California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Overview

Located in San Luis Obispo, California, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is located in a safe and convenient suburb.

What Is California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Known For?

• The student loan default rate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is 1%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
• Although it may not be available for every major, the master's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
• In 2019-2020, 70% of the faculty were full-time.
• After graduation, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $80,643 a year. That's about 98% more than their peers at other schools.

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Rankings

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is ranked #45 out of 2,018 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2023 Best Colleges list. This lands it a coveted spot in the top 5% of all colleges and universities in the country. Out of the 152 colleges in California, it is ranked at #7.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#39	Best Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#47	Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#57	Best Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#1	Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#1	Best Construction Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#1	Best Agricultural Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#4	Best Communications Technology/Support Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Architecture/Urban Planning Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#11	Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#17	Best Business, Management & Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#29	Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#41	Best Education Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#1	Best Communications Technologies & Support Schools	College Factual
#1	Best Graphic Communications Schools	College Factual
#33	Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools	College Factual
#34	Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools	College Factual
#35	Best Business Schools	Business Degree Central
#53	Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools	College Factual

Where Is California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo?

Contact details for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Phone:	805-756-1111
Website:	calpoly.edu
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaPolytechnic
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/calpoly

How Do I Get Into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?

You can apply to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo online at: www2.calstate.edu/apply

Admission Requirements for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	required
Recommendations	neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	neither required nor recommended

How Hard Is It To Get Into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?

The acceptance rate of California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is 38%. While it may not be as selective as some schools, it does screen its applicants very carefully. Do what you can to stand out among others in the pool of applicants!

Approximately 46% of accepted students are men and 54% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 35%, and the acceptance rate for women is 42%.

Average Test Scores

About 80% of students accepted to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 610 and 690. Math scores were between 610 and 720.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo received ACT scores from 42% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 25 and 34. Math scores were between 26 and 31. Composite scores were between 26 and 32.

Can I Afford California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo?

The overall average net price of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $37,050. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, approximately 28% of students took out student loans averaging $6,270 a year. That adds up to $25,080 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is 0.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 21,456 undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with 20,198 being full-time and 1,258 being part-time.

There are also 984 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 20,198 full-time undergraduates at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 50% are male and 50% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2,729
Black or African American	157
Hispanic or Latino	3,705
White	10,860
International Students	425
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,322

Geographic Diversity

California students aren't the only ones who study at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. At this time, 40 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 70 countries are represented at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

In 2019-2020, 22,344 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has changed over the last few years.

Online Affordability Rankings of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo was $10,071 for in-state students. Out-of-state students paid $25,971. The following table shows how Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major	Tuition for In-State Students	Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Fire Protection	#4	#4
Other Engineering	#12	#8
Engineering-Related Fields	#52	#46
Engineering	#73	#73
Engineering Technologies	#73	#64

Online Growth Rankings of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo was 6,850.6%. This is the #42 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	TOTAL
Business Administration & Management	766	0	36	802
Mechanical Engineering	293	0	28	321
General Biology	204	0	19	223
Civil Engineering	172	0	42	214
Computer Science	178	0	28	206
Animal Science	187	0	0	187
General Psychology	155	0	14	169
Electrical Engineering	141	0	20	161
Computer Engineering	158	0	0	158
Architectural Sciences & Technology	154	0	0	154
Agricultural Economics & Business	132	0	2	134
Liberal Arts General Studies	123	0	0	123
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	119	0	0	119
Construction Management	114	0	0	114
Communication & Media Studies	111	0	0	111
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	93	0	17	110
Economics	97	0	13	110
Food Science Technology	106	0	3	109
Biomedical Engineering	80	0	28	108
Health & Physical Education	106	0	2	108
Industrial Engineering	101	0	3	104
Natural Resource Management	102	0	0	102
Political Science & Government	96	0	0	96
Graphic Communications	94	0	0	94
General English Literature	79	1	10	90
Sociology	83	0	0	83
Journalism	80	0	0	80
Nutrition Science	73	0	3	76
Teacher Education Grade Specific	70	0	0	70
History	59	0	5	64
Mathematics	56	0	6	62
Industrial Production Technology	59	0	0	59
Plant Sciences	54	0	0	54
General Agriculture	38	0	14	52
Agricultural Engineering	51	0	0	51
Landscape Architecture	50	0	0	50
Architectural Engineering	42	0	8	50
Fine & Studio Arts	49	0	0	49
Urban & Regional Planning	33	0	13	46
Other Social Sciences	45	0	0	45
Chemistry	36	0	8	44
Agricultural Mechanization	42	0	0	42
Materials Engineering	41	0	0	41
Statistics	41	0	0	41
Forestry	38	0	3	41
Philosophy	40	0	0	40
Geological & Earth Sciences	39	0	0	39
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	0	38	38
Physics	37	0	0	37
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	36	0	0	36
Environmental Engineering	36	0	0	36
Public Health	32	0	0	32
Marine Science	28	0	0	28
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology	27	0	0	27
Agricultural Public Services	24	0	0	24
Accounting	0	0	23	23
Ethnic Studies	22	0	0	22
Engineering-Related Fields	0	0	20	20
Manufacturing Engineering	20	0	0	20
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	20	0	0	20
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	0	0	19	19
Educational Administration	0	0	17	17
Engineering Science	16	0	0	16
Fire Protection	0	0	16	16
Student Counseling	0	0	14	14
Romance Languages	14	0	0	14
Drama & Theater Arts	13	0	0	13
Public Policy	0	0	12	12
Taxation	0	0	11	11
Natural Resources Conservation	0	0	10	10
Special Education	0	0	9	9
General Engineering	0	0	8	8
Music	8	0	0	8
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	7	0	0	7
Other Engineering	0	5	0	5
General Architecture	0	0	2	2
Horticulture	1	0	0	1
Soil Sciences	0	0	0	0
Curriculum & Instruction	0	0	0	0
General Education	0	0	0	0
Construction Engineering	0	0	0	0
Writing Studies	0	0	0	0
Human Development & Family Studies	0	0	0	0
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	0	0	0	0
General Social Sciences	0	0	0	0
Public Administration	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	5,421	6	524	5,951

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By Daderot under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.