Prospective Students

The Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies (LAES) degree is a hybrid B.S. program that combines the study of Engineering with the study of the Arts and Humanities.  Students in this program can take courses in the College of Engineering (CENG) and the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). The LAES program is designed to be flexible and is centered around the slogans: "Freedom to Choose," "Freedom to Create," and "Freedom to Travel." Students who transfer into the program work with the Program Directors to create a curriculum best suited to their goals and interests.

NOTE: If you are a high school student, parent, or counselor interested in learning more about LAES, please visit the High School Students page. 

Cal Poly has an amazing array of diverse and exciting majors for you to choose from, each providing a world-class education in well-known and established disciplines. However, sometimes, students are passionate about areas of study that do not fit neatly into any one major.  One way to get an interdisciplinary education is to double major or complement a standard major with a minor.  This is effective but not always efficient.  It can lead to delaying graduation and often involves studying extraneous topics that don't relate to your specific interests.

If you are passionate about studying interdisciplinary topics, exploring your technical and artistic sides, and building a custom curriculum tailored to your interests, then LAES may be the place for you.

The curriculum allows Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies students, in collaboration with students from all other Cal Poly majors, to participate in development teams working on national and international technology and cultural projects. The program strongly encourages students to spend three to six months studying and/or working abroad to further prepare students for work with diverse teams that include participants from across the globe. Graduates of the LAES Program receive a Bachelor of Science Degree. To see the elements of the core coursework and major classes, click on the accordion below. For more detail, visit and learn more about LAES in the Cal Poly Academic Catalog.

 

LAES allows the flexibility to build a course of study where you can succeed in many diverse careers.  Here is a small sampling: animatronics, audio engineering, consulting, front-end web development, game design, support specialists, technical and professional communication, user Interface/user experience (UI/UX) design, interactive entertainment, system administrators, sales, project management, professional event planning, quality assurance, sustainability, STEM education, film and television production, digital media production and management, and much, much more.

Before making that big decision, you must learn more about the program. How many classes will you need to take in both the colleges of engineering and liberal arts? How will your course choices be submitted and approved? Will most of the classes I have already taken count towards LAES? What are the entry requirements, and will this change affect my expected graduation date?  These steps will help guide you through the process of making your final decision:

1. Choose your interests: Think about the set of courses you would like to take in the colleges of engineering and liberal arts.  What type of skill sets do you want to build?  What kind of projects do you enjoy working on?  What type of jobs would you be interested in getting after graduation?  Don't worry. You'll get to discuss your interests and get feedback from an academic advisor and LAES director later.
2. Familiarize yourself with the CLA's change-of-major process: Review LAES's minimum entrance requirements (found in Step 2).
3. Meet with an academic advisor: Develop an academic plan with one of the LAES-specific academic advisors in the CLA Advising Center:  
   • Sabrina Canady (LAES Lead Academic Advisor)
   • Katie Harris (LAES Academic Advisor)
4. Meet with one of the LAES directors: Discuss your academic goals with them and ensure they understand and approve of the courses you wish to take.  They have the curriculum experience and can help ensure you make informed choices when building your concentrations. Email laes@calpoly.edu to set up an appointment.
5. Make the change: Now, it's up to you.  If LAES feels like the right home for you, email one of the directors, and they can start the process of officially changing your major.

 

Please note that transfer students cannot be directly admitted to Cal Poly for the LAES major. Transfer students, however, can prepare to change their major to LAES after their first quarter at Cal Poly by taking lower division coursework while still enrolled in their previous college, using courses that satisfy LAES lower division requirements.

The LAES lower division requirements are very closely aligned to those for most College of Engineering degrees. As a result, in order to have most past coursework count for your LAES degree, we would recommend transferring to Cal Poly for the engineering major you hope to concentrate in for LAES.

Please do not hesitate to contact a LAES director or advisor while still enrolled at your previous college to. Our program advisors are happy to give you advice on how to plan your course selections to best fit LAES requirements.

Newly admitted transfers should reach out to a LAES Change of Major advisor after they have received an email that their transfer evaluation has been completed (usually mid-July to late August).