What were the most competitive majors at Cal Poly in 2026? See the top 10

All of Cal Poly’s majors are competitive, but some programs are more difficult to get into than others — and this year, certain programs once again had room for less than 3% of those who applied.

During the 2025-26 admissions cycle, Cal Poly received 79,400 applications and sent acceptance letters to about 24,267 students— but it actually has room for far fewer than that.

The university typically admits far more applicants than it can realistically enroll, knowing that many accepted students may choose to attend a different university.

According to data from Cal Poly’s Office of Institutional Research, the university aimed to enroll around 6,522 students between the fall and summer 2026 semesters, including 5,526 first-time freshmen and 996 new transfer students.

The Tribune analyzed the latest admissions data to determine the most competitive majors at the university this year, comparing target enrollment numbers to applications received for each program.

Cal Poly’s most competitive majors were similar to previous years — but the odds differed depending on whether applicants were incoming first-year or new transfer students.

Overall, 25,202 incoming freshmen applied to the top-10 most competitive programs at Cal Poly, the data showed. Combined, those programs had just 903 seats available.

Meanwhile, 1,985 new transfer students applied to fill just 89 seats across their 10 most competitive programs.

What were the most competitive majors for freshman applicants in 2026?

The Tribune analyzed the application data compared to the enrollment targets for each available major to determine the most and least competitive majors for Mustang hopefuls in 2026.

The data obtained by The Tribune did not include the number of students accepted broken down by major and was specific to the San Luis Obispo campus.

The most competitive major for first-year applicants was once again psychology, which has led the pack for at least the last two years, though its level of competition has changed.

This year, the psychology major received 3,411 applications, but had room for only about 2.4% of those — or roughly 84 students, according to the university data.

That’s slightly less competitive than last year, when the major reported space for about 2.1% of applicants, or 80 students.

Biological sciences was the second-most-competitive major for first-year applicants in 2026, with room for just 157 of the 5,358 students who applied.

Kinesiology came in third, with 2,328 applicants and 78 available seats — an estimated 3.35% rate of enrollment compared to applications received. Kinesiology jumped two spots compared to last year, when it was the fifth-most-competitive major. This year, it beat out aerospace engineering and marine sciences, which took the third and fourth spots last year.

The top 10 most competitive majors for first-year students in 2026 were:

1. Psychology: 3,411 applicants, 84 seats available — 2.4%
2. Biological aciences: 5,358 applicants, 157 available — 2.9%
3. Kinesiology: 2,328 applicants, 78 seats available — 3.3%
4. Public Health: 1,759 applicants, 62 seats available — 3.5%
5. Aerospace engineering: 2,360 applicants, 90 seats available — 3.8%
6. Biochemistry: 1,745 applicants, 74 seats available — 4.2%
7. Political science: 2,214 applicants, 95 seats available — 4.2%
8. Mechanical engineering: 5,437 applicants, 237 seats available — 4.3%
9. Marine Ssiences: 590 applicants, 26 seats available — 4.4%
10. Microbiology: 522 applicants, 24 seats available — 4.6%

What were the 10 most competitive Cal Poly majors for transfer students in 2026?

Meanwhile, the odds were even slimmer for some transfer students applying to attend Cal Poly in 2026.

The most competitive major available for transfer students this year was public health, which had room for just 3 of its 142 applicants.

Though that number still represents a tough margin for students hoping to get into the program, it also marks a slight improvement from last year, when the major had room for about 1.41% of applicants, or two students, compared to this year’s estimated 2.11%.

Biochemistry was the second-most-competitive major for new transfer applicants, according to the data. It received 93 applications but had only 2 seats available, representing about 2.1% of the Mustang hopefuls who applied.

Construction management was the third-most-competitive major for transfer students, with space for just 3 — or about 2.4% — of its 121 applicants.

Public health, biochemistry and construction management were also the top three most competitive majors available for transfer students in 2025, the data showed.

The top-10 most competitive majors for transfer students in 2026 were:

1. Public health: 142 applicants, 3 seats available — 2.1%
2. Biochemistry: 93 applicants, 2 seats available — 2.1%
3. Construction Mmnagement: 121 applicants, 3 seats available — 2.4%
4. Statistics: 94 applicants, 4 seats available — 4.26
5. Political science: 328 applicants, 14 seats available — 4.2%
6. Architectural engineering: 23 applicants, 1 seat available — 4.3%
7. Kinesiology: 258 applicants, 13 seats available — 5.0%
8. Physics: 57 applicants, 3 seats available — 5.2%
9. Psychology: 701 applicants, 37 seats available — 5.2%
10. Computer engineering: 168 applicants, 9 seats available — 5.3%

See database with all available Cal Poly majors for 2026

Using the data provided by the Office of Institutional Research, The Tribune created searchable databases with data for all the majors for both freshman and transfer applicants. Search the charts below to learn more about Cal Poly admissions.

Sadie Dittenber

The Tribune

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Sadie Dittenber writes about education for The Tribune and is a California Local News Fellow through the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Dittenber graduated from The College of Idaho with a degree in international political economy.