What's the syntax for mod in Java?

Instead of the modulo operator, which has slightly different semantics, for non-negative integers, you can use the remainder operator %. For your exact example:

if ((a % 2) == 0)
{
    isEven = true;
}
else
{
    isEven = false;
}

This can be simplified to a one-liner:

isEven = (a % 2) == 0;

you should examine the specification before using 'remainder' operator % :

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/third_edition/html/expressions.html#15.17.3

// bad enough implementation of isEven method, for fun. so any worse?
boolean isEven(int num)
{
    num %= 10;
    if(num == 1)
       return false;
    else if(num == 0)
       return true;
    else
       return isEven(num + 2);
}
isEven = isEven(a);

An alternative to the code from @Cody:

Using the modulus operator:

bool isEven = (a % 2) == 0;

I think this is marginally better code than writing if/else, because there is less duplication & unused flexibility. It does require a bit more brain power to examine, but the good naming of isEven compensates.