Why choose

Cal Poly?

Majors at Cal Poly

Aerospace EngineeringAgricultural BusinessAgricultural CommunicationsAgricultural and Environmental

Plant SciencesAgricultural ScienceAgricultural Systems ManagementAnimal ScienceAnthropology and GeographyArchitectural EngineeringArchitectureArt and DesignBiochemistryBiological SciencesBiomedical EngineeringBioResource & Agricultural

EngineeringBusiness AdministrationChemistryChild DevelopmentCity & Regional PlanningCivil Engineering

Comparative Ethnic StudiesCommunication StudiesComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceConstruction ManagementDairy ScienceEconomicsElectrical EngineeringEnglishEnvironmental Earth ScienceEnvironmental EngineeringEnvironmental Management and

ProtectionEnvironmental Soil ScienceFood ScienceForestry and Natural ResourcesGeneral EngineeringGraphic CommunicationHistoryIndustrial EngineeringIndustrial TechnologyJournalism

KinesiologyLandscape ArchitectureLiberal StudiesManufacturing EngineeringMaterials EngineeringMathematicsMechanical EngineeringMicrobiologyModern Languages & LiteraturesMusicNutritionPhilosophyPhysicsPolitical SciencePsychologyRecreation, Parks, and Tourism

AdministrationSociologySoftware EngineeringStatisticsTheatre ArtsWine & Viticulture

Undergraduate Degrees

Graduate ProgramsAccounting, MS (with

specializations in: Taxation, Financial Accounting)

Aerospace Engineering, MSAgricultural Education, MAEAgriculture, MS (with

specializations in: Agricultural Engineering Technology, Animal Science, Crop Science, Dairy Products Technology, Environmental Horticultural Science, Food Science and Nutrition, Irrigation, Plant Protection Science, Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management, and Soil Science)

Architecture, MS (with a specialization in Architectural Engineering)

Biological Sciences, MS & MABiomedical Engineering, MSBusiness, MBA (with

specializations in: General Management, Graphic

Communication Document Systems Management and Architectural Management)

Business, Dual Degrees (Engineering Management, MBA & MS, MBA & Engineering, MS and Customized MBA & MS or MA)

City and Regional Planning, MCRPCity and Regional Planning,

Dual Degree (Transportation Planning, MCRP & MS ENG)

Civil and Environmental Engineering, MS

Computer Science, MSDairy Products Technology, MPSEducation, Credential Programs

(Administrative Services, Special Education, Multiple Subject, Single Subject)

Education, MA (with specializations in: Counseling and Guidance, Educational Leadership and Special Education)

Electrical Engineering, MSEngineering, MS (with

specializations in: Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Integrated Technology Management and Water Engineering)

Engineering, Dual Degrees (Engineering Management, MBA & MS ENG and Transportation Planning, MCRP & MS ENG)

English, MAFire Protection Engineering, MSForestry Sciences, MSHistory, MAIndustrial Engineering, MSKinesiology, MSMathematics, MSMechanical EngineeringPolymers and Coatings, MSPsychology, MSPublic Policy, MPP

The UniversityOn Jan. 28, 2014, Kennedy Library (pictured above) became the first university library in the state to receive the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Excellence in Academic Libraries Award.

For 10 years in a row, students have voted the five-story library (which — at 208,433 square feet — is the largest building on campus) as the best place to study.

Named after former university president Robert E. Kennedy, it features a variety of 24-hour study spaces, labs and collaboration rooms.

Photo courtesy of Kennedy Library

No. 1 Public Master’s University in the West

for 23 Years in a Row— U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook

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Four academic advisors are on hand to provide guidance and counseling to student-athletes in the department’s advising center and computer lab.

— Money Magazine, July 31, 2014(among 1,500 universities reviewed)

Top 5 Percent Nationally

in Educational Value

(early-career average of $57,800 for bachelor’s degrees) — PayScale.com, Aug. 28, 2015

14th-Highest Median Salaries Among

Public Universities Nationally

— USA Today study, Nov. 3, 2014

Eighth-Highest Paid Education Graduates

in the Country

3 • GoPoly.com

— PayScale survey of public universities’overall tuition costs vs. graduates’ lifetime career earnings, March 23, 2015

No. 9 in the Nation in Return on Investment

— Affordable Colleges Online, Sept. 12, 2013(1. Harvard, 2. Penn, 3. Cal, 4. James Madison, 5. Cal Poly)

No. 5 in the Nation in Return on Investment

for English and Humanities Programs

— U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook(1. U.S. Military Academy, 2. U.S. Air Force Academy, 3. U.S. Naval Academy, 4. Cal Poly)

No. 4 College of Engineering in the Country

— DesignIntelligence, Nov. 4, 2013(1. Cal Poly, 2. Cornell, 3. Rice, 4. Texas, 5. Virginia Tech)

No. 1 Bachelor of Architecture

Program in the Nation

for being a leading school in the retention and graduation of engineering students(as determined by the American Society for Engineering Education)

Honored at the White House (Feb. 8, 2012)

Built in the northwest sector of campus, the three-floor, 104,000-square-foot Engineering IV Building (right) opened in 2007. The accompanying Bonderson Student Projects Center (left) bookends the other side of Engineering Plaza.

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Cal Poly’s Career Fairs, hosted an-nually during the fall, winter and spring quarters, empower students to network with potential employers while providing companies opportunities to recruit.

Photo courtesy of Cal Poly Career Services

The Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics serves every Cal Poly student regardless of major. Opened for classes in the fall of 2013, it encompasses 189,000 square feet.

5 • GoPoly.com

Flexi Award for

Technology Education

in Graphic Designpresented to Cal Poly’s GRC Department,

Feb. 27, 2015

2015 Outstanding

Chapter of Women

Engineers Awardfrom the National Society of Women Engineers

at the SWE National Conference in Los Angeles(Cal Poly’s fourth in a row and 11th since 2002)

— Best College Reviews, Feb. 10, 2015

One of the 20 Best

Organic Farms at

American Universities

2014 Women in

Engineering Awardnational honor for being a model program in

improving the educational environment for women — Women in Engineering ProActive Network,

June 11, 2014

— peer-reviewed study by University of Arkansas researchers, Feb. 25, 2015

(1. Texas Tech, 2. Florida, 3. Oklahoma State, 4. Texas A&M, 5. Kansas State, 6. Ohio State,

7. Arkansas, 8. Cal Poly, 9. Nebraska, 10. Purdue)

No. 8 Agricultural

Comms. Program

in the Nation

No. 21 City & Regional

Planning Program

in the Nation— Planetizen Guide to Graduate

Urban Planning Programs, Dec. 22, 2014

Photo by Ray Ambler Photography (RAphotos.com)

Photo courtesy of Kennedy Library

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7 • GoPoly.com

Cal Poly’s Leaning Pine Arboretum, resid-ing on five acres in the north hillside of cam-pus, is open to all students and used in horti-culture, botany, and biology courses.

Praised by the Pacific Horticulture Society for its diversified combination of serving as a setting for both research and relaxation, the arboretum is divided into five Mediterranean climate zones: California, Chile, Australia, South Africa and the Mediterranean basin.

In addition, the arboretum also features a New Zealand garden, a Dwarf and Unusual Conifer garden, a Formal garden, fountains and a gazebo.

Best Practice Award for Sustainability

Environments in Academics— California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, July 1, 2015

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Top: Nestled between the Orfalea College of Business and Alex G. Spanos Stadium, Richard J. O’Neill Green features a shaded pond next to a rose garden.

Bottom: Just west of the Cal Poly Sports Complex, a 25,000-square-foot technology park for applied research and development offers a collaboration facility for industry, faculty and students.

9 • GoPoly.com

Photos courtesy of Cal Poly Public AffairsIn the latest university Graduate Status Report, 94 percent of alumni surveyed reported that their current occupation or

graduate study program was directly related to their major at Cal Poly.

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Campus LifeEquidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco, San Luis Obispo’s landscape allows Cal Poly to hold the second-most acreage of any university in the state.

About 17 percent of the enrollment of 20,186 came to Cal Poly from either another state or country.

The campus has a student-to-faculty ratio of slightly more than 18:1.

Photo courtesy of Joe Christianson

The Performing Arts Center (shown from the exteri-or in the top half of this page), renowned for its intimate 1,289-seat concert hall, has hosted world-class musicians, comedians and entertainers since opening in 1996.

In January of 2015, it was ranked as the country’s Most Amazing Campus Art Center by CollegeDegreeSearch.net.

Photo by John Patrick Images

Photo by Ray Ambler Photography (RAphotos.com)

11 • GoPoly.com

Blue Scholars perform for students in the University Union Plaza on Sept. 27, 2013. The campus hub frequently hosts concerts, guest speakers and film screenings. At lower left, Mustang Lanes (also found in “the U.U.”) features a bowling alley along with an arcade. At lower right, the climbing park adjacent to the Recreation Center is one of several outdoor retreats offered by Poly Escapes.

All photos courtesy of Cal Poly ASI

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Interest in The Beautiful Game is perhaps as ingrained in the culture of Cal Poly’s student body as it is at any school in the country.

Above: Cal Poly fans are shown with their vuvuzelas at the 2-1 win by the Mustang men’s team over UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 14, 2011.

For five years in a row, sellout crowds of 11,075 have packed Alex G. Spanos Stadium for the game.

The annual event, which College Soccer News deemed the best rivalry in the land, has become the nation’s top-attended series in the sport.

At left: A sellout crowd fills Mott Athletics Center on Feb. 1, 2014 for a basketball game against UC Irvine that was nationally televised by ESPNU.

The Mustangs went on to play in the NCAA Tournament, picking up an 81-69 win over Texas Southern before falling to No. 1 seed Wichita State in the sec-ond round on CBS.

Photo by Ray Ambler Photography (RAphotos.com)

Photo courtesy of Owen Main

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The Central CoastThe Pismo Beach Pier (about a 15-minute drive south of campus) is one of the region’s most popular tourist destinations.

In all, there are 11 protected state parks, beaches, historical monuments, natural reserves or recreation areas within San Luis Obispo County.

San Luis Obispo had an average high of 79 degrees in 2014.

Photo courtesy of Pismo Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau

15 • GoPoly.com

San Luis Obispo (background) is renowned for its numerous scenic hiking options.About 10 minutes south of campus, the Cal Poly Pier (lower-left) — which Unocal donated to the university

in 2001 — extends more than a half-mile from the Avila Beach shore. About 1,500 students per year use the 3,000-foot site to conduct hands-on marine research.

Nearly a million people a year visit Montaña de Oro State Park (lower-right), where more than 8,000 acres of cliffs, beaches, streams and canyons can be found 20 miles northwest of San Luis Obispo.

No. 3 College Town

in America

(Higuera Street) — Huffington Post, Jan. 11, 2014

One of America’s

15 Best Main Streets

— Yahoo! Travel, Dec. 13, 2013(1. Burlington, Vt., 2. Charlottesville, Va.,

3. San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

“America’s

Happiest City”— as featured on “Oprah” on Jan. 26, 2011

— MSN, 2011

One of America’s

10 Best College Towns

Held every Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. along Higuera Street, the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market has showcased more than 100 vendors’ fresh produce and diverse cuisines since 1983.

The weekly event is also known for its live music and en-tertainment.

Lined by an eclectic variety of storefronts and restaurants, Higuera Street was awarded The Great American Main Street Award in 1999 by the National Trust For Historic Preserva-tion.

Photo courtesy of the San Luis Obispo

Chamber of Commerce

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Photo by Ray Ambler Photography (RAphotos.com)