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Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program

Freedom to Choose / Freedom to Create / Freedom to Travel

Resources

Catalog, Flowchart, & Curriculum Sheet

  • Use it to help track courses taken and see what courses are still required.
  • Quarter-by-quarter curriculum based on selected concentrations.
  • Select your major (LAES), concentration, and catalog year (can be found under the "Academics" tab in your Cal Poly Portal).

 

LAES Concentration and Study Abroad Declaration Form

 

Degree Progress Report

  • Helps track progress to graduation and shows which requirements have not yet been met.

 

Degree Planner

  • A degree planning tool that provides you with a personalized, pre-populated path to graduation.

 

Substitution for Major/Support Courses

 

The LAES Lab (181-101) and Expressive Technology Studios (181-104) are available to all LAES students. They are used as collaboration space to work on interdisciplinary projects with other departments and programs on and off campus. Improvements are ongoing, and equipment is updated as our needs predict; our primary goal is to optimize these spaces for designing, creating, testing, and updating expressive technology work that combines aspects of theater, cinema, music, dance, electronic design, computer science, and innovative sustainable technologies.

The space is shared whenever possible, in accordance with our mission as an interdisciplinary program. Students from the Colleges of Architecture, Liberal Arts, and Engineering have used it for various projects.

Equipment and Space Requests

The LAES Technical Coordinator and a team of student lab managers oversee all equipment and activities in the lab and Expressive Technology Studios. While they can assist with most projects, some have particular specialties. Please submit the appropriate equipment or activity request as described below.

Equipment

Some equipment (VR headsets, motion capture gloves, cameras, recorders, microphones, etc.) can be checked-out for short periods to help with class or senior projects. Please refer to the ETS Rental Information Page for rental steps.

Activities

When you need lab or studio access (other than to check out equipment), send a request to laes-labrequest@calpoly.edu indicating your specific need (please provide as much advance notice as possible).

 

The College-Based Fee (CBF) is a mandatory academic fee approved by the students to help support and enhance instructional programs. LAES students pay their CBF each quarter as part of their class registration.

In 2015, the LAES CBF Committee surveyed students to determine how these fees should be spent. Based on the survey results,  54% of those surveyed preferred not to change CBF reimbursements. Students also established the following spending priorities:

  • Invited Speakers/Project Partners
  • Class Projects
  • Organized Workshops/Visits to Industry
  • Senior Projects
  • Study Abroad Travel Aid (special requirements apply)

To best meet these priorities and stay within our available funding, we have established the following policy:

A $1,500 maximum per student per academic year is available to students for expense reimbursements as long as funds are available. This means that each student may request up to $1,500 during the current academic year as reimbursement for expenses relating to any of the above-mentioned spending priorities.

Reimbursement Process

To request expense reimbursement, submit the following form and bring all your original itemized receipts to the Program Office (be sure to make a copy for yourself) within 10 days of payment or trip return. If you have questions and/or need assistance with completing this form, please contact jnlarsen@calpoly.edu.

Each student is responsible for paying all expenses, including fees, airfare, and lodging, up front—no advances will be granted. Multiple student requests (such as one for study abroad travel, one for a senior project, etc.) will be accepted as long as the total of all submissions does not exceed $1,500 per academic year.

Important: All submissions are subject to approval and must adhere to University guidelines. Ownership of all reimbursed property will be transferred to the Cal Poly Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program. 

Career Services & Mustang Jobs

  • This is for those needing support for finding jobs, internships, and career opportunities.

Make Your Own Portfolio

  • Follow this guide by Nicole Arcolino (LAES '23).

Alumni Testimonials

  • See what the recent graduates of the LAES program have been up to and how LAES has helped them in their careers.

LAES Club

  • Come out and meet other LAES students, learn more about the major, and get involved in some projects.
  • Any major is welcome!

LAES Newsletters

Registrar's Website

The following forms and resources are available on the Registrar’s website:

  • Request to complete degree early
  • Request to extend degree completion
  • Course Withdrawal Request
  • Leave Request

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