5 Best Mfa Programs In San Jose, CA (2022 Updated)

The administration is not interested in offering equal access to education for parents who are looking to get one. The college is not interested in reestablishing the on-campus child care center. Also the administration knew the science building chemistry hoods were not functioning properly for years and never let students know. The professors are incredible but if you are a mother good luck because the college doesn't care that in order to access education, women with children (those who require an education for a chance to improve their children's future!) need some equitable student services. Don't take my word for it scroll through the reviews. Most reviewers are male even though majority of students who attend the college are women. Read into it what you will but the facts remain that the college has a child care center on campus but refuse to renovate it even though property taxpayers agreed to pay for it (measure g 2004).Melissa Martinez

The college incorrectly listed me as a non-California resident. When I attempted to fix this, I found that I could not get in touch with ANYONE from the business offices. Eventually, they started having a debt collector call me because I wanted to sort out the residency issue so that I would not be charged nearly $1000 for my classes. This has been going on for months now, I attempt to call their offices almost every week and no one answers me. I'm beginning to suspect that they are just trying to force me to pay the non-resident fee so that they can get some extra cash. All in all, I have had a horrible experience with the administrative services, and if I could get on the line with anyone, I would have been happy to have paid the appropriate tuition months ago.Laura Israel

Overall, the colleges is good. However, other colleges are doing much better. $ stars for the efforts in trying to become better. Recently they have started to work on the new Gymnasium building. Teachers and professors are good but they are very diverse. The teaching style of all the teachers differ and they might not be ok with everyone. So choose your class wisely. Overall the crowd is good but sometimes you might find some not so friendly people. I am not sure about the safety. However, most of the colleges in the bay area sucks with their security provisions.Ashutosh Dube

This historic art school is a unique incubator for visual artist's for over 100 years. In addition to exhibits of student's work in hall galleries throughout the buildings the Diego Rivera gallery contains a huge mural by the famous Mexican painter. Other lovely smaller murals are found in hallways in the original Spanish mission style building. The new building houses another art gallery, an auditorium, a cafe and patios boasting panoramic views of the bay, Marin and the North Beach neighborhood. In the massive areas below are painting, ceramics, and sculpture studios as well as media production rooms. The old building is a Warren of passageway s connecting photo labs printmaking and drawing classrooms and a lovely library with its own mural. Entering through the two massive red arching wooden doors you find yourself in a arcade of arches surrounding a bricked patio with a tiled octagonal fountain at it's center. This is the portal to another world. A world full of creativity, imagination and timeless possibility. From Minor White and Ansel Adams to Richard Diebenkorn and Richard Shaw it has provided education to thousands of major artist's from all over the world. Worth many visits as it is ever changing and full of surprises.Toby Kahn

It was once a great school. The professors, teachers and staff were the best but make no mistake, that was then. Now, after SFAI has fired a majority of those people it is well… kind of the bones of what was and nothing more. I was a student there in spring 2020 when they kicked out a bunch of students because of their financial issues. Little to no help was provided to transfer and they weren’t and still aren’t the least bit remorseful. I am sad for this school. However, if you are looking for good views and a historic building with ghosts possibly roaming the halls reminding you of the creative community that use to exist, this is your place.Marguerite Bradley

Everything about the board for this school needs reformation, I’m happy to say I’m going back this fall for studio classes once more and putting my best foot forward as I come back from some having a newfound agoraphobia. Sfai is a conceptual art school that’s excellent at healing the students when enough support is present. I am looking forward to the future and showing up for myself as one of the students who never wanted to leave in the first place. I’m the luckiest bleep alive. And I will create even more art.SoCaliForeign

If I could give them a minus star, I would be happy to do that. Do not waste your time nor your money, this so called "art school" is good for nothing. From teachers to admins, everything is a constant unpleasant situation to deal with. Teachers really DO NOT TEACH anything, students have to find out and learn everything mostly by themselves; teachers are stuck up, they thing they are the biggest deal and that the students are nothing unless they get to have a favorite one. None of the students here study and work, most of them come from rich families that pay for them to do "something in life" and that something will certainly be nothing because hardly one gets to have a decent, paying job after being ripped off for years. For rich people this is certainly not important but not for poor or middle class people that want to advance in life and make big efforts to get loans and on top of that pay monthly tuition. We ended up investing about $85,000 for a basically useless degree. They break their student's spirit, they belittle, ignore, degrade them; make them feel they are not entitled to any success if they are not the star of the class. My child worked extremely, extremely hard to try to make his dream come true but ended up completely sick and hopeless. Lastly, teachers steal student's ideas and nothing you can do about it because they have students sign an agreement before beginning of classes. First they tell them that those ideas are worthless, of course. Look for better options. California is full of excellent and transparent schools, colleges and universities let CCA out, it isn't worth it !!!Gabriela Saez

This is a soulless school, with excellent faculty sprinkled occasionally throughout. They present a great and forward thinking image on the outside, and on the inside try to cheat students and faculty alike. Their first priority is outside appearance, and one of their last is the students. Trying to get things fixed here when they inevitably screw up your schedule or take away your scholarship or any number of other things mid-semester is like going to the DMV, if the DMV was worse than it already is and charged you $30-45 thousand a year. This is a greedy institution so disorganized their financial aid documents even say "Please return to the Financial Aid Office by 12/31/1967." CCA is only slightly better than Academy of Art University in terms of being concerned about your education experience or personal well-being. Go somewhere else.Christian Hawkins (C. Grey Hawkins)

Well when I went there it was known as Rock ridge elementary School LOL and then it changed to arts magnet elementary School and that's when it became divided and kindergarteners were going to the same classes as the high school and college students which was actually really cool I met a lot of good friends and learned a lot of neat stuff education should not only be free but you should be able to learn what you want to learn which is what I enjoyed the most by going to classes with older students and being treated as an equalum bad at shuk nac tic

The best part about Stanford is the culture and the people. The admissions process tries to weed out anybody that is arrogant or inwardly focused. The result is a culture that is non competitive and extremely supportive. For example, your classmates can bet the best source of career leads and information on new opportunities you are exploring. I have been blown away by how much people contribute to the community (planning events, etc.). The opportunities within tech and entrepreneurship are also incredible. With close access to VCs in the area, a number of students are involved with part-time internships or entrepreneur in residence programs. The on-campus resources for start-ups are also expansive. The school is very tech focused. While there is something for everyone here, it has been more tech centric than I expected.Jefri Tamba

If I was applying for an MBA, I would love to apply here. The campus is gorgeous. I took a continuing studies course here (Com 19), which is offered to their GSB students and loved it. The team who facilitated the course was wonderful and was focused on community building. I would encourage GSB students to take this in their first semester/quarter (whichever system that Stanford is on).Mary Kong

September. The rich orange light descends through, Leaves trending towards cardinal, Changing, Preparing to drift down, into slumber. The scent of the air, Autumn's chill, The harvest, And, What is this I invigorating scent? Ah, yes. This is the smell of living things, The vivifying aroma, The canal from the mind, The birth of new ideas.Philip “BiGPHiL” Bonnici

I graduated from San Jose State University in 2012 with a Degree in Art History and Visual Culture. Here is my overall take away from my time spent there. The Good: If you live in the area already, SJSU is pretty convenient. I was lucky enough to live near light trail so the included transit pass was great. Tuition at any university these days is going to be eye watering at best, but taking that into consideration the cost is not as bad as some other CSUs. Education is largely what you make of it, but for the most part the quality of the curriculum and the professors who work at SJSU are pretty high. I can think of only a few classes that were really not up to par out of everything I took there. Facilities in general are pretty decent. Its a crowded school without question but I never felt overwhelmed by it. Now the bad: The administration is painful at times. This become apparent on day 1 when I was placed in the wrong orientation group and forced to sit through seminars on classes I would never take. It continued all the way through the last day when the administration somehow lost track of a PE class I took and tried to tell me I couldn't graduate despite the fact that it was on their own transcript. Overall take away its a decent education if you put the effort in.Jeff Streit

Really great school, but it is mostly what you make of it. As a transfer student, I find that the school is interested in helping you succeed and offers a lot of opportunities for you to get involved, get help, and get through. Once you are in your program (can only vouch for Teachers Prep), the teachers are so good and dedicated to helping you move through the class and are pretty centered around helping you learn what you need to for your career. Only trouble I have had with the school was hang-ups at admissions, but after talking to so many different administrative branches and programs at this point (transfer admissions/financial aid/different departments regarding courses and waivers/counseling dept) I really appreciate how easy they are to get ahold of and how willing and effective they are to help you through your issue. Honestly, commuting sucks, but it is really worth it for the quality of education SJSU offers. Plus, the campus is rather pretty with lots of nooks and crannies around campus, is conveniently located, and is heavily connected to its community and the cities around it.Katie Siddiqui

The schooling is great I am an engineering student and have had some success at SJSU! Professors and some staff are very nice to work with. HOWEVER, that is where it ends. The bureaucratic offices are horrible. Such as Housing at SJSU. Housing sucks! They refuse to aid the student. All complaints are either dealt with and solved in about a month or not at all. The WiFi that I pay for is garbage and hardly works ever, and when it does it’s only at 3am. The food is also not great. I over hear that all the food is local which is completely not true it’s from Sysco and another large food transport. Overall it is definitely not worth the money to live on campus because it SUCKS! I can only speak for CVC and it truly sucks. I’ve had a horrible experience here.Jack Hyland