California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
About
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, outside of the city limits of San Luis Obispo. Founded in 1901, it is the oldest of three polytechnic universities within the California State University system. Cal Poly emphasizes a "learn by doing" philosophy, integrating hands-on, practical experiences into its curriculum. As of fall 2025, Cal Poly had approximately 22,000 undergraduate and 900 graduate students.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 7.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 107 Title IV programs, 63 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 44 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing63 · 58.9%
- No Data44 · 41.1%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
WASC Senior College and University Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 5
Action history · 9
- Apr 2025Grant Substantive Change: OtherWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Jul 2024Approved for Distance EducationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
- Jan 2024Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Jun 2022Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Jan 2019Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 5,304 students received $34.5M in Pell grants, alongside $63.5M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 2,852 borrowers who entered repayment, 24 (0.8%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Calpoly
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus100
- Non-campus11
Includes 20 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Religion5
- Sexual orientation1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Yosemite Hall 31 fireOpen flamesDamage $0-$99
- Santa Lucia Hall1 fireMachinery/IndustrialDamage $1,000-$9,999
- Muir Hall1 fireUnknown suspect used a cigarette lighter to burn the word "ALEX" into a ceiling tile.Damage $0-$99
- Cerro Cabrillo1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
- Aliso2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- Aliso2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- Corralitos1 fireOpen flamesDamage $0-$99
- Dover1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
- Estrella1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
- Gypsum2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- Gypsum2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- tšilkukunitš1 fireMachinery/IndustrialDamage $100-$999
Data quality: 10 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Calpoly vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Calpoly selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 86% | — | 23,069 | $15,624 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Appalachian State University | 75% | 90.1% | 21,570 | $16,487 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 68% | 75.2% | 27,636 | $11,580 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-Chico | 63% | 92.7% | 15,257 | $14,838 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-Dominguez Hills | 43% | 93.3% | 15,182 | $3,659 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-Los Angeles | 53% | 91.3% | 23,163 | $4,113 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-Northridge | 57% | 93.4% | 38,313 | $7,599 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-Sacramento | 56% | 94.0% | 31,943 | $10,512 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
California State University-San Marcos | 55% | 95.1% | 16,237 | $10,550 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 72% | 47.5% | 20,081 | $2,978 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY Brooklyn College | 54% | 58.4% | 14,390 | $2,943 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY Hunter College | 57% | 53.8% | 22,538 | $2,446 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | 56% | 57.1% | 13,763 | $3,046 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY Lehman College | 51% | 56.6% | 13,324 | $3,482 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
CUNY Queens College | 53% | 64.3% | 15,965 | $3,830 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Eastern Washington University | 43% | 90.7% | 10,492 | $13,091 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Metropolitan State University of Denver | 31% | 98.8% | 18,453 | $14,294 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Minnesota State University-Mankato | 53% | 88.4% | 15,271 | $18,609 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Pennsylvania Western University | 52% | 94.3% | 10,834 | $19,352 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
San Jose State University | 69% | 84.6% | 37,661 | $13,741 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Southeastern Louisiana University | 45% | 99.3% | 14,426 | $12,174 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Towson University | 69% | 82.0% | 19,401 | $16,791 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Troy University | 49% | 96.0% | 13,658 | $13,869 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
University of Houston-Downtown | 33% | 90.0% | 13,730 | $14,623 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
University of Maryland Global Campus | 20% | — | 63,012 | $14,514 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
University of North Georgia | 50% | 67.9% | 19,291 | $10,785 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Western Washington University | 65% | 93.2% | 14,710 | $18,680 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
| Peer group median | 54% | 90.1% | 16,237 | $12,174 |
Calpoly Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
We play a pivotal role on campus by fulfilling two core functions: providing mandatory data to the Chancellor's Office and serving as a key resource for Cal Poly constituents for strategic planning and decision-making.
Visit IR office page- Mauricio Saavedra, Ph.D.Executive Director, Institutional Research
- Robert FitlerSenior Research Analyst
- Ray FloresData Analyst
- Gary GlasspoolData Analyst
- Meghna TanejaData Analyst
- Taylor TakanishiData Analyst
Common Data Set (1)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (6)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DashboardDashboardir.calpoly.edu
- Data definitionData Cookbook - Institutional Research - Cal Poly, San Luis ObispoThe Data Cookbook at Cal Poly is a central, automated platform for managing data access requests, improving transparency and consistency in data reporting. Specifications are used to make data requests, automating what was previously a manual process, enhancing efficiency across the university's functional areas. The platform includes a range of request types for various departmental and institutional needs, ensuring adherence to privacy and regulatory standards.ir.calpoly.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Factbook2020 FactBook2020The 2020 FactBook for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, published by the Office of Institutional Research, provides enhanced graphs and tables on admissions, enrollment, degrees awarded, graduation rates, employee profiles, and financial aid. The FactBook, updated since 2016, no longer uses traditional formats but presents data through web-based graphs and tables.ir.calpoly.edu
- GlossaryFAD Glossary - Institutional Research - Cal Poly, San Luis ObispoThe FAD Glossary from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, serves as a reference guide for understanding various terms related to faculty assignments and course management within the Faculty Assignment by Department (FAD) report. It includes terms related to faculty appointments, workload credits, course structure, and instructional funding. Definitions are specific to how they apply within the context of Cal Poly's reporting and administrative systems.ir.calpoly.edu
- Strategic planStrategic Plan of California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo2014The strategic plan for Cal Poly, originally outlined as Vision 2022, continues to guide the university's strategy and decision-making processes today. The Master Plan extends through 2035, focusing on campus development projects and a commitment to sustainability. The plan emphasizes environmental, social, and economic sustainability as key priorities for the university's future.president.calpoly.edu
Notable alumni of Calpoly (10)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Weird Al YankovicMusic
- Bobby BeathardSports
- Devin NunesPolitics
- Ozzie SmithSports
- Robert L. GibsonAerospace
- Alex SpanosBusiness
- Burt RutanAerospace
- John MaddenSports
- Farzad NazemTech
- Frederick W. SturckowAerospace
Frequently asked questions about California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Calpoly.
What is the graduation rate at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo?
How many students attend California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo?
What is the average net price at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo?
What is the yield rate at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo?
Where is California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo located?
Who runs Institutional Research at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo?
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