Cal Poly SLO

Develop skills learning the use of Adobe’s industry-standard Creative Cloud software applications: Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Design and create common print and digital products using traditional and Design/Thinking design processes. Explore new software application AI techniques. Learn how graphics software and design processes are utilized in various career pathways. Compile examples of coursework projects and key learning points in the design and creation of a multipage printed and bound portfolio using Adobe InDesign as well as a digital portfolio in PDF, ePub, and online.

Tailored for high-achieving high school students, who desire to improve their voice, impact, and action this course immerses participants in professional Spanish, providing them with the tools to communicate effectively on pressing issues and advocate for real-world solutions with clarity and confidence.

Throughout the program, students engage with topics impacting California communities, including environmental sustainability, labor rights, and water resource management. Each student selects an area of focus, developing a research-based, solution-oriented presentation. This process enables students to delve into issues they care about, strengthening their ability to craft persuasive arguments that are culturally informed an resonate with diverse audiences.

The program also emphasizes responsible and ethical advocacy, encouraging students to become thoughtful, culturally aware leaders. By engaging in collaborative exercises and constructive critique, students strengthen their teamwork and peer mentorship skills—essential assets in any academic or professional environment.

Learn more about a Spanish Major/Minor and career path here.

Students will dive into the essentials of branding, learning how to define what a brand truly is and the fundamentals of creating a captivating visual brand identity. Through engaging lessons and resources, students will apply graphic design principles that will empower them to create visual impact by crafting effective and stunning designs. As budding designers, students will discover their vital role in the branding process while honing their skills in peer critique—an invaluable experience that fosters collaboration and improvement. Each participant will have the chance to design their own personal brand and output with eye-catching foil finishing effects, culminating in the creation of a unique project that beautifully extends their brand identity.

With a focus on practical skills, students will also explore the use of software tools, enabling them to transform their creative ideas into polished outputs that truly reflect their vision. Whether students dream of a future in graphic communication, design, marketing, or entrepreneurship, this course is a gateway to building essential skills and a standout portfolio. Sign up and let creativity take flight!

Are you interested in learning how you can make a positive impact on the world through your future career? This course is focused on developing communication skills pertaining to important topics impacting all professions. Topics include gender, race, culture, diversity, and inclusivity. Interpersonal communication on complex topics, dealing with conflict, and the development, maintenance and termination of personal and professional relationships will be discussed. Through writing assignments, class discussions and a final group presentation, students will explore and engage with concepts that encourage critical thinking about identities and a vision for a more compassionate, equitable, and less harmful world.

This course can support all future careers. We live in a world where knowledge of the complexities of social identities is vital to success. Even more important is the ability to communicate comfortably about these complexities. Students will explore their own social-emotional intelligence and how tapping into this can help them in any future career, from construction management to engineering, psychology, business, ethnic studies, or a future as a nurse or educator.

Communication is one of the most popular majors in the US, learn more here. Learn how a minor in Women’s Gender & Queer Studies can support your career path here..

Are you interested in the impact and design of digital public relations and advertising storytelling? From video commercials, content marketing, social media advertising, and influencer marketing to billboards and sponsorships — advertising and public relations messages are everywhere! This course is designed to provide students with an understanding about the marketplace of attention and create effective narratives of their own creation. Students will be exposed to higher-level thinking as media consumers and have the opportunity to test their theories by designing and producing a strategic communications campaign, a video commercial, and social media content for a real client.

Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary field that combines insights from historians, economists, political scientists and other scholars, to examine the lives and experiences of historically marginalized groups. A degree in Ethnic studies can lead to a range of careers including law, education, public policy, human resource, training and development, student services, humanitarian services, domestic/international advocacy and more.

This course will introduce students to ethnic studies through the land that hosts and surrounds Cal Poly. They will focus on Indigenous relationships, perspectives and land management practices in the United States, with California as the primary scope. They will also consider the concept of natural and working lands, the relationship between the federal government and Tribes and contemporary environmental justice issues, with a major focus on cultural fire. Students will hone skills in public speaking, negotiations and critical analysis. Students will also learn about Indigenous land caring techniques.

Learn more about an Ethnic Studies Major/Minor and career path here.

Have you ever considered the impact films have on shaping ideas about identity within society or how culture influences characters in film? Film Studies majors develop critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills by studying film. Whether or not you plan a career behind or in front of the camera, these skills are transferrable to many career paths.

In this course, we will approach film studies and critique from the relatable lens of teen cinema. From Rebel Without a Cause (1955) to Mean Girls (2004), teen films have consistently been a popular and profitable genre. Teen films both idealize and demonize adolescents while mirroring and shaping societal expectations and fears about teen identities and roles. We will take a critical cultural studies approach to the analysis of representations of teens in film and consider the U.S. cultural values these images illuminate. This course provides an introductory survey of teen films as a distinct art form that has the ability to reflect, critique, reshape, and impact society and culture. We will critically examine and analyze the teen film genre and its relationship to various aspects of society and culture (i.e., race, class, gender, ability, sexuality, and its relationship to various aspects of society and culture (i.e., race, class, gender, ability, sexuality).

Ready to jump-start your future in Geography? In this program, students will learn foundational geographic concepts, learning how to make maps using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), GPS, and doing field work. This hands-on experience will teach students map points, lines and
polygons in the field, overlay them on aerial/satellite imagery and perform data analysis.

Students will be given considerable latitude in choosing to map of something that interests them based on data from the web; including but not limited to the census, the USGS, NASA, federal/state/local government, non profits, foreign governments, news and social media. Any data is fair game, and students are expected to bring an idea of a map they’d like to make, creativity in sourcing their own data, and the initiative to help make it happen. Finally, students will write up their experience and work into a story map, and report, with publication-read maps, and easy to understand text for a general audience.

Students will embark on a journey of innovation and entrepreneurship, prioritizing hands-on experience and real-world application over theoretical learning. They will form teams of 3-4 and compete to develop innovative dairy sector products. They will engage in the innovation process and receive feedback from the industry sponsor, the California Milk Advisory Board. At the conclusion of the course, winners will be announced, and all students will receive certificates in recognition of their efforts. This immersive experience not only fosters teamwork, but also underscores effective communication in a professional context. This course offers a unique opportunity to combine innovation and entrepreneurial skills for a tangible impact on business development.

This course is THE course for any student who is interested in starting their own online business. In this course students will learn how to create a campaign to market products in any industry of their choosing. In this marketing bootcamp, students will cover all of the core concepts of marketing. They will begin with the creative process (ideation), discuss all of the various distribution channels to market their product, create their consumer persona, determine what the Total Available Market (TAM) size is for their business, and perform the necessary targeting analytics. Their work will culminate in producing some highly personalized marketing materials using Adobe InDesign and variable data/personalization campaigns.

This class will introduce students to elements of constitutional law and the founding of the Judicial Branch of government. Students will become familiar with how the court works, judicial review, and the limitations of its role. In the process of this class, students will go through a legal simulation (either mock trial or mock supreme court cases) to gain a first-hand understanding of how the process works. Students will also explore the range of internships and careers available in politics and government.

Are you looking for an exciting career in travel or translation? Or perhaps you desire to
boost your skills and you salary as a bilingual professional. Spanish language skills
are in high demand in the United States, with over 43 million families who speak
Spanish at home. If you want to improve your Spanish, along with your resume and
opportuities, Spanish Language Studies 101 is the course for you.

In this course, you will develop your skills in Spanish focusing on all forms of
communication: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The course will be
interactive enough to allow you to improve your language fluency. Whatever you major,
a minor in Spanish will teach you enough Spanish to be considered for positions that
are in need of bilingual skills.

Learn more about a Spanish Major/Minor and career path here.

Utilizing the elements and principles of stage design, it covers the development of concepts for visual narrative through critical script and text analysis, research, and discussions of professional best practices. Practical projects explore the relationships between environment, object, and text, and enact examples of
visual metaphor/storytelling via varied mediums (specifically scenery, light/projection, and costumes).

Step into the shoes of UX designers to solve a challenge in just five days! Using the design sprint framework, students will explore the fundamentals of creating digital experiences and learn about the foundation of UX principles, gaining practical skills in prototyping, and conduct user research. By the end of the two weeks, you will have a solution suitable for your design portfolio.

This course explores the development of websites in a client-based scenario. Students will use a variety of web development production tools and processes, following the best practices in the industry, to build websites that are accessible, user-friendly, and responsive for usability on different devices. Group and individual activities will guide the exploration process, and students will exhibit learned skills through developing their own basic website in which they will upload files and generate a URL for sharing with others.

Are you the next Indiana Jones? Majoring in histroy teaches students to think critically, communicate e!ectively, and solve complex problems, while also deepening their understanding of other peoples and cultures. Sample what Cal Poly’s History department has to offer in this seminar on the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade through primary sources.

More than 12 million Africans were enslaved and taken across the Atlantic aboard more than 36,000 slave ships between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. Approximately 1,500 of these ships – containing more than 200,000 African captives – were captured by the British Royal Navy in the nineteenth century. The documents seized aboard these ships and the interrogations of members of their crews produced in trials at Vice Admiralty courts around the British Empire reveal important details about how the slave trade operated.

In this seminar, students will work with archival manuscript sources from the nineteenth century to explore the organization and operation of the slave trade and the efforts of abolitionists and enslaved Africans to resist it.

Learn more about a Major/Minor and carrer path in History here.