Welcome to Cal Poly

A Message from President Armstrong

At Cal Poly, we honor the past, celebrate the present, and prepare for the future. We honor the past by remaining firmly committed to our values and traditions, especially our Learn by Doing approach to education. We celebrate what is exceptional about the university today: transforming young adults into resourceful professionals and innovative leaders. We prepare for the future by graduating creative thinkers who have both depth of expertise and breadth of knowledge, and who will be able to help solve the increasingly complex challenges that confront California and the world.

Undergraduate Emphasis: As a predominantly undergraduate university, Cal Poly is known nationally for the quality of its baccalaureate degree programs in a variety of disciplines. We also offer outstanding master’s degree programs.

Residential Campus: Cal Poly is a residential campus. Our students find that the campus environment gives them the time, resources and settings in which to explore and discover their values and interests – whether in the classroom, academic-related clubs, residence halls, or other extracurricular activities.

Polytechnic Mission: From its start, Cal Poly has given particular emphasis to instruction in polytechnic disciplines – science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and mathematics. At the same time, we recognize that the liberal arts provide an indispensable foundation for all academic disciplines. We are proud of the truly comprehensive education Cal Poly provides to its students, who graduate as professionals ready to be leaders in industry and society.

Information Technology to Support Teaching and Learning: Cal Poly has been, and continues to be, a leader in the use of information technology to enhance teaching and learning. Technology informs our classes, library, communication, laboratories and research, and more.

Educational Philosophy: Cal Poly is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. In all disciplines, we provide a student-centered, active-learning education, facilitated by a low student-teacher ratio in classes conducted primarily by full-time, regular faculty. The cornerstone of our educational philosophy is our commitment to Learn by Doing - classroom instruction complemented by practical, hands-on learning in the laboratory, the studio, and the world.

Diversity: As a campus, we welcome and nurture a rich array of different perspectives, experiences and cultures. We encourage international and multi-cultural education in order to prepare students for successful participation and competition in a diverse world and a global workforce. We believe that diversity of our students, faculty, and staff enlivens and enriches Cal Poly’s educational environment.

We believe these values and our core educational philosophy will sustain us far into the future. But our greatest strength rests in the quality of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends who are the University.

Jeffrey D. Armstrong
President