By Kenna Jenkins, October 7, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona ranked No. 2 out of public universities in the West in the U.S. News & World Report and No. 22 in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal’s list of 2025 best colleges in the United States.
CPP ranked second to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in the U.S. News & World Report but beat their No. 28 ranking in the Wall Street Journal. CPP also ranked above schools like the California Institute of Technology, Rice University, Brown University and University of Chicago in the Wall Street Journal rankings.
According to the Wall Street Journal, its ranking is 70% student outcomes, 20% learning environment and 10% diversity. The student outcome is based on components like salary and graduation rate impact. Learning environment components are aspects such as learning opportunities and facilities and preparation for career.
Terri Gomez, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said CPP’s rankings in the U.S. News & World Report are specific to student populations.
CPP ranked No. 2 in colleges for veterans, No. 4 for undergraduate teaching out of all schools in the region and tied for No. 10 in social mobility with Saint Edward’s University.
Gomez said the ranking for undergraduate teaching is one of the ones she’s most proud of. Gomez said, in comparison to the Universities of California, students at CPP get the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and really get to know them.
“The relationship with faculty is the most important relationship you make as a student,” Gomez said. “It’ll help you in your career. It’ll help you pick graduate programs, and we provide settings where students can really do that in very dynamic ways.”
Gomez said what sets CPP apart from all the other schools in the region is its polytechnic distinction.
“Being a polytechnic means that we have this applied knowledge,” Gomez said. “You take the skills and the tools you’re learning in the classroom, and you get to apply them to projects, to study abroad, to clubs and orgs in a way that is very unique.”
According to the U.S. News & World Report, schools are ranked based on 17 factors, including graduation rates, first-year retention rates, peer assessments, financial resources per student and student-faculty ratio.
The regional west for the U.S. News & World Report ranking includes: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
Margie Jones, dean of Collins College of Hospitality Management, said polytechnic schools like CPP offer a unique opportunity in their learning experiences that are available no matter the discipline.
“Whatever we can do to continue to build out the infrastructure to ensure that students are getting that inclusive, polytechnic experience is really … going to allow us to continue to keep a good ranking and maybe even move up one whole place,” Jones said.
The top 10 public universities in the regional west are:
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- San Jose State University
- University of Washington, Bothell
- University of Washington, Tacoma
- California State University, Stanislaus
- California State University, Monterey Bay
- California State University, Los Angeles
- California State University, Chico
- California State University, Northridge
CPP’s College of Engineering tied for the No. 9 spot with Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and Milwaukee School of Engineering in undergraduate engineering programs that don’t offer a doctorate.
“I was already planning on being an engineering major, and knowing that, why wouldn’t I want to apply somewhere where I have the best route of having a better career and having better success in that career,” said Frank Escobar, a civil engineering student.
Gomez said as students and their parents are wondering where their degree will land them, they should know CPP works toward giving students career engagements through things like internships, placements and paid micro-internships on campus for industries where they may be lacking, like humanities and social sciences.
According to CPP micro-internships are paid short-term assignments ranging from five to 40 hours of total work that are highly specific and occur anytime during the year.
“Even in a time of uncertainty with fiscal restraint, we need to continue to center our students and the experiences that they get here and ensure that we launch (them) into meaningful careers,” Gomez said.
Feature image courtesy of Darren Loo