San Jose State University Online MS in Artificial Intelligence (Special Session)

This is a structured, cohort-style master's for working engineers who want one evening class a week and a guaranteed seat in every course. The price is steady and the pace is predictable. The catch is a technical admissions bar and a self-supported tuition rate that isn't cheap for a public university.

San Jose State University is a public university in Silicon Valley. This degree isn't run by the regular academic departments. Engineering Extended Studies offers it as a self-supported Special Session, which is why the per-unit price looks higher than you'd expect from a state school.

The program is fully online. Classes meet one evening a week for 11 weeks, and you take one course at a time. It's 11 courses and 33 graduate-level units in all.

SJSU says you can finish the master's within two years. Terms start in Fall, Spring and Summer, so you aren't waiting a full year to begin.

Classes are fully online and meet one evening per week for 11 weeks per course. You take one course at a time, so the load at any moment is a single class.

The cohort model is the main feature. You move through every course with the same group, and SJSU guarantees a seat in each one, with no waitlists and no competing for enrollment. The upside is predictability and a built-in network of peers. The downside is less control over your schedule.

Who It Fits

• You already work in engineering or software and can show a degree in mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering or a close field, plus two or more programming courses or significant professional experience.
• You want to move through the program with the same cohort, one course at a time, and you'd rather not compete for seats or wait on a waitlist.
• You like a fixed weekly rhythm. One evening a week for 11 weeks is easy to plan around a day job.

Who Should Skip It

• You want to speed up or slow down. The one-course-at-a-time evening schedule is steady by design, and you move with your cohort, so a long break means rejoining later.
• You're coming from a non-technical background. The admissions list expects calculus, linear algebra, statistics, data structures and algorithm design.
• You need the lowest public-university price. Special Session tuition isn't the state-supported rate.

The program is 11 courses totaling 33 units. Before you apply, ask for the full course sequence and which courses, if any, you can choose.

Standout Features

• Cohort model: students move through every course with the same cohort
• Guaranteed seat in every course: no waitlists, no competing for enrollment
• Instructors include SJSU faculty and industry practitioners building AI systems at Silicon Valley companies

Starting Fall 2026, SJSU's public Special Session rate is $1,022 per unit. Classes are typically three units, so each course is $3,066. At 33 units, tuition comes to $33,726.

That number leaves out books and other materials. SJSU also says the rate is subject to university-mandated fee increases, so the total can move while you're enrolled. Because you take one course at a time, you can pay in 11 smaller pieces, which helps if your employer reimburses by course.

33 credits at $1,022 a credit comes to $33,726 in tuition, before fees.

You earn a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence from San Jose State University.

The credential value comes from the school and the Silicon Valley setting. SJSU's reported graduation rate is 69%, which is a school-wide figure, so ask how online cohort students do.

Where this degree can lead: Data Scientist Jobs, Jobs You Can Get With an AI Degree.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• At $33,726 in tuition alone, it costs more than many state-supported programs.
• Books and materials aren't included, and the per-unit rate can rise with university-mandated fee increases.
• The admissions list is technical, with a 3.0 GPA in your most recent degree and prerequisites in calculus, linear algebra and statistics.
• The cohort schedule leaves little room to pause and pick back up without waiting for a later group.

• The $33,726 covers tuition only. What do books, materials and mandatory fees add each term?
• If I miss a term because of work, how does the cohort model handle me rejoining at the right course?
• Admissions lists data structures, algorithm design, calculus, linear algebra and statistics. How strictly is each one checked, and can work experience stand in?
• Which of the 11 courses are fixed and which can I choose?
• Does the degree end in a project or capstone, and what does it involve?
• Is the Special Session degree identical on my diploma to one earned through regular enrollment?

SJSU is a public university in Silicon Valley. Its Engineering Extended Studies unit runs the self-supported MS in Artificial Intelligence Special Session for working engineers.

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