Welcome New Students

We’re so happy you will be joining us! We have prepared a video and outlined 3 basic tips to assist you through a smooth registration and on-boarding process.

Advising and Support

This video provides an overview of the advising resources and support network available to iSchool graduate students. We highly encourage you to watch the video.

On-Boarding Tips

1) Communication

We will be communicating with you by email. This helps our student services staff, advisors and instructors keep a record of our advising conversations. Please make sure your email filters are set to allow @sjsu.edu messages to reach you. When corresponding with us, always include your student ID number and whether you are a regular session, special session, MLIS, MARA, Post Master’s student, Advanced Certificate or Teacher Librarian Credential student.

2) Whom to contact about …?

New students do not contact a faculty advisor for help with registration issues. 
Doing this will actually slow our response time, as faculty will need to refer your question to our student services staff. Please first read the registration steps and FAQs.

Then, for further help with registration matters contact the Student Services Team for help.

For help with MySJSU see these student tutorials. For help with all your financial matters, see the Bursar, or Financial Aid & Scholarships office.

*Faculty advisors are specialists in the LIS pathways. New students can choose a faculty advisor to consult, when they are ready to plan their electives in the MLIS program. MARA and Teacher Librarian students have an assigned advisor.

3) MLIS Students: INFO 203 and your New Student Checklist

The New Student Checklist you received is your new best friend! Once admitted, MLIS students — please refer to this guide often in the months and weeks leading up to your early-start, introductory class, INFO 203.

We understand that there is a lot of new information for incoming students to absorb! That’s why we have prepared the checklist, and strongly encourage new MLIS students to begin INFO 203 when it first opens to have the best opportunity to “learn how to learn” in the online environment, before you dive into graduate work at the School of Information. Once you are enrolled, you will soon be joined to our helpful Advising and Administration Canvas site. Until then, take advantage of the many resources on the iStudent Blog that have been curated just for newly admitted students, as well as our handy Registration FAQs and Advising FAQs.

New MS in Informatics, Advanced Certificate, Open Classes, and MARA students will automatically be enrolled in a free self-paced Technology Prep class in Canvas prior to the start of the semester.