California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

California Polytechnic State University

Motto	Discere Faciendo (Latin)
Motto in English	To Learn by Doing
Type	Public Space grant
Established	March 8, 1901 (1901-03-08)
Endowment	$190.3 million (2016)
President	Jeffrey Armstrong
Provost	Kathleen Enz Finken
Academic staff	1,361 (Fall 2015)
Administrative staff	1,654 (Fall 2015)
Students	21,306 (Fall 2016)
Undergraduates	20,426 (Fall 2016)
Postgraduates	880 (Fall 2016)
Location	San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Campus	Suburban, 9,678 acres (3,917 ha) Total; 1,321 acres (535 ha) for the Main Campus; 155 acres (63 ha) for the Campus Core
Colors	Green and Gold
Athletics	NCAA Division I – Big West Big Sky (football), Pac-12
Nickname	Mustangs
Mascot	Musty the Mustang
Affiliations	California State University AASCU APLU
Website	www.calpoly.edu

California Polytechnic State University or California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, also known as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. Founded in 1901 as a vocational high school, it is currently one of only two polytechnic universities in the 23-member California State University system. Comprising six distinct colleges, the university offers 64 bachelor's degrees, 32 master's degrees, and 7 teaching credentials. The university does not currently grant doctoral degrees.

Cal Poly is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Cal Poly is known for its "learn by doing" educational philosophy that encourages students to solve real-world problems by combining classroom theory with experiential laboratory exercise. The most prevalent major at Cal Poly is Business Administration, followed by Mechanical Engineering and Biological Sciences. Cal Poly is one of four California State Universities that participate in the Big West Conference in athletics.

Cal Poly was established in 1901 when Governor Henry T. Gage signed the California Polytechnic School Bill. The university started out as the California Polytechnic School founded by Myron Angel. The polytechnic school held its first classes on October 1, 1903, offering secondary level courses of study, which took three years to complete. The first incoming class was 20 students. The school continued to grow steadily, except during a period from the mid 1910s to the early 1920s when World War I led to drops in enrollment and drastic budget cuts forced fewer class offerings.