Other Academic Policies | Cal Poly Academic Catalog * Skip to Content * AZ Index * Catalog Home Search catalog Submit search 2026-2028 Catalog Toggle menu * College & Departments * Programs * Courses * Prior Catalogs * Resources & Policies * Welcome to Cal Poly * About the Catalog * Academic Standards and Policies * Graduate Education * International Education * Extended Education * Faculty and Staff * Catalog Home : * Academic Standards and Policies : * Other Academic Policies Other Academic Policies 2026-2028 Edition 2026-2028 Catalog * Welcome to Cal Poly Toggle Welcome to Cal Poly * Academic Services and Programs Toggle Academic Services and Programs * Academic Advising * Cal Poly Scholars * Intercollegiate Athletics * Library Services * Office of Student Research * Office of Writing and Learning * Pre-​Health Career Advising * Transfer Center * University Advising-​Retention * University Honors Program * University Studies * Student Resources Toggle Student Resources * Campus 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Units with a grade of CR do not count toward the 12-unit minimum, nor do units from Credit by Examination. President's Honors List The President's Honors List recognizes and celebrates students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in an academic year. This initiative aims to celebrate the highest level of scholastic achievement, inspire academic commitment, and reinforce a culture of excellence throughout Cal Poly.   Students qualify for President’s Honors by:   * Maintaining a 3.850 GPA or higher for two terms within one academic year.   * Must be enrolled in a full-time academic load (minimum of 12 graded units).   * Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program.   * Grades must be verified and approved by the Office of the Registrar.   * Must have no failing grades, incomplete grades, or disciplinary actions.   * Credit/No Credit grades are excluded.   * Cruise and co-op grades are not included in the calculation.   San Luis Obispo campus students who qualify for President’s Honors will receive an official letter of recognition. Solano Campus students and Cal Poly Maritime Academy cadets who qualify for President’s Honors will receive an official letter of recognition. Additionally, first year Solano Campus and Cal Poly Maritime Academy recipients receive a gold star to be worn on their uniform, or on their attire if a non-license-track student.   Honors at Graduation Candidates for bachelor's degrees with the following Cal Poly cumulative grade point averages are awarded Latin honors at graduation. Only courses taken at Cal Poly calculate into the Cal Poly grade point averages. The GPA is officially calculated at the time the student has completed graduation requirements: Summa cum laude – 3.850 Magna cum laude – 3.700 Cum laude – 3.500 The Latin honors are noted on both the diploma and the transcript. Academic Minors A minor is an integrated, coherent group of courses (compromising 15 to 24 units in most cases), which gives the student knowledge in an area that lies outside of the major field of study. Please see Programs  for the list of minors. Requirements for the minor: * At least half of the units must be from upper-division courses (3000- or 4000-level) * At least half of the units must be taken at Cal Poly (in residence). For the French, German, Italian Studies, and Spanish minors, the requirement for students studying abroad is at least one third of the units must be taken at Cal Poly; this allowance is for study abroad programs only and does not apply to any domestic transfer credit. * Not more than one-third of the courses in a minor can be graded with student-selected Credit/No Credit (CR/NC), Courses that have mandatory CR/NC grading are not included in the one-third maximum. * A minimum 2.00 GPA is required in all units counted for completion of the minor The minor must be completed prior to, or at the same time as, the requirements for the bachelor's degree. A major and a minor may not be taken in the same degree program, and a minor is not required for a degree. Students who wish to earn a minor should contact the department offering the academic minor as early as possible in the program and fill out the appropriate agreement form. Students may select a minor which has requirements from a catalog that is different from that of their major. The minor form must then be submitted to the Office of the Registrar. The completion of the minor is noted on the student's transcript, but is not shown on the diploma. In no case is a diploma awarded for the minor. Blended BS+MS Programs Blended programs can provide an accelerated route to a graduate professional degree, with simultaneous awarding of both bachelor's and master's degrees. See individual programs and the Graduate Education section for additional information. Change of Major Policy Statement Cal Poly students must declare a major at the time of application. After making this decision, a student might later discover that their interests and skills align better with a different major. The university must make options and processes transparent for changing majors and successfully completing a degree program. General Information Entering students are encouraged to make careful and informed decisions about their majors. All majors at Cal Poly are impacted, and it may be difficult to change majors despite a students’ best efforts. If a student decides to change majors, doing so early in their academic career will facilitate timely degree progress. For upper-division students and transfer students, this process may be more difficult due to fewer remaining degree requirements. In addition, students should be aware that not all departments can accommodate an upper-division change of major.    I. Minimum Time at Cal Poly Students will be required to complete at least one semester before determining eligibility to begin the change of major process.  II. Requesting a Change of Major To begin the formal change of major process, students must submit an inquiry form to the intended major in their portal. First-time/first-year students and new transfer students may begin exploring potential majors during their first semester at Cal Poly, however, they cannot officially initiate a change of major during this period. III. Basic Criteria for Eligibility for an Individualized Change of Major Agreement Departments/programs can consider any or all the following criteria when determining students' eligibility for a change of major: a. Academic record including Term GPA, Cal Poly GPA, or Higher Ed GPA. b. Ability to complete degree requirements in the new major within 150% of the program's published length, determined from the start of the student's undergraduate enrollment. Review the Expected Academic Progress  and Financial Aid's Satisfactory Academic Progress,  https://www.calpoly.edu/financial-aid/manage-your-financial-aid/policies/satisfactory-academic-progress/  for more information. * c. Admissions eligibility for the proposed major. d. Ability of the department to accommodate change of major students into a program. Academic departments/programs must publish and clearly communicate current information about minimum eligibility criteria for a student to be considered for an Individualized Change of Major Agreement (ICMA) to change major. This includes any unique procedures or timelines set by individual department/programs. IV. One ICMA Per Major A student who enters into a change of major agreement (ICMA) and does not complete the ICMA requirements, either by failing to complete the terms, or by opting out due to a change of plan/interest, may not request an ICMA in that  same major later in their academic career at Cal Poly. V. Individualized Change of Major Agreement At the discretion of the department/program, an ICMA may be initiated in one of the following ways: * A change of major can be approved immediately without further coursework. * A change of major can be completed at the end of a semester by creating an ICMA using courses that a student is currently enrolled in. * The ICMA can be created to be completed in the subsequent semester by enrolling in the courses specified on the ICMA. Departments/programs will adhere to the following parameters when creating the Individualized Change of Agreement (ICMA): a. ICMAs will be limited to one semester in length. b. If an ICMA is initiated and the terms are successfully completed, the student will be permitted to change their major. ** c. If a department/program has determined that a student is eligible and has placed the student on an ICMA, additional eligibility criteria, that are more restrictive , cannot be applied retroactively after the ICMA has been created. d. A student cannot be required to take courses before the ICMA is created, with the following exceptions: i. Courses required for academic placement in GE written communication and/or mathematics/quantitative reasoning in the proposed major. ii. Appropriate MATH placement eligibility necessary for major/support coursework in the proposed major (e.g. Engineering students must be eligible for MATH 1261 Calculus I  (formerly MATH 141). e. Once the ICMA has been created, a student cannot be required to take additional courses that are not listed on the ICMA. f. An ICMA cannot require a student to enroll in more than two specified major or support courses in the proposed major. Three courses may be required in the ICMA, only if at least one course fulfills a requirement for both the current and proposed major. g. Consideration of GPA requirements for the terms of the ICMA may include any or all the following: minimum grades in courses specified in the ICMA, Semester GPA, and/or Cal Poly SLO GPA. h. An ICMA that has been approved and accepted by the student, can be edited, at the discretion of the department/program in response to circumstances that would constrain the ICMA from being completed in one semester. Some examples include but are not limited to, if the student cannot enroll in a course because it is at capacity, the class is not offered that semester, the class is cancelled, a scheduling conflict cannot be resolved, or a grade threshold needs to be renegotiated. Edited ICMAs will go through the approval process and accepted by the student. VI. Request for Extension of an ICMA After an ICMA is created and accepted by the student, a student can formally request an extension of their ICMA for an appropriate reason. An ICMA can be extended by one full semester to allow completion of the required courses. Approvals are at the discretion of the department/program. Denials may be appealed to the Office of Academic Innovations and Programs. Extension of the ICMA can be considered for the following: a. Unforeseen circumstance(s) outside the student's control. b. If the student needs to withdraw from a class, the semester, or request a grade of incomplete due to reasons that are serious and compelling c. If the student submits a request for Informal Time Off or is approved for Leave of Absence, the ICMA will be extended for the length of the absence. i. Courses taken at another institution while on an ICMA extension will not be considered in the completion of the ICMA, unless approved by the ICMA approver prior to the leave. ii. Students must resume or cancel the ICMA immediately upon re-enrolling at Cal Poly. VII. Academic Standing  Academic departments have the discretion to initiate change of major agreements while a student is on Academic Notice, or in Subject to Dismissal status, if the new major represents a viable path toward good academic standing. If a student in Subject to Dismissal status is dismissed from Cal Poly prior to the completion of the agreement, the ICMA will be void/cancelled and may be re-initiated upon the students return to the campus. Further, if a student on an ICMA has a finding of misconduct that results in severe sanction, such as suspension or expulsion from Cal Poly, the ICMA will be void/cancelled and may be re-initiated if the student returns to campus. ** VIII. Appeals Process Under certain circumstances denials of an ICMA can be appealed. Students should first address their concerns with the department and/or college of the intended major to assure that all options have been exhausted before escalating to the Office of Academic Innovations and Programs to begin an Academic Petition Appeal ( [email protected] ). Students who have additional questions about the process can contact the Mustang Success Center, or College Advising/Student Services Center. The right to an appeal is not guaranteed. More information about the Academic Petition Appeals process can be found here: https://academicprograms.calpoly.edu/content/academic-petition-appeals/ * 150% of programs published length i.e., 6 total years at Cal Poly for first-time freshmen, or 3 total years at Cal Poly for transfer students) ** A student with an ICMA that h