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Public university in San Luis Obispo, California From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)[8] is a public university in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. Founded in 1901, It is the oldest of three polytechnic universities within the California State University system.[9] Cal Poly emphasizes a “learn by doing” philosophy, integrating hands-on, practical experiences into its curriculum.[10] As of Fall 2022, Cal Poly had approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students.[11] Cal Poly is well-regarded for its undergraduate programs, having been ranked 1st among Regional Universities in the Western US in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings.[12] The university is home to several nationally recognized programs, particularly in engineering, architecture, and business, with the College of Engineering and the Orfalea College of Business standing out for their academic excellence and industry connections.[12][13] Most of the university's athletic teams participate in the Big West Conference.
| |
Former name | California Polytechnic School (1901–1947), California Polytechnic State College--San Luis Obispo (1947–1972) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Discere Faciendo (Latin) |
Motto in English | "Learn by Doing" |
| Type | Public polytechnic university |
| Established | March 8, 1901 |
Parent institution | California State University |
| Accreditation | WSCUC |
Academic affiliations | Space-grant |
| Endowment | $285.3 million (2022-23)[1] |
| President | Jeffrey Armstrong |
| Provost | Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore[2] |
Academic staff | 1,469 (fall 2023)[3] |
Administrative staff | 1,630 (fall 2023)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 21,497 (fall 2023)[4] |
| Postgraduates | 782 (fall 2023)[4] |
| Location | , , United States |
| Campus | Small suburb[5], 9,678 acres (3,917 ha) total; 1,321 acres (535 ha) main campus; 155 acres (63 ha) campus core[6] |
| Newspapers | Mustang News, Cal Poly News |
| Colors | Green and Gold[7] |
| Nickname | Mustangs |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascots |
|
| Website | www |
 | |
Cal Poly was founded in 1901 as the California Polytechnic School, following the signing of the California Polytechnic School Bill by Governor Henry Gage. The school began classes on October 1, 1903, with 20 students enrolled, offering three-year secondary-level courses.[14]
Originally coeducational, the school enrolled 16 male and 4 female students.[15] In 1929, California Governor C.C. Young prohibited women from attending.[16] Women were readmitted in 1956. By Fall 2023, female students constituted 50.1% of the total student population.[17]
In 1924, Cal Poly came under the control of the California State Board of Education. During the Great Depression, financial constraints led to discussions about converting Cal Poly into a state prison.[18]
In 1933, the institution transitioned to a two-year technological and vocational school. By 1940, it began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees, with the first baccalaureate ceremony held in 1942. In 1947, the school was renamed California State Polytechnic College to better reflect its expanding higher education offerings. A Master of Arts degree in education was added in 1949.[19]
In 1938, Charles and Jerry Voorhis donated a farm and school to the Cal Poly. In 1949, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation gifted an 812-acre horse ranch in Pomona, California. Originally a satellite campus for Cal Poly, the Pomona campus became an independent university, Cal Poly Pomona, in 1966.
In 1960, control of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and other state colleges was transferred to the newly formed CSU system. That same year, a plane crash killed 22 of the 48 people on board, including 16 Cal Poly football players.[20]
Authorized to offer Master of Science degrees in 1967, Cal Poly reorganized its curriculum from 1967 to 1970 into specialized schools: the School of Science and Math, the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the School of Architecture. In 1968, Cal Poly's FM radio station, KCPR, was launched as a senior project.
In 1971, the California State Legislature officially renamed the institution California Polytechnic State University. Since the 1970s, the university has seen steady enrollment growth and significant campus expansion.
On May 3, 2017, Cal Poly received a $110 million gift from alumni William L. and Linda Frost, one of the largest donations ever made to public education in California.[21]
In 2024, the CSU system recommended integrating Cal Maritime with Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.[22]
Cal Poly has one of the largest college campuses in the United States, covering 9,178 acres and making it the second-largest land-holding university in California.[24][6] The property includes the main campus, two agricultural lands, and two sites in Santa Cruz County. The Swanton Pacific Ranch, a 3,200-acre ranch in Santa Cruz County, provides educational and research opportunities, encompassing rangeland, livestock, and forestry operations for the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences. It supports Cal Poly's “Learn by Doing” philosophy with an emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices and laboratory experiments. University House serves as the university president's residence.
In the summer of 2018, a dormitory-style student community was completed at the corner of Slack Street and Grand Avenue. This development includes seven 3- to 5-story concrete-framed freshman residence hall buildings with 1,475 beds and an adjacent four-level parking structure. Community spaces feature a café, community room, game room, mail room, welcome center, offices, and maintenance shop. Additional site improvements provide a large open space for activities and group events, volleyball and basketball courts, and outdoor gathering areas.[25]
The Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics was dedicated on November 1, 2013.[26] This $119 million, six-story building replaced the aging “spider” Science Building 52 with a new 189,000-square-foot structure.[27] It includes laboratories, classrooms, offices for the physics, chemistry, and soil science programs, and spaces for the Western Coatings Technologies Center and the Environmental Biotechnology Institute. The center also features Centennial Park, a landscaped central green area.
Campus parking is limited, with 2,892 general-purpose parking spaces, 3,492 dorm resident spaces, and a total of 8,648 parking spaces.[28] The Facilities Master Plan acknowledges that, despite adding more parking spots, the ratio of parking to students will decrease due to expected enrollment growth.[29] To address this, the plan emphasizes reducing demand for individual vehicle parking by constructing additional dorms and enhancing campus life. Cal Poly Commuter and Access Services has successfully promoted alternatives to single occupancy vehicles, with bus use more than doubling and bicycle use nearly quadrupling from 2002 to 2012.[30]
As of 2024, there are over 7,000 bike rack spaces and 252 secure bike lockers on campus. In 2019, approximately 57% of students and 33% of faculty/staff lived within five miles of campus, facilitating easy bike commutes.[31] The city's SLO Transit bus system provides service to and from campus. Cal Poly supports SLO Transit with funding from parking citation revenue, allowing faculty, staff, and students to ride for free.[31] The SLO Regional Transit Authority provides bus service throughout the county, with discounted passes available to the Cal Poly community.
As of 2020, the university offers 65 bachelor's degrees, 39 master's degrees, 84 minors and 13 credentials in six colleges:[6]
All undergraduate students are required to complete a senior project, a capstone experience integrating theory and application from their undergraduate studies.[32] Projects may include design or construction experiences, experiments, self-guided studies or research projects, presentations, reports based on internships or co-ops, public portfolio displays, or performances.[33] These projects often lead to job offers or recognition. Notable examples include Punchd, acquired by Google, and Jamba Juice, inspired by a senior project idea.[34][35] The campus area known as ‘Architecture Graveyard’ hosts many senior projects, including experimental and unconventional structures.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 54,663 | 48,588 | 48,162 | 46,820 | 43,812 | 40,402 |
| Admits | 16,491 | 16,817 | 14,202 | 14,651 | 13,533 | 13,953 |
| % Admitted | 30.2 | 34.6 | 29.5 | 31.3 | 30.9 | 34.5 |
| Enrolled | 4,398 | 5,253 | 4,341 | 4,943 | 4,662 | 4,871 |
| GPA | 4.00 | 3.95 | 3.92 | 3.92 | 3.88 | 3.87 |
| Avg. ACT Composite | 28.9 | 28.3 | 28.4 | 28.0 | 27.5 | 27.3 |
| Avg. SAT Composite* | 1329 | 1293 | 1251 | 1239 | 1234 | 1232 |
| * SAT out of 1600 |
Cal Poly's admissions process is described as “more selective” according to U.S. News & World Report.[38] For the class entering 2019, 15,366 freshmen were accepted out of 54,072 applicants, a 28.4% acceptance rate, with 4,613 enrolling. In 2018, students had an average GPA of 4.00; The average SAT score was 1329 and average ACT score was 29.[39] Women constituted 50.5% of the incoming freshmen class, and men 49.5%.[39]
Cal Poly requires students to declare a major upon applying, then admits the most competitive applicants for each major. Each major has a change of major plan, requiring certain classes and GPA (usually between 2.5 and 2.75). In some cases, students wishing to change majors transfer to other universities.
For Fall 2019 Cal Poly accepted 1,622 of 11,109 applicants as transfer students, a 14.6% acceptance rate.[40]
As of 2024, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo has been ranked the best public master's-level university in the Western United States for 30 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.[41][42] Regional universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master's programs, but few doctoral programs.
U.S. News & World Report (2025)[12]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Master's | |
| Washington Monthly[43] | 32 |
| Regional | |
| U.S. News & World Report[44] | 1 |
| National | |
| Forbes[45] | 57 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[46] | 116 |
| Global | |
| U.S. News & World Report[47] | 1021 |
PayScale Best Value Colleges Ranked by ROI (2025) - 36th out of 1,978
Money Best Colleges for Your Money (2024) - 5 out of 5 star - Awarded America's Best Colleges.[48]
DesignIntelligence: America's Best Architecture & Design Schools:
| Race and ethnicity[51] | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 50% | ||
| Hispanic | 23% | ||
| Asian | 14% | ||
| Two or more races[a] | 11% | ||
| Foreign national | 1% | ||
| Black | 0.7% | ||
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% | ||
| Native American | 0.1% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[b] | 14% | ||
| Affluent[c] | 86% | ||
Cal Poly's on-campus student housing, totaling 6,239 spaces,[52] is the largest student housing program in the CSU system.[53] In Fall 2015, 35.9% of undergraduates lived in 28 dorms, and 98.7% of first-time freshmen lived on campus. Additionally, 28.7% of sophomores lived on campus.[54]
There are five distinct groups of residence halls: North Mountain Halls, Red-Brick Halls, Sierra Madre and Yosemite Halls, Cerro Vista Apartments, Poly Canyon Village, and Yakʔitʸutʸu residence halls
Greek organizations have been present at Cal Poly since 1949, with numerous fraternities and sororities.[55]
The Week of Welcome (WOW) is a volunteer-based orientation program for new students during the first week after move-in each September. It aims to introduce students to the campus and community and prepare them for a successful college career. Freshmen are placed in groups of 10–12, while transfer students are grouped in sizes of 40–60, each led by two current student orientation leaders. WOW groups participate in various orientation events and activities on and off campus. In 2010, the program's awareness section won the National Orientation Directors Association (NODAC) Media & Publications Showcase Award for Emerging Technologies, developed entirely by student volunteers. Started in 1956, WOW is now the largest volunteer orientation program in the nation.[56]
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The Cal Poly Recreation Center is the on-campus student recreation center.[57]
Cal Poly hosts over 150 recognized clubs and independent student organizations, including cultural clubs, mathematics and science clubs, improv and sketch comedy clubs, religious and atheistic groups, service organizations, engineering research and development clubs, professional development organizations, a perennial Rose Parade Float design program, LGBTQ+ and Multicultural groups, competitive and social athletic teams, and academic honors clubs. Notable engineering clubs include Prove Lab, PolySat, CubeSat, and QL+.[58]
Cal Poly fields 21 varsity sports (10 for men and 11 for women) and competes in NCAA Division I.[59] It is a member of the Big West Conference, except for football, wrestling, women's indoor track & field and both swimming and diving teams. The football team competes in the Big Sky Conference; the wrestling team is part of the Pac-12 Conference; indoor track & field is independent; and swimming and diving compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Prior to joining Division I in 1994, Cal Poly won 35 NCAA NCAA Division II national team championships[60] and competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The university has two mascots: Musty the Mustang and Chase, a live mustang named after Margaret Chase, the university's second president.[61]
Cal Poly also offers various non-varsity (club) sports. The Mustangs play college rugby in the California Conference of Division 1-A. The Mustangs are often ranked in the Top 25 nationwide,[62] and their rugby sevens team has been ranked as high as No. 7.[63] SLOCORE represents Cal Poly in ultimate at the D-1 open level. The Mustangs have been one of the top teams over the past decade, ranked as high as No. 5, and reached their first national final in 2024 while winning the team spirit award.[64]
Cal Poly offers various non-varsity (club) sports. The Mustangs play college rugby in the California Conference of Division 1-A, often ranked in the Top 25 nationwide,[62] with the rugby sevens team ranked as high as No. 7.[63] SLOCORE represents Cal Poly in ultimate at the D-1 open level, ranked as high as No. 5 and reaching their first national final in 2024 while winning the team spirit award.[64]
The Battle for the Golden Horseshoe is an annual rivalry college football game between the UC Davis Aggies and the Cal Poly Mustangs.[65] The Mustang Marching Band, with over 200 members, performs at football, basketball, and volleyball games.
Cal Poly is administratively organized into four divisions:
Cal Poly Partners: A public-benefit nonprofit corporation providing commercial, fiscal, and support services to promote the educational mission of Cal Poly and the CSU system. Founded in 1940, it was known as the Cal Poly Foundation until 2006 and Cal Poly Corporation until 2024.[66]
Cal Poly Foundation: An auxiliary organization and IRC 501(c)(3) public charity that accepts and administers tax-deductible gifts to the university. It leads campus philanthropic activity by supporting fundraising and managing campus endowments. [67]
Cal Poly Extended Education: Provides degree, certificate, and professional development programs to residents of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Counties, and through distance learning technologies to students nationwide.[68]
Associated Students Inc: The Associated Students Inc. (ASI) is a 501(c)(3) nnonprofit corporation owned and operated by Cal Poly student leaders, with an annual operating budget exceeding $12 million. ASI provides co-curricular experiences, including events, speakers, concerts, intramural sports, fitness programs, aquatics, outdoor adventure trips, craft center courses, club services, and child development programs. ASI manages the University Union, Recreation Center, Sports Complex, and Children's Center, totaling over 450,000 square feet of campus facilities.[69]
Alumni Association: Engages and serves alumni, fostering lifelong connections between the university and its alumni, and supporting the university's mission. The association includes 15 regional and special interest chapters.[70]
List of notable alumni of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly has more than 150,000 alumni, with the majority located in San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties.[71]
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