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Quick Facts About Cal Poly
Basics
Full name: California Polytechnic State University
Usually referred to as: Cal Poly
Location: At San Luis Obispo - about 230 miles
south of San Francisco, 200 miles north of Los Angeles,
10 miles from the Pacific Ocean
Affiliation: Part of the 23-campus California State University system
Emphasis: Comprehensive undergraduate education - combining technical and professional curricula with the arts and humanities
Guiding philosophy: "Learn by doing"
President: Warren J. Baker
Stats
Student body: Roughly 19,471 (Fall 2008)
Faculty (including part-time): About 1,293 (Fall 2008)
Student-faculty ratio: 19 to 1
Staff (approx., including part-time, hourly and management):
State, 1,223; Corporation, 445; ASI, 84
Campus size:
Main Campus: 1,321acres, of which 155 are the "campus core"
San Luis Creek Ranches, adjacent to campus: 1,614 acres
Western Ranches, not contiguous to campus: 3,043 acres
Swanton Pacific Ranch, Santa Cruz County: 3,200 acres
Valencia Property, Santa Cruz County: 500 acres
Total: 9,678 acres.
Cal Poly is the second largest land-holding university in California, second only to UC Berkeley, and one of the largest land-holding universities in the nation. Cal Poly, however, uses all of its land holdings in active support of the education of its students.
Academics
Programs offered: 68 bachelor's, 29 master's, one doctorate of education in association with UC Santa Barbara, 68 minors, 14 credentials
Total bachelor's degrees (1942-2003): 105,078
Total master's degrees (1951-2003): 9,468
Terms: Four 11-week quarters per year
Accredited/recognized programs: 24
2009/10 Estimated annual fee average for students (California residents):
Undergraduates: $5,826; Graduate $6,606
Click Here for specific fee college fee information
Out-of-state tuition (2009-10): $226 per quarter unit in addition to regular tuition fees
Room & Board: $3,282 per quarter (includes a choice of three meal plans )
For more information on total Cost of Attendance at Cal Poly, Click Here
History
Founded as: Vocational high school
Founding legislation signed: March 8, 1901
First day of class: Oct. 1, 1903
First bachelor's degree: May 28,1942
Names:
1901 -37: California Polytechnic School
1937-47: California State Polytechnic School
1947-72: California State Polytechnic College
1972- Present: California Polytechnic State University
Student Body
Fall 2008
Men: 10,962 (56%)
Women: 8,509 (44%)
Average age: 20.5
Geographic Origin of Undergraduates:
San Francisco Bay Area: 28%
Central Coast (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey counties): 9%
Los Angeles area: 23%
San Joaquin Valley: 9%
San Diego area: 8%
Sacramento area: 7%
United States other than California: 7%
International Students: 0.3%
Applications: 39,000+ (Fall 2008)
Enrolled: 3,501 first time freshmen (fall 2008), 700 transfer (Fall 2008)
First-time freshmen students' average high school GPA: 3.78 (Fall 2008)
Transfer students' average GPA: 3.32
First-time freshmen students' average ACT score: 26 (fall 2008)
First-time freshmen students' average SAT 1 score:* 1200 (Fall 2008)
*SAT 1 reading and math scores only
Enrollment by College, Fall 2008
| College | Undergrad | Grad | Total |
| Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences | 3,832 | 118 | 3,950 |
| Architecture & Environmental Design | 1,954 | 64 | 2,018 |
| Orfalea Business | 2,367 | 58 | 2,425 |
| Education | N/A | 76 | 76 |
| Engineering | 5,187 | 286 | 5,473 |
| Liberal Arts | 3,102 | 127 | 3,229 |
| Science & Mathematics | 1,952 | 59 | 2,011 |
| Others & other post baccalaureate* | 289 | NA | 289 |
| All Colleges | 18,683 | 935 | 19,471 |
*Cuesta College agriculture students, high school students, senior citizens, Cal Poly faculty and staff members, and others taking classes
Click here for more information about the Student Body
Placement (2007-2008 Graduates)
Employed full-time or in graduate school within one year of graduation:89%
Graduates employed full time within year after graduation: 70%
Employed part time: 4%
Attending graduate school:19%
Median starting salary: $52,000
*based on most recent survey data
Click here for more information about Graduate Placement
Annual Events
Week of Welcome and Fall Conference (start of the academic year): September
Homecoming: October or November www.homecoming.calpoly.edu
Commencement: December and June
Poly Royal Open House: April
Sports
Mascot: Mustangs
University colors: Green and gold
Men's NCAA Div. l: Baseball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field (all Big West Conference); wrestling (Pac-10), football (Great West Conference)
Women's NCAA Div. l: Basketball, cross country, golf, indoor track, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball (all Big West Conference)
Intramurals: About 2,300 students participate in about 320 teams in 14 sports, 2 tournaments annually
Club Sports: About 20 recreational and competitive sport clubs
Click here for more information about Cal Poly Sports
Facilities
Space: 3.5 million sq. ft. in more than 100 major buildings with a replacement value of $500 million
On-campus student housing: 6,000+ spaces in 13 residence halls and apartment-style complexes
Robert E. Kennedy Library: 203,605 sq. ft.
Library holdings: 2,576,300 items. Includes 634,400 books and other printed works, 99,700 bound periodicals, 417,700 government documents, 31,500 maps, 48,300 audiovisual items, 1,339,400 microforms, 5,400 online databases and other resources
Instructional Computers: 1,800 student work-stations in labs/classrooms. IBM 9672-R24CMOS mainframe, various UNIX servers, 2,800 residence hall network connections, e-mail accounts, internet access
Julian A. McPhee University Union: 106,000 sq. ft., including Chumash Auditorium (seats 940)
Food Service outlets: 20
Galleries: University Union Gallery; University Art Gallery, Dexter Building; Kennedy Library's Photo Option Gallery
Cal Poly Theatre: 497 seats
Performing Arts Center's Christopher Cohan Center - Harman Hall seats 1,298
Recreation Center: 91,559 sq. ft. (main hall seats 4,000)
Mustang Stadium: 11,000+ seats
Robert A. Mott Gym: 3,032 seats
Parking: About 7,785 spaces
Other points of interest: Poly Canyon, agriculture units
Click here for more information about Cal Poly Facilities
For more photos and more detailed statistics about the university: Pocket Facts (pdf)
Institutional Planning & Analysis