Program: Interdisciplinary Engineering, BS + Business Administration (Early Career), MBA - San José State University

Jul 13, 2025

2025-2026 Academic Catalog

Application and Admissions Requirements
Program Requirements (150 units)
Advising Roadmap

The Interdisciplinary Engineering Spartan Accelerated Graduate Education (SAGE) Programs provides students the opportunity to earn their Interdisciplinary Engineering, BS and Business Administration (Early Career), MBA degrees simultaneously, completing both degrees in five years, rather than the usual six years when completing them individually.The SAGE Scholars Program Coordinator works closely with the students to ensure a seamless transition from undergraduate to graduate status, without students having to file a formal application for admission to the graduate program. This program provides students with a strong technical engineering background combined with business leadership skills.

Total SAGE Program Units (BS + MBA) 150

Application and Admissions Requirements

The student must be an Interdisciplinary Engineering (IDE) major in good standing with a GPA of 3.2 or better and have an Early Career MBA curriculum (“major course proposal”, aka study plan) approved by the IDE major advisor. Applicants must have completed all lower division courses in preparation and required for the major and at least 60 undergraduate degree applicable units but not more than 120. They must have completed or be currently enrolled in ENGR 100W . And specifically, they must have

A “B” grade or better for ECON 1A or ECON 1B or equivalent.
A “B” grade or better for ISE 130 .

All applicants will need to submit a resume and have an interview with the MBA and IDE Directors. Students with GPAs below a 3.2 will be considered under special cases. If below a 3.2, GMAT or GRE scores or Letter(s) of Recommendation are strongly recommended for applicants.

Course Requirements:

The IDE Early Career MBA curriculum will contain the normal Depth and Technical Electives determined by the student’s engineering career interest consistent with all IDE majors. Four MBA courses will double-count both towards the MBA and for the 12 units of academic breath required for the IDE major. Double-counted courses are intensive eight-week courses with two each semester of Year 4 on the roadmap.

Timeline to Complete the Program

The program is designed for a student to complete all requirements for a BS in IDE and an MBA in five years, including one summer session.

For More Information

Please contact IDE Program Director Jack Warecki at jack.warecki@sjsu.edu.

Culminating Experience

The comprehensive project is incorporated in the Strategic Thinking course (BUS 290 ). The comprehensive project is a culminating experience integrating business functional areas and interdisciplinary perspectives. An individual written project report is required and an oral examination may be included. The project may take the form of a field study, research project, business simulation, or a strategic plan for an organization, as assigned by the instructor. Students must receive an overall equivalent grade of “B” or better on the comprehensive project and may be given a maximum of two opportunities to satisfy requirements.

Program Requirements (150 units)

Interdisciplinary Engineering, BS (108 units)

Students must satisfy all of the major and Undergraduate University Graduation Requirements , which includes unit, GPA, and residency requirements as well as the below identified General Education , American Institutions, Graduation Writing Assessment, and Physical Education requirements. Courses that meet Undergraduate University Graduation Requirements are noted with an area designation (see Course Note Abbreviations ).

University Requirements (18 units)

The Lower and Upper Division General Education Requirements may be satisfied by coursework outlined below. To satisfy the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) , students must pass ENGR 100W with a grade of “C” or better (“C-” not accepted).

GE Areas 1A, 1C, 3S, 4/American Institutions Requirement (US123) , 6 18 unit(s)

Major Preparation (31 units)

BIOL 10 - The Living World 3 unit(s) (GE Area 5B / Formerly Area B2)
CHEM 30A - Introductory Chemistry 4 unit(s) or CHEM 1A may be used in lieu of CHEM 30A. (GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)
ENGL 1B - Argument and Analysis 3 unit(s) (GE Area 3B / Formerly Area C2)
MATH 30 - Calculus I 3 unit(s) (GE Area 2 / Formerly Area B4)
MATH 31 - Calculus II 4 unit(s) (GE Area 2 / Formerly Area B4)
MATH 32 - Calculus III 3 unit(s) (GE Area 2 / Formerly Area B4)
PHYS 50 - General Physics I: Mechanics 4 unit(s) GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)
PHYS 51 - General Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism 4 unit(s) GE Area 5A and 5C / Formerly Area B1 and B3)

Differential Equations or Discrete Math (3 units)

Complete one course, MATH 33A or MATH 33LA and MATH 42 depending on Depth Electives:

MATH 33A - Ordinary Differential Equations for SCI & ENGR 3 unit(s)
MATH 33LA - Differential Equations and Linear Algebra 3 unit(s)
MATH 42 - Discrete Mathematics 3 unit(s)

Major Requirements (59 units)

Core Courses (12 units)

CMPE 30 - Programming Concepts and Methodology 3 unit(s) OR CS 46A - Introduction to Programming 4 unit(s)
EE 98 - Introduction to Circuit Analysis 3 unit(s)
ENGR 10 - Introduction to Engineering 3 unit(s)

Mechanics (3 units)

CE 95 - Theory and Application of Statics 3 unit(s)
MATE 25 - Introduction to Materials 3 unit(s)

Interdisciplinary Courses (28 units)

Complete the required courses:

BUS3 186 - Professional and Business Ethics 3 unit(s) (GE UD Area 4 / Formerly Area S)
ENGR 100W - Engineering Reports 3 unit(s) (WID + GE UD Area 2/5 / Formerly Area R)
ENGR 102 - Renewable Energy Engineering 3 unit(s)
ENGR 120 - Programming Concepts for Behavioral and Social Science Applications 3 unit(s) OR CS 46B - Introduction to Data Structures 4 unit(s)
ENGR 130 - Introduction to Intellectual Property for Engineers 3 unit(s)
ENGR 199A - Senior Design Project I 1 unit(s)
ENGR 199B - Senior Design Project II 2 unit(s)
ISE 130 - Engineering Probability and Statistics 3 unit(s)
ME 106 - Fundamentals of Mechatronics Engineering 4 unit(s)
TECH 198 - Technology and Civilization 3 unit(s) (GE UD Area 3 / Formerly Area V)

Technical Focus (19 units)

Must be approved by the advisor.

Engineering or STEM Depth of Four Course Sequence (12 units)

Technical Electives (7 units)

ECON 1A or ECON 1B , which is an admission requirement for this SAGE program, may count towards 3 of the technical elective units.

Early Career MBA Requirements (42 units)

Advanced Management Courses (Breadth Requirements) (27 units)

BUS 201 - Business Communications 1 unit(s)
BUS 210 - Developing and Managing People 3 unit(s) (GWAR)
BUS 220 - Financial Accounting 3 unit(s)
BUS 230 - Marketing Management 3 unit(s)
BUS 244 - Information Technologies for Business: Essentials & Emerging 3 unit(s)
BUS 250 - Law and Ethics 3 unit(s)
BUS 260 - Managerial Decision Analysis 3 unit(s)
BUS 265 - Silicon Valley Experience 2 unit(s)
BUS 270 - Financial Management 3 unit(s)
BUS 280 - Operations and Supply Chain Management 3 unit(s)

Electives (12 units)

Four elective courses. Students may take a maximum of one 100-level business course OR 200- level non-business course with written approval of the MBA director.

Culminating Experience (3 units)

Plan B (Project)

BUS 290 - Strategic Thinking 3 unit(s)

Total Units Required (150 units)

Notes: *The standalone Interdisciplinary Engineering, BS requires 12 units of Academic Breadth courses. Students satisfy this requirement in this SAGE Scholars Program by completing BUS 230 , BUS 244 , BUS 260 , BUS 280 . These 12 units are considered to count toward both the graduate and undergraduate degrees, thus allowing SAGE students to meet the minimum unit requirements for both degrees.