San Francisco State University Reviews

"The pros of the graduate program involves traditional teaching of film production, which involves working with film stock and editing. But the program also includes the acquisition of digital video production. The cons involves the transition from film to video."

"Pros = Weekend, can attend while working, great Professors Cons = weekends, commute"

"Great opportunities for professional development, support from faculty and staff, rigorous coursework, overall challenging but great preparation for the profession."

"The educators in my department are outstanding academics and lecturers, but Graduate School hasn't been as intense as I thought it would be and I still don't feel ready for a PhD program. Maybe everything will click into place next year. SFSU has budget issues, and the years of cut backs are really starting to take a toll on the quality vs. price ratio."

"Cons: Being a Masters Program, there is not a lot of financial aid. Although the department offers several scholarships (including fellowships and graduate teaching positions), I would warn entering students to expect some loan debt. My only other regret about the program is that the main campus library is more of a study spot than a place where one can do practical research. As a newer addition to the campus, there just aren't a lot of books in there (you'll literally find rows of empty shelves). Pros: The Classics Department has its own reference library with plenty of primary and secondary sources. You are also likely to find very friendly people in there to talk to. The library is separated into three rooms, so that if one section is too loud, you can enter a side door and enclose yourself with other translating hermits in silence. Being a state school in the Bay Area, I think SFSU gets overlooked with schools like Standford and UC Berkeley nearby. I definitely think that the Classics program at this institution is underrated. All of the professors are excellent and come from top tier institutions. They are also very friendly and available to meet. This is partly due to the small size of the department, but I also think that majority of the faculty is sensitive to their student's needs (especially the MA grads) and willing to assist in course studies, professional pursuits, and in some cases, informal life therapy. Any student completing this MA program will find it a suitable platform for pursuing a teaching credential (which the university also offers in Latin), museum studies, archaeology, or doctorate in Classics.Read Less"

"San Francisco State's Education: Equity and Social Justice MA degree program was a welcome change over the anonymity I experienced during my undergraduate studies at UC Davis. SFSU professors and school staff are welcoming, supportive and caring. Fellow students in the program are collaborative, engaging and innovative. My financial aid was great- since I was a full-time student with no income, I paid for just 10% of course fees! I would recommend the Education: Equity and Social Justice MA degree program to anyone interested in affecting proactive social change in education!Read Less"

"The Masters of Public Health program with an emphasis in Community Health Education at San Francisco State is a great program to get involved in. With small class sizes and a supportive staff, this program will really help you understand the global issues effecting the up and coming young generations. Overall, the program is a great experience and an important program for anyone interested in getting involved in a growing health and wellness industry."

"Pros: All faculty members are very helpful via email or to speak with in person and knows their teaching materials well. Cons: broad aspect of the major so there is no concentration or focus of any specifics of the language."

"Pros: San Francisco has historically been, and is currently, a city alive with political activity and policy-makers. As a result, San Francisco State is an excellent location to learn and study politics. Cons: The majority of professors employed by the Political Science Department at San Francisco State possess a similar (if not the same) political and social ideology. Most make no secret about their personal views and opinions and the objectivity of the learning environment is sometimes lost."

"The San Francisco State History program is filled with brilliant educators who do not have the funding to build the robust program their talents deserve."

"I had higher expectations from this program seeing that it was the only institution in the US that has a College of Ethnic Studies. I expected the curriculum to have more emphasis on activism rather than just academics alone."

"Accessibility of faculty and a non-pretentious camaraderie amongst students are two of the most praiseworthy aspects of the program. Each grad student has their own area of interest, and as a result seminar discussions are all in the interest of learning. There is nearly no competitiveness, which for philosophy is fantastic. Excellent teaching program that allows students to teach up to 3 semesters. Many students are aiming for PhD programs after graduation."

"They seem to just push students through their programs even though they do not teach well enough for the student to be confident about finding a job when they leave."

"Very fun and hands-on. Great variety of courses to choose from. Relavant and applicable to future careers. Located in an area with 100's of museums. Good internship program. Great faculty and classrooms."

"The geographic location of this program makes the coursework and theory easy to practice, and easy to apply."

"This is a professional course and is very clinically oriented due to the new accrediting. So counseling is just the MFT track in some ways. Be read to work extremely hard and do 2 years of practicum internship hours per week plus 60 hard units. and your culmination CEP project that is almost like writing a Thesis paper."

"I think the Field Work program and teachers are great. I wish more of the classes were offered at night for people with day jobs."

"Program is disorganized and difficult to progress through."

"Social justice focus is central to this program, which a lot of programs cannot say. That said, it is a state school and resources are very limited. It is a program for working people, which means that classes are scheduled around work schedules for the most part, but it also means somewhat less is taught. It's a give and take. The professors have their hearts in it, for the most part, and the staff really tries to do what they can with what they have."

"The pros are that's it is a challenging program that has prepared me for the real world but the cons are that the price is incredibly expensive. It is so expensive that it makes me wonder if I will find a job to repay the loans or if for the next 20 years I will be paying this bill off."