This program is pending Chancellor’s Office approval.

• Admissions Requirements
• Graduate Standing Requirements
• Program Requirements (144 units)
• Advising Roadmap

The Packaging Spartan Accelerated Graduate Education (SAGE) Programs  provides students the opportunity to earn their Packaging, Bs and packaging, MS degrees 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.

Total SAGE Program Units (BS + MS) 144

For more information, contact the SAGE Scholars Program Coordinator​: 

Admissions Requirements

1. Be enrolled in or have completed the undergraduate Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (100W/GWAR) prior to admission into the SAGE Scholars program;
2. Successfully completed a minimum of 60 Packaging, BS applicable units and not more than 120 undergraduate degree applicable units at the time of admission in the program;
3.  Completed PKG 141A  and NUFS 100W  with grades of “B” or better;
4. Minimum 3.0 cumulative SJSU GPA at time of admission

Students who have reached up to their first semester as classified seniors will remain eligible for entry into the SAGE program. Second semester, senior-level students enrolled in the term they expect to graduate from their baccalaureate degree are not eligible to enter into the SAGE program as these students will not gain the accelerated graduate-level benefit offered through the SAGE blended program option.

Graduate Standing Requirements

Requirements for program continuation and advancement to candidacy in the graduate program, include:

University Minimum Requirements:

• SAGE students in the undergraduate career must have completed all lower division courses (designated as 0-99, including lower division general education courses and American Institutions courses) BEFORE transitioning into the SAGE graduate degree objective status. Students who have completed 120 degree-eligible units but not completed all lower division courses will be removed from the SAGE program and will complete the standalone undergraduate degree. Students may then enter the standalone masters’ program, but will have to apply to the graduate program separately and are subject to graduate admissions requirements at SJSU. Additionally, any graduate courses used to meet undergraduate degree requirements may not be used in the graduate program.

Additional Department Requirements/Criteria:

• Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students in the first four years of the program who do not maintain these standards will be withdrawn from the SAGE Scholars program and returned to the non-SAGE BS in Packaging program. 
• Students are converted to graduate status when they have completed 120 SAGE program-applicable units. The following University Requirements are satisfied with required courses in the major: GE Area 5A and 2, and GE UD Area 2/5. Alternate courses that may satisfy these requirements are not counted in the calculation of the 120 SAGE program-applicable units. 
• Students may opt out of the SAGE program and apply for the standalone master’s degree program at any point like other non-SAGE applicants, in case they decide to complete a thesis or change the packaging objective.

Culminating Experience

Plan A (Thesis)

For this plan, the student is required to complete 6 units of PKG 299 . The student is required to complete a research project under advisement of a Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging faculty. The research must result in the generation of a thesis that meets the University Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation Guidelines. The student must pass an oral examination defending the research to a departmental faculty committee. The student must prepare an oral presentation or poster presentation for the public. 

Plan B (Project)

For this plan, the student is required to complete 3 units of PKG 298  and submit a written project in publication format. The student must pass an oral examination defending the research to a departmental faculty committee. The student must prepare an oral presentation or poster presentation for the public, community partner, or industry.

Plan B (Comprehensive Exam)

For this plan, the student is required to complete 3 units of PKG 298 . All graduate students opting for the courses-only option must pass the Comprehensive Exam (given once a semester) to earn the MS in Packaging degree. The Comprehensive Exam is the student’s opportunity to demonstrate mastery and integration of the knowledge and skills of the MS in Packaging curriculum. The comprehensive exam is an oral and a written exam administered on campus.