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The College of Social Sciences supports students and faculty to be change leaders through critical inquiry, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community engagement to build a prosperous, just, and sustainable future.

CoSS creates inclusive learning environments that emphasize academic excellence, innovative research, and theory-informed practice. Students critically engage with complex social problems, generate dynamic solutions, and develop leadership skills to transform our communities and future world. CoSS faculty and students conduct cutting edge research that advances understanding of the social, cultural, economic, psychological, and environmental dimensions of human behavior. Through our teaching, research, and collaboration, we advance solutions to society’s challenges in San José, Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and the world.

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  • Join us for a night with Professor Tanya Bakhru and the WGSS Program, co-sponsoring a research talk this coming Monday about an academy for free black women in the 1830s as part of a woman-led abolitionist movement in the Northeast!

    A zoom link is also available the day of the event! See you there! 💻

    https://sjsu.zoom.us/j/82851768691?pwd=jPObynPDwlFWVe1pt38pKDrTo6O4uP.1

  • Good luck to our fellow spartans during finals week! 🤓📝

    Remember to stay organized, take regular breaks, and keep a positive mindset. You’ve worked hard all semester, and this is your time to show what you know!📚Don’t forget to get plenty of rest and eat well to keep your energy levels up during this stressful time! 🛌🍳You’ve got this!

  • Make sure to come by for fall Preview day to imagine to yourself at San José State! See some presentations, talk to some of our amazing faculty, and learn more about all of our programs and departments this campus has to offer! See you there!💛💙

  • Hey students! It’s that time of year! These scholarships reward academic excellence and take into account financial need to help address the ever-increasing costs of higher education💸 So apply now! 📝

    How to apply:

    - Sign in to Spartan Scholarships using your MySJSU login information, click on “Student” Option
    - Complete and submit the SJSU Spartan Scholarships application 
    - Click on the “Opportunities” menu and select “Recommended.”
    - Find the scholarship/award opportunity of interest and click on the “Apply” button.
    - Provide any supplemental application material (e.g., letter of recommendation, etc.)

    College Scholarship questions should be towards the SJSU scholarship email scholarships@sjsu.edu or 408-283-7500 ex 4

  • The Justice Studies department is excited to introduce Latinos in FoJu, a new student organization at SJSU! Open to all students who share a passion for forensic science and justice studies. Our mission is to create an inclusive space where Latino students, first-generation students, undocumented students, and allies can come together to celebrate cultural pride and support one another. With guidance from our faculty advisor, Rosa Vega, we’re dedicated to fostering a community rooted in unity, integrity, and collaboration and to providing resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

    We’re currently recruiting for leadership and committee roles, and you don’t need to identify as Latino to apply—anyone who supports our mission is welcome. This is a great opportunity for those passionate about empowering underrepresented communities in these fields. Applications are open now and will close on November 22 at 11:59 PM. We’ll also be announcing soon when general membership opens, so stay tuned to learn more about how to join us in building this community!

  • In celebration of Black History Month 2025 and its theme, “African Americans and Labor,” the Department of African American Studies is pleased to host Dr. Ashley Robertson Preston of Howard University for a virtual author talk. Dr. Presston will discuss her latest book, “Mary McLeod Bethune The Pan Africanist” published by The University Professor of Florida.

    We invite you to join us on Tuesday, February 25 at noon PST via Zoom!

  • Are you ready to grow as a Chicano/Chicana Studies Major? To anyone interested, pursue a master’s degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies here at San José State University! 📜 Priority deadline for Cal State Apply applications is November 30, 2024. No GRE required and supplemental documents including writing sample and letters of recommendation due February 2025. Students considering this program are encouraged to contact the Graduate Advisor, Dr. Juan Pablo Mercado, to discuss requirements, options, and opportunities! ✅

  • Join us for a night of connecting with roots of our past! Being vulnerable as a first-generation Chicano student can be a challenging yet empowering experience. Come to Navigate the complexities of higher education often means confronting feelings of isolation, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to succeed not just for oneself but for one’s family and community!✊🦃

  • want to learn more about the world of Urban Planning? Stop by our information sessions to learn more about programs, meet other students and staff and faculty, and a informational Q and A session! See you there! 🖥️🧱

  • Come on by and join us on Tuesday, November 12, from 1:30-2:45 in MLK 225. Four CoSS faculty and SJSU Core Team members will be in conversation about their recently published books and be open to answering questions about themselves, the books, and mingling!📖📚

  • Thank you to those who joined us yesterday at the panel discussion for Smith Carlos Day, and saw how we reflected on the legacy of athlete activism during the 1968 Olympics and how the Victory Salute impacts the world of education and sport today. With the help the College of Social Sciences Dean, other students, coaches, and faculty will discuss the role of sports in addressing civil rights and social justice issues! 💙💛

  • In celebration of Black History Month 2025 and its theme, “African Americans and Labor,” the Department of African American Studies is pleased to host Dr. Crystal Sanders of Emory University for a virtual author talk! 🤩 Dr. Sanders is the author of “A Forgotten Migration: Black Southerners, Segregation Scholarships, and the Debt Owed to HBCUS” published by The University of North Carolina Press! We invite you to join us on Monday, February 3, 2025 at noon PST Via Zoom! 💻

  • Join us for an afternoon of an amazing lecture with Dr. Grace Howard titled “Lessons from the Pregnancy Police” which will be held at MLK Library in room 255! 🎤💻

  • Join us for a night of learning and understanding a part of society that is hidden away from the world! Leading the discussion will be Dr. Keramet Reiter, a Professor of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California, Irvine. She studies prisons, prisoners’ rights, and the impact of prison and punishment policy on individuals as well as different communities! She has conducted research on solitary confinement, built a prison education program in the state of California, and leveraged her expertise in advancing advocacy and policy work on incarceration for those affected! 🏙️

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