English Competency Requirement

All graduate students must successfully demonstrate their competency in written English before they can be admitted into candidacy. Advancement to candidacy forms can not be approved until this competency is met.

Note: ISE 212, a required course, meets the University's English Competency Requirement.

A graduate student can fulfill this competency by completing one of the following:

Hold a CSU bachelor’s degree
A student who holds a valid CSU bachelor’s degree after 1982 will automatically fulfill the competency in written English.

Complete an Approved SJSU Course
Complete a pre-approved SJSU course that is at least 3 units and in which a major report is required. The report must be least 30% of the course grade. Approved courses include ISE 212 Human Factors Experiments (core required course) and Psych 220 Seminar in Experimental Psychology.

Complete an Equivalent Outside Course
A student may fulfill competency by completing an upper division course at another university that is deemed by the Graduate Studies Office as equivalent in content and writing requirements to the SJSU 100W. The student’s graduate advisor must petition for this on behalf of the student and submit all supporting documents directly the Graduate Studies Office.

ENGR 200W Course
Completing the ENGR 200W course will fulfill competency in written English.

Professional Publication
The Graduate Studies Office may approve a professional publication for which the graduate student was the sole author in order to fulfill a student’s competency in written English. The student’s graduate advisor must petition for this on behalf of the student and submit all supporting documents directly to the Graduate Studies Office.