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California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University, popularly called Cal Poly, is a nationally ranked four-year public university in California. Established in 1901, it has one of the largest campuses covering over 9,678 acres of land. The university offers bachelor's and master's degrees to over 19,000 students in 7 distinct colleges:

  • College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
  • College of Architecture and Environmental Design
  • Orfalea College of Business
  • College of Education
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Science and Mathematics

Cal Poly has consistently been listed in the U.S. News & World Report for America's Best Colleges and according to the Forbes.com ranking of college campuses in 2008, the alumni have the third-highest average salaries of all public university graduates in the United States.

The Cal Poly university mascot is the Mustang and the university fields over 20 varsity sports. The women's volleyball team won the second straight Big West Title in 2007. Stephanie Brown Trafton won the gold medal in the women's discus throw at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Overview of California Polytechnic State University

San Luis Obispo, CA is home to Cal Poly. San Luis Obispo is a small suburb. The school is a public institution. Degrees at Cal Poly go up to the Master's degree.

Areas of Study

Students commonly pursue studies in engineering, agricultural science and management, landscaping and horticulture, animal science and care, architecture and planning, and nutrition and exercise therapy.

Cal Poly Selectivity

Prospective students are advised that admissions are not open to all; the school selects from among qualified applicants. The school attracts a lot of applicants every year, and can only accept about 47% of them (as of 2007). Three quarters of students in 2007 had SAT verbal scores of at least 520. Half of math SAT scores of accepted students fell between 560 and 670.

Faculty

The school has a tenure system for senior faculty. The full-time faculty at Cal Poly is well-paid, which often goes with faculty quality.

Student Body

The school has 19,777 enrolled students (as of 2007).

Student Life

Cal Poly offers students meal plans. The school values student athletics, and belongs to the Big West Conference and Other.

More complete details are provided below.

Contacting Cal Poly

California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
General Phone: (805) 756-1111
http://www.calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Programs and Degrees (2007)

General CategoryDegreesMost Common Majors [see all]
Engineering943electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, aerospace engineering, construction engineering, architectural engineering, industrial engineering, engineering, ...
Business And Management652business management, business administration
Liberal Arts458liberal arts and sciences, social services, speech and rhetoric, English, history, political science, economics, foreign language and literature
Agricultural Science And Management265agricultural management, agriculture, agricultural mechanization, food science
Nutrition And Exercise Therapy241dietitian, health and physical education, parks and recreation studies
Architecture And Planning240architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture
Science215biology, biochemistry, physics, chemistry, microbiology, ecology, geological and earth sciences, polymer chemistry
Computer Science And Engineering199computer science, computer engineering, software engineering
Education And Teaching168education, early childhood education, agricultural teaching, industrial arts teaching
Animal Science And Care137animal science, dairy science
Media117graphic communications, journalism
Therapy And Counseling87psychology
Landscaping And Horticulture57ornamental horticulture, horticultural science, agronomy, soil science
Fine Arts49fine arts
Mathematics47mathematics, statistics
Conservation And Resource Management45forestry, natural resources policy
Art Studies36art studies
Family And Social Work23public administration
Drama And Performing Arts20drama
Music16music
Religion And Philosophy15philosophy

Number of programs and degrees for Cal Poly in 2007:

Degree LevelTotal
Awarded
Number of
Programs
Bachelor's degree3,61362
Master's degree41723

Cal Poly Student Body

In 2007, Cal Poly had a total enrollment of 19,777 students (19,004 full-time equivalent).

Students in the Freshman Class:

GroupPercent
Men57%
Women43%
Full-Time98%
Part-Time2%

Students By Class:

GroupPercent
Undergraduate94%
Graduate6%

Racial Diversity:
RacePercent
White65%
Black1%
Hispanic10%
Asian11%
American Indian1%
Unknown11%
(Foreign Students)1%

Students by Age:

AgePercent
Under 180%
18-1936%
20-2132%
22-2424%
25-295%
30-341%
35-390%
40-491%
50-640%

Incoming (Freshman) Students by Place of Residence:
(From available data sampling)

ResidencePercent
California93%
Washington1%
Oregon1%
Colorado1%
Nevada1%

Cal Poly Graduation, Retention, and Transfers

Retention Rates (2007):

GroupReturning From
Previous Year
Full-Time90 %
Part-Time77 %

Cal Poly Room and Board (2007)

Cal Poly offers campus housing for 3,872 of its 19,004 (full-time) students.

(Please refer to our profile of San Luis Obispo, California for details about the area surrounding the campus. Also see our list of other California Colleges).

The school offers students a meal plan with 10 meals per week.

Cal Poly Admissions and Selectivity (2007)

Acceptances:

GroupApplicantsAcceptedPercent
Accepted
EnrolledPercent of
Accepted Enrolled
Total26,72412,45347%3,66829%
Men13,8566,46547%2,07932%
Women12,8685,98847%1,58927%

Standardized Test Scores:

Test25th Percentile75th Percetile
SAT Verbal520620
SAT Math560670
ACT Verbal2228
ACT Math2429
ACT Composite2328

Application Requirements:

ItemRequirement
GPArequired
Class Ranknot required
High School Recordrequired
College Prep Programrequired
Recommendationsnot required
Formal Demonstration of Competencenot required
Standardized Tests (SAT and/or ACT)required
Percent of Applicants Submitting SAT97%
Percent of Applicants Submitting ACT44%
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)required
Other Standardized Testsnot required

Cal Poly Expenses and Financial Aid (2007)

Expenses and Financial Aid:

ExpenseAmount
In-state tuition and fees$ 4,689
Out-of-state tuition and fees$ 14,859
Room and board$ 8,793
Room charge$ 4,971
Board (meal plan) charge$ 3,846
Books and supplies$ 1,386
Other expenses$ 3,033

Financial Aid:
Cal Poly participates in Federal Title IV financial aid programs. (The school's OPE ID is 114300)

Cal Poly Faculty

Cal Poly has a tenure system for faculty.

Tenure Status of Faculty (2007):

Full-Time Faculty LevelMenWomen
Tenured29989
Non-tenured, but on tenure track14583
Non-tenured and not on tenure track6953

Salaries for full-time faculty:

Full-Time Faculty (2007):

Full-Time Faculty LevelContract LengthNumber MenAvg Salary MenNumber WomenAvg Salary Women
Professorcalendar year29$114,8184$115,356
Associate professorcalendar year5$93,7801*
Assistant professorcalendar year1*0*
Lecturercalendar year1*1*
No academic rankcalendar year2*0*
All faculty totalcalendar year38$111,5116$102,180

*: salaries are not displayed where there are fewer than 3 professors in the category.

Full-Time Faculty (2007):

Full-Time Faculty LevelContract LengthNumber MenAvg Salary MenNumber WomenAvg Salary Women
Professoracademic year192$94,89746$92,100
Associate professoracademic year103$79,61051$77,387
Assistant professoracademic year110$67,95870$63,697
Lectureracademic year65$61,74051$60,181
No academic rankacademic year3$125,2680*
All faculty totalacademic year473$80,939218$72,070

*: salaries are not displayed where there are fewer than 3 professors in the category.

Cal Poly Athletics

Athletic Conferences:

SportConference
FootballOther
BasketballBig West Conference
BaseballBig West Conference
TrackBig West Conference

Students on Athletic Scholarships (2007):

SportMenWomenTotal
Total215114329
Football90090
Track202444
Baseball33033
Basketball131528
All Other Sports5975134

Cal Poly Degree Programs (2007)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
Agricultural Business and Management, General
Agricultural Mechanization, General
Agriculture, General
Food Science

ANIMAL SCIENCE AND CARE
Animal Sciences, General
Dairy Science

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Architecture (BArch, BA/BS, MArch, MA/MS, PhD)
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
Landscape Architecture (BS, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD)

ART STUDIES
Art/Art Studies, General

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
Business Administration and Management, General
Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Computer Engineering, General
Computer Science
Computer Software Engineering

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Forestry, General
Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS
Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General

EDUCATION AND TEACHING
Agricultural Teacher Education
Early Childhood Education and Teaching
Education, General
Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education

ENGINEERING
Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering
Architectural Engineering
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
Civil Engineering, General
Construction Engineering
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
Engineering Science
Engineering, General
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical Engineering

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK
Public Administration

FINE ARTS
Fine/Studio Arts, General

LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE
Agronomy and Crop Science
Horticultural Science
Ornamental Horticulture
Soil Science and Agronomy, General

LIBERAL ARTS
Economics, General
English Language and Literature, General
Foreign Languages and Literatures, General
History, General
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Political Science and Government, General
Social Sciences, General
Speech and Rhetorical Studies

MATHEMATICS
Mathematics, General
Statistics, General

MEDIA
Graphic Communications, General
Journalism

MUSIC
Music, General

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY
Dietetics/Dietitian (RD)
Health and Physical Education, General
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy

SCIENCE
Biochemistry
Biology/Biological Sciences, General
Chemistry, General
Ecology
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Other
Microbiology, General
Physics, General
Polymer Chemistry

THERAPY AND COUNSELING
Psychology, General

Cal Poly Highlights

(Details are provided further down on this page.)

What Sets Cal Poly Apart:

CategoryTrophy 
Number of students
(vs. all colleges)
Top 3%Cal Poly Number of students
Number of degree programs
(vs. all colleges)
Top 4%Cal Poly Number of degree programs
% of degrees in engineering
(vs. all colleges)
Top 6%Cal Poly % of degrees in engineering
Salaries of full-time faculty
(vs. all colleges)
Top 8%Cal Poly Salaries of full-time faculty
% of degrees in agricultural science and management
(vs. all colleges)
Top 8%Cal Poly % of degrees in agricultural science and management
Degrees concentrated in limited number of degree programs
(vs. all colleges)
Top 8%Cal Poly Degrees concentrated in limited number of degree programs
% of degrees in architecture and planning
(vs. all colleges)
Top 12%Cal Poly % of degrees in architecture and planning
% of degrees in computer science and engineering
(vs. colleges of similar size)
Top 12%Cal Poly % of degrees in computer science and engineering
Lowest tuition & fees (in-state)
(vs. colleges with similar degree levels)
Top 13%Cal Poly Lowest tuition & fees (in-state)
Male % of student body
(vs. all colleges)
Top 14%Cal Poly Male % of student body
Student SAT scores
(vs. all colleges)
Top 16%Cal Poly Student SAT scores
% of degrees in landscaping and horticulture
(vs. colleges with similar degree levels)
Top 18%Cal Poly % of degrees in landscaping and horticulture
Selectivity (based on % of applicants accepted)
(vs. all colleges)
Top 18%Cal Poly Selectivity (based on % of applicants accepted)
% of full-time faculty on tenure track
(vs. all colleges)
Top 18%Cal Poly % of full-time faculty on tenure track
% of degrees in animal science and care
(vs. all colleges)
Top 19%Cal Poly % of degrees in animal science and care
% of degrees in nutrition and exercise therapy
(vs. all colleges)
Top 20%Cal Poly % of degrees in nutrition and exercise therapy
Explanation of the Highlights categories

Notable:
Accepts some high school credits
Grants credits for AP courses
Offers distance learning
Career counseling
Career services
Student employment services
On-campus day care
Remedial classes for students
Option to study abroad
Offers part-time study
On-campus library
Offers campus housing
Offers a board (meal) plan
Tenure system for quality teaching
Has ROTC (army)
Offers athletic scholarships
NCAA athletic conference member

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