Your CareerStarts at Sea

Navigate toward a bigger future at the only maritime academy on the West Coast.

LEARN BY DOING

At the Cal Poly Maritime Academy, your classroom can be a lab, an engine room, or a simulator. Study on the San Francisco Bay. Train aboard a 500-foot ship. No matter where you learn, you’re building the skills that launch careers.

EXPERIENCE LEARNING IN THE FIELD

Leading the Industry

The maritime economy moves people, goods, and ideas around the world. Cal Poly Maritime Academy shapes our education around its demands—strengthening industry partnerships and shaping skilled experts ready to lead.

HOW WE POWER THE BLUE ECONOMY

Ready Day One

Whether you’re standing watch on the bridge or single-handedly controlling an operating system, what you do at Cal Poly Maritime Academy matters. Embrace real roles, with real responsibilities, through immersive training where you'll apply what you know. You'll also build the confidence to excel in high-demand careers.

LEARNING THAT TAKES YOU PLACES

Since 1901, our mission has been to help every Mustang thrive—and it starts the moment they step on campus.

THE ONLY

degree-granting maritime academy in the west

#1

top public school in the West

U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT

$111K+

average starting salary among recent graduates earning a U.S. Coast Guard license

EXPERTS LEADING THE WAY

Master Mariner, Training Ship Golden Bear

Before returning to Cal Poly Maritime Academy, Captain Samar Bannister spent more than 14 years at sea with Maersk and Ocean Ships. Today, the Cal Poly Maritime alum leads the Training Ship Golden Bear and helps prepare the next generation of mariners for the responsibilities ahead of them.