This series contains course catalogs for San Jose State Normal School and San Jose State Teachers College, which document the early years of the school's curriculum. In addition, it should be noted that significant changes were made to the school's curriculum in 1888, 1901-1902, and 1921-1922.

Early courses of study at the Normal School included Psychology, Drawing, Reading and Literature, Geography and Methods, Arithmetic and Methods, Teaching, Shakespeare, and School Hygiene. Summer sessions were established in 1904, and offered Drawing, Nature Study, and Manual Training. Later summer sessions offered a wider variety of classes, including Industrial Arts, Kindergarten Instruction, Home Economics, and Americanization Problems.

This series also includes department-specific course catalogs highlighting the coursework of several departments including Music, Art, and Home Mechanics.