalVet fee waiver.

Special Session is completely funded from student tuition, and it does not receive any financial support from the State of California. Special Session tuition is assessed as a per unit fee. Students can opt to pay the same student fees as Regular Session students if they wish to access student services, such as Santa Clara County transit services, student body organizations, health care, and recreational facilities.

Regular Session and Special Session students must meet the same graduation requirements (e.g., same required courses, same number of elective units, same total number of units to graduate), and they will receive the exact same diploma when they graduate. The classes of both MSDA sessions are taught by the same instructor pool at the same location.

If you need assistance in deciding between the two sessions, please contact ms-data-analytics@sjsu.edu.

What should be my computer configuration for taking classes?

Due to the unique nature of the MSDA curriculum, each student should be able to access a laptop computer with the minimum configuration of

CPU: Core i7 (preferred) or Core i5
RAM: 16G Bytes
Storage: SSD 256G Bytes (highly recommended)
Screen size: 15” or above

This computer will enable you to download the necessary environments, tools, applications, and course materials to engage in classroom exercises, in-class quizzes, midterm and final exams, as well as class and master projects.

What are DATA 200 and the Waiver Test?

Please refer to FAQ – What is the department policy on admission conditions? Each conditionally admitted student is required to pass either the DATA 200 Waiver Test or the DATA 200 class offered in Fall 2023. A student who fails this test can’t take another Waiver Test in a coming semester. A student who fails this test must enroll in DATA 200 in Fall 2023. Conditionally admitted students may choose to skip this test if they already know they want to enroll in DATA 200 in Fall 2023. A student who fails the DATA 200 class in Fall 2023 will have one and only one more chance to enroll and pass this class in Spring 2024. The status of a student who has passed the Waiver Test or the DATA 200 class will be changed from “Conditionally Classified” to “Classified” at the end of the Fall 2023 semester.

DATA 200, Computational Programming for Data Analytics, is a remedial course in addition to the 10 required courses of the MSDA degree. As a remedial course, DATA 200 does not count towards earning your degree. The tuition cost of DATA 200 is $2,700 for Fall 2023.

The DATA 200 Waiver Test for Fall 2023 will be held at 6:00 pm on August 24 in BBC 226. in order to take this test, a student must (1) indicate “Intent to Enroll” via Next Step, and (2) RSVP to the department test notice issued in late July 2023.

This is a closed book and close note test. Only pens and pencils and erasers are allowed to be on the table. Each student must present a government-issued identification with a photo. The scope of this test includes Python language, data structures and algorithms. This test may include some common test formats such as multiple choices, short answer questions, and coding exercises.