Cal Poly Maritime Academy
The California Polytechnic State University Maritime Academy is a satellite campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo located in Vallejo, California that operates as a maritime academy. Founded in 1929, it was a separate public university in the California State University system until it was absorbed on July 1, 2025.
History
The California Nautical School was established in 1929, when California State Assembly Bill No. 253 was signed into law by Governor C. C. Young. The bill authorized the creation of the school, the appointment of a board of governors to manage the school and the acquisition of a training vessel. The school's mission was "to give practical and theoretical instruction in navigation, seamanship, steam engines, gas engines, and electricity in order to prepare young men to serve as officers in the American Merchant Marine." By 1930, a training vessel and a school site was acquired; the original site was in Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay Area.Due to the Great Depression, the early days of the school were full of financial uncertainty. As early as 1933, some state legislators were calling for the school's abolition. To save money, cadets and instructors alike lived and held classes aboard the training vessel, the T.S. California State. Only after the passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 did the funding for the school stabilize.
In 1939 the California Nautical School adopted the name California Maritime Academy. By 1940, the academy was granting Bachelor of Science degrees and Naval Reserve commissions to its graduates; this step marked the beginning of the transition from the status of trade school to college. In 1943, the academy moved to its present location in Vallejo, California.
In the 1970s, after surviving another round of budget cuts and calls for the academy's abolition, California Maritime Academy became a four-year institution. The 1970s also marked the time when the first minority and female cadets graduated from California Maritime Academy.
In 1995, California Maritime Academy became the twenty-second campus of the California State University system. The new affiliation improved the academy's funding prospects considerably. The current training vessel is the T.S. Golden Bear III; it is the third training ship to carry that name.
In September 2015, the California State University Board of Trustees approved a new name, California State University Maritime Academy.
In 2024, the California State University system voted to integrate the university with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, citing significant financial challenges and a 31% decline in enrollment over the past seven years at Cal Maritime. The integration took place in July 2025. The land-based part of the school was renamed Cal Poly Solano Campus and the sea-based school was renamed Cal Poly Maritime Academy.
Superintendents and presidents
Since the passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, the position of president of the Cal Maritime is commissioned as a rear admiral in the United States Maritime Service. Two past presidents are alumni of the academy.| From | To | Name | Rank | Notes |
| May 11, 1930 | February 14, 1934 | Emil Topp | LCDR, USN | |
| February 15, 1934 | June 30, 1937 | Richard C. Dwyer | See Note 1 | |
| July 1, 1937 | June 30, 1940 | Neil E. Nichols | CAPT, USN | |
| July 1, 1940 | October 31, 1947 | Claude B. Mayo | CAPT, USN | See Note 2 |
| November 1, 1947 | February 15, 1955 | Russel M. Ihreg | COMMO, USN | |
| February 16, 1955 | June 20, 1955 | Carroll T. Bonney | CAPT, USN | acting superintendent |
| June 21, 1955 | November 1, 1965 | Henry E. Richter | CAPT, USN | |
| October 15, 1965 | October 1, 1971 | Francis T. Williamson | RADM, USN | |
| October 1, 1971 | August 1, 1972 | Edwin C. Miller | CDR, USN | '34-D CMA, interim, see Note 3 |
| August 2, 1972 | November 11, 1983 | Joseph P. Rizza | RADM, USMS | CAPT, USN, see Note 4 |
| November 11, 1983 | August 31, 1990 | John J. Ekelund | RADM, USMS | RADM, USN |
| August 31, 1990 | June 30, 1996 | Mary E. Lyons | RADM, USMS | CDR, USNR |
| July 1, 1996 | June 30, 2001 | Jerry A. Aspland | RADM, USMS | '62-D CMA |
| July 1, 2001 | June 30, 2012 | William B. Eisenhardt | RADM, USMS | Unk, USN |
| July 1, 2012 | June 30, 2023 | Thomas A. Cropper | RADM, USMS | RDML, USN |
| July 7, 2023 | June 30, 2025 | Mike Dumont | VADM, USN | interim president |
| July 1, 2025 | incumbent | Eric C. Jones | RADM, USCG | - |
- Dwyer was replaced by Nichols due to Navy requirements for regular Navy officers to be in charge of Navy-owned ships.
- During WWII, superintendent and master became separate positions.
- Edwin C. Miller was appointed interim superintendent, and served from October 1971 to July 1972.
- On February 27, 1975, the title of "superintendent" was changed to "president".
Training ships
| From | To | Name | Former name |
| 1931 | 1946 | T. S. California State / T. S. Golden State | |
| 1946 | 1971 | T. S. Golden Bear | |
| 1971 | 1995 | T. S. Golden Bear II | |
| 1996 | Present | T. S. Golden Bear III | |
| 2026 | NSMV V |
Academics
| Top Public Schools | 1 |
| Top Performers on Social Mobility | 15 |
| Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs | 58 |
Cal Maritime academic programs are tied to a nautical curriculum. An undergraduate Oceanography major was added in fall 2020. As of fall 2018 CSU Maritime had the largest enrollment percentage of Pacific Islander Americans and multiracial Americans.
Rankings
Money magazine ranked Cal Maritime 15th in the country for value out of 623 schools it evaluated for its 2022 Best Colleges in America ranking.In 2019 Forbes ranked Cal Maritime as the 309th top college in the nation and 64th in the West.
The 2021 U.S. News & World Report college rankings lists Cal Maritime as the No. 1 "Top Public College" and tied for 2nd out of 102 schools in the category "Regional Colleges ".
In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Cal Maritime 1st among 223 colleges that award almost exclusively bachelor's degrees in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Wesleyan College 3rd in the social mobility and 2nd in the service among bachelor's colleges.
According to a study by the Equality of Opportunity Project, the Cal Maritime had the best results of any California college in helping transform students whose parents were relatively poor into adults who are relatively wealthy within a decade after graduation. 85% of poor students eventually became relatively wealthy. However, only 6% of the students came from poor families.
Corps of Cadets
Cal Maritime is the United States' only maritime academy on the West Coast, and requires all undergraduate students to participate in the Corps of Cadets. The only similar program in the Western United States is at the junior college New Mexico Military Institute. Since maritime academies comply with Title 46 Part 310 of the Code of Federal Regulations, students are referred to as "cadets", are required to wear uniforms, and utilize a demerit-based disciplinary system. Participation in Navy Reserve Merchant Marine training program is no longer required, but cadets still utilize Merchant Marine Navy-style uniforms, customs, and traditions. Based on academic majors cadets are organized into squads, sections, divisions and companies, which regularly muster in morning formations several times a week, as well as stand watches on campus and aboard the training ship.Military options
There is no armed service obligation attached to graduation from the Cal Maritime. However, financial aid and additional career opportunities exist for those students who choose to participate in any of the several military programs available on the Cal Maritime campus:- Coast Guard – Auxiliary University Program, Maritime Academy Graduate Program
- Navy – Strategic Sealift Officer Program
- Navy – Reserve Officer Training Corps
- Marine Corps – Reserve Officer Training Corps
- Air Force – Reserve Officer Training Corps
Athletics
Cal Maritime competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, crew, cross country, golf, rugby, soccer and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, crew, cross country, golf, soccer and water polo; and co-ed sports include sailing.