Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 180,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 195 (99% 😎)
Sunshine Hours 3,120 (92% ☀️)
Days Without Precipitation 322 (96% 🏖️)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 22,263
Men / Women 48% / 52%
From State 83%
From Region 3%
Athletes 677 (3.2%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 48%
Hispanic 25%
Asian 14%
Mixed 8%
Black 1%
International 1%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences 925 38% 59% 7% 0% 25% 0% $66,723 34 +0.35 69 96%
Marine Sciences 27 — 52% 56% 19% 0% 11% 0% $35,776 0 -2.64 5 100% — — — —
Agribusiness 160 +1 61% 61% 2% 0% 24% 0% $83,159 75 +0.82 87 98% — — — —
Agricultural Systems Management 28 +1 71% 54% 0% 0% 43% 0% $69,061 32 -0.45 73 100% — — — —
Agriculture 44 — 41% 43% 5% 0% 48% 0% $77,442 99 +1.48 82 97% — — — —
Animal Science 153 — 8% 50% 11% 1% 31% 0% $53,163 45 -0.17 38 94% — — — —
Crop Science 76 — 39% 51% 3% 0% 34% 0% $73,470 93 +1.11 79 96% — — — —
Dairy Science 5 — 40% 80% 0% 0% 20% 0% $53,163 45 -0.17 38 94% — — — —
Food Science 25 — 44% 32% 40% 0% 12% 0% $76,545 95 +1.20 82 92% — — — —
Forestry 51 — 86% 65% 6% 0% 20% 0% $68,241 76 +0.63 72 96% — — — —
Natural Resources Management 115 +3 36% 70% 7% 0% 15% 0% $65,602 85 +0.87 67 98% — — — —
Nutrition 63 — 11% 60% 13% 0% 21% 0% $60,849 33 -0.30 58 100% — — — —
Viticulture and Enology 48 — 35% 54% 0% 2% 29% 2% $76,545 95 +1.20 82 92% — — — —
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration 106 — 30% 74% 2% 0% 17% 0% $55,512 28 -0.46 44 91% — — — —
Agricultural Communication 24 — 25% 79% 0% 0% 12% 0% $74,703 58 +0.28 80 97% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Architecture and Environmental Design 358 61% 48% 15% 1% 22% 2% $85,543 83 +0.61 89 96%
Architecture 146 — 49% 40% 22% 1% 17% 5% $76,759 88 +0.99 82 97% — — — —
City and Regional Planning 32 — 38% 47% 16% 0% 34% 0% $75,764 88 +0.88 81 96% — — — —
Landscape Architecture 50 — 44% 54% 8% 0% 20% 0% $67,569 46 -0.06 71 90% — — — —
Construction Management 130 +1 86% 55% 10% 1% 25% 0% $104,731 61 +0.38 97 98% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Engineering 1,523 73% 46% 23% 1% 17% 1% $117,054 98 +0.57 99 98%
Aerospace Engineering 100 +1 78% 58% 15% 2% 19% 0% $100,823 39 -0.23 96 100% — — — —
Agricultural and Biological Engineering 22 — 68% 41% 18% 0% 36% 0% $100,290 93 +1.19 96 100% — — — —
Architectural Engineering 66 — 47% 42% 14% 2% 27% 0% $88,572 29 -0.54 90 99% — — — —
Biomedical Engineering 107 +1 47% 53% 20% 0% 12% 1% $110,306 86 +0.99 98 96% — — — —
Civil Engineering 139 — 76% 45% 28% 2% 14% 1% $96,491 77 +0.59 94 97% — — — —
Computer Engineering 89 +1 88% 42% 24% 1% 27% 0% $146,862 91 +1.41 100 96% — — — —
Electrical Engineering 139 — 85% 42% 24% 1% 21% 1% $112,509 49 -0.21 98 99% — — — —
Engineering Science 14 — 79% 43% 7% 0% 21% 0% $101,990 68 +0.26 96 — — — — —
Environmental Engineering 40 — 35% 60% 12% 0% 22% 0% $90,471 81 +0.70 91 97% — — — —
Industrial Engineering 79 — 67% 38% 28% 0% 20% 3% $110,277 50 -0.22 98 99% — — — —
Manufacturing Engineering 25 — 68% 44% 12% 0% 24% 0% $97,928 50 -0.16 95 100% — — — —
Materials Engineering 34 — 79% 56% 3% 3% 18% 0% $117,096 99 +2.54 99 100% — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 314 — 79% 53% 16% 0% 17% 1% $105,190 81 +0.75 97 99% — — — —
Computer Science 282 +1 78% 35% 39% 0% 11% 3% $161,970 89 +1.08 100 99% — — — —
Software Engineering 23 — 61% 30% 30% 4% 22% 9% $146,862 79 +0.64 100 96% — — — —
Industrial Technology 50 — 68% 68% 12% 0% 6% 0% $78,892 14 -0.82 84 100% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Liberal Arts 999 24% 58% 8% 1% 23% 0% $65,906 31 +0.79 68 96%
English 49 — 24% 61% 8% 4% 14% 0% $66,221 96 +1.68 68 98% — — — —
Ethnic Studies 6 — 17% 33% 17% 0% 50% 0% $63,083 68 +0.31 62 — — — — —
Foreign Languages — — — — — — — — $62,963 68 +0.44 62 — — — — —
History 37 — 57% 43% 3% 0% 46% 0% $59,411 72 +0.24 54 96% — — — —
Interdisciplinary Studies 66 +1 38% 45% 12% 3% 20% 2% $48,916 15 -0.81 26 — — — — —
Liberal Arts 13 — 62% 23% 46% 0% 23% 0% $62,754 84 +0.52 62 95% — — — —
Liberal Studies 83 — 8% 69% 4% 1% 23% 0% $62,754 84 +0.52 62 95% — — — —
Philosophy 29 — 48% 48% 14% 3% 24% 0% $87,204 96 +1.94 90 94% — — — —
Spanish 7 +8 29% 43% 0% 0% 57% 0% $63,478 68 +0.49 63 — — — — —
Communication Studies 104 +1 17% 66% 9% 1% 14% 0% $74,417 89 +1.17 80 100% — — — —
Journalism 82 +2 29% 71% 7% 2% 15% 0% $74,380 89 +1.35 79 98% — — — —
Political Science 76 +3 36% 58% 7% 1% 26% 0% $74,973 63 +0.20 80 98% — — — —
Psychology 145 +2 19% 58% 4% 1% 26% 0% $59,919 80 +0.74 55 95% — — — —
Social Sciences 27 — 44% 74% 0% 0% 11% 0% $63,736 87 +0.62 64 93% — — — —
Sociology 66 — 23% 50% 5% 3% 32% 2% $62,703 79 +0.53 62 98% — — — —
Early Childhood Education 66 — 2% 56% 3% 0% 27% 0% $55,807 79 +0.52 45 89% — — — —
Art and Design 44 — 30% 64% 7% 0% 23% 0% $65,559 97 +2.01 67 93% — — — —
Graphic Communication 81 — 14% 48% 26% 0% 12% 0% $79,689 93 +1.53 84 97% — — — —
Music 7 — 29% 43% 0% 0% 29% 0% $46,979 50 +0.02 21 — — — — —
Theatre 11 +1 27% 64% 0% 0% 27% 0% $32,458 4 -1.42 3 94% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Science and Mathematics 589 38% 56% 13% 1% 18% 0% $71,678 49 +0.02 76 96%
Chemistry 36 +1 36% 58% 17% 0% 17% 0% $66,119 25 -0.53 68 100% — — — —
Earth Sciences 30 — 33% 70% 0% 0% 17% 0% $70,942 81 +0.53 75 100% — — — —
Mathematics 55 — 49% 58% 16% 0% 16% 0% $79,103 50 -0.24 84 93% — — — —
Physics 39 +1 67% 72% 10% 0% 5% 0% $83,705 54 +0.01 87 93% — — — —
Statistics 56 +1 66% 43% 25% 0% 14% 0% $95,698 37 -0.41 94 100% — — — —
Biochemistry 39 +2 46% 49% 26% 0% 15% 0% $60,885 10 -0.94 58 96% — — — —
Biology 194 — 30% 59% 9% 1% 19% 1% $72,015 80 +0.65 77 96% — — — —
Ecology — — — — — — — — $62,064 80 +0.64 60 — — — — —
Microbiology 9 — 33% 67% 0% 0% 22% 11% $73,034 70 +0.37 78 100% — — — —
Kinesiology 76 — 34% 51% 11% 3% 21% 0% $65,820 70 +0.47 68 90% — — — —
Public Health 55 — 15% 44% 15% 0% 25% 0% $49,654 6 -1.44 28 — — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Orfalea College of Business 842 56% 53% 15% 0% 18% 0% $101,461 95 +1.16 96 97%
Business Administration 776 +1 55% 52% 15% 1% 18% 0% $102,293 90 +1.28 96 97% — — — —
Economics 66 — 65% 58% 12% 0% 18% 2% $91,684 52 -0.24 92 96% — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $13,936
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $35,755
Est. In-State Cost $18,028
Est. Out-of-State Cost $46,253
ROI Percentile 90th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 96%
4-Year Graduation Rate 61%
6-Year Graduation Rate 86%
Transfer-Out Rate 1%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Engineering 22.3% 1,168 72% 49% 19% 1% 19% 1% $107,257 69 +0.50 97 98% —
Business & Economics 18.1% 948 53% 55% 14% 0% 18% 0% $96,324 82 +0.98 94 96% —
Agriculture & Food Science 14.7% 768 39% 57% 7% 0% 27% 0% $69,109 87 +0.57 73 96% —
Social Sciences 10.0% 524 25% 62% 6% 2% 21% 0% $68,467 84 +0.79 72 97% —
Arts 7.1% 371 36% 48% 18% 0% 19% 2% $72,871 98 +0.99 78 95% —
Computer Science 5.8% 305 77% 35% 38% 0% 12% 4% $160,831 92 +1.05 100 98% —
Humanities 5.5% 290 31% 53% 9% 2% 25% 0% $62,233 82 +0.52 61 96% —
Physical Sciences & Math 4.6% 243 52% 58% 16% 0% 14% 0% $75,921 42 -0.45 81 97% —
Life & Natural Sciences 4.6% 242 33% 58% 12% 0% 19% 1% $70,259 62 +0.38 75 96% —
Professional 3.4% 180 81% 58% 11% 1% 20% 0% $97,554 95 +0.05 95 98% —
Health Sciences 2.5% 131 26% 48% 12% 2% 23% 0% $59,033 3 -0.33 53 90% —
Education 1.3% 66 2% 56% 3% 0% 27% 0% $55,807 66 +0.52 45 89% —

Research R3

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Physical Sciences & Math $11.4M #169 45% $0.0M — — — —
Agriculture & Food Science $7.6M #80 24% $0.2M — — — —
Engineering $7.3M #200 26% $0.2M — — — —
Business & Economics $3.5M #125 8% $0 — — — —
Health Sciences $2.8M #186 78% $0.2M — — — —
Life & Natural Sciences $2.3M #250 39% $0.2M — — — —
Humanities & Social Sciences $1.5M #282 37% $0 — — — —
Education $1.3M #213 82% $0 — — — —
Computer Science $0.5M #275 97% $0.0M — — — —
Total $38.1M #216 37% $0.8M — — — —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D1

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Football 145 $7.4M $7.4M $0
Track & Field (combined) 98 $818K $818K $0
Baseball 39 $1.9M $1.9M $0
Soccer 38 $1.0M $1.0M $0
Wrestling 35 $1.1M $1.1M $0
Swimming 32 $330K $330K $0
Basketball 21 $2.5M $2.5M $0
Golf 11 $1.3M $834K $443K
Tennis 11 $665K $665K $0
Total 393 $17.0M $16.6M $443K
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 138 $1.2M $1.1M $125K
Soccer 46 $1.3M $1.3M $0
Beach Volleyball 44 $1.5M $1.5M $0
Basketball 30 $2.1M $2.1M $0
Swimming 29 $282K $282K $0
Volleyball 27 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Softball 23 $1.0M $1.0M $0
Tennis 12 $727K $727K $0
Golf 7 $737K $737K $0
Total 284 $10.0M $9.9M $125K
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 236 $2.0M $1.9M $125K
Football 145 $7.4M $7.4M $0
Soccer 84 $2.3M $2.3M $0
Swimming 61 $612K $612K $0
Basketball 51 $4.6M $4.6M $0
Beach Volleyball 44 $1.5M $1.5M $0
Baseball 39 $1.9M $1.9M $0
Wrestling 35 $1.1M $1.1M $0
Volleyball 27 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Softball 23 $1.0M $1.0M $0
Tennis 23 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Golf 18 $2.0M $1.6M $443K
Total 677 $49.2M $45.5M $3.7M

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App No
Acceptance Rate 30%
Yield (non-ED) 26%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 26% 62% 31%

Standardized Tests

Test Policy blind
Submitted Test Scores 23%
SAT Range 1240 – 1420
SAT Math Range 610 – 720
SAT RW Range 620 – 720