College of Architecture & Environmental Design Tours

The CAED offers college in-person tours, virtual visits over Zoom, alternate language virtual visits, and video tours of our majors and facilities.

Cal Poly offers university Walking Tours and Housing Tours.
To book a Walking Tour of campus, visit the Cal Poly Tours web page.
To book a Housing Tour, visit the Cal Poly Housing Tour web page.

Open House Tours

Tours are offered on both days of Open House. No pre-registration is needed. Simply meet our CAED Ambassador tour guides at the locations noted below.

Friday, April 11
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, starting at the CAED Lobby (Bldg. 05, Room 212)
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, starting at the CAED Lobby (Bldg. 05, Room 212)

Saturday, April 12
10:00 am - 11:00 am, starting at the CAED Lobby (Bldg. 05, Room 212)
11:00 am - 12:00 pm, starting at the CAED Lobby (Bldg. 05, Room 212)

Spring In-Person Tours

We are happy to offer in-person tours again this Spring! During these sessions, our CAED Ambassadors show visitors around the college's five departments and the facilities used by our students.

These tours are from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. each Monday and Friday, from Monday, 4/14 to Friday, 5/30, except for 5/26 due to Memorial Day.

Please meet at the CAED Lobby in Architecture Building 05, Room 212. To register for a CAED tour, go to Cal Poly's Tours homepage, and scroll down to “Explore Cal Poly” and click on “Find Your Tour" and then "Register for a Tour."

Select the date of the Monday or Friday you want to visit by clicking on the calendar. Click on “Schedule Visit," and then select the tour you would like to attend on the next page. After completing the registration, you will receive an email confirming your registration.

If a tour is full, it will not be shown as an option, and you can select another date by clicking on the calendar icon and choosing a different Monday or Friday.  

If you have any questions, please contact caed-tours@calpoly.edu.

Virtual Visits

To make our visits more accessible to all prospective students, we continue offering "Virtual Visits" over Zoom. These sessions will discuss an overview of the college and each major. Students will have an opportunity to ask CAED Ambassadors questions about our college and programs.

The virtual fall tours will be held every other Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on 4/15, 4/29, 5/13, and 5/27.

To sign up, view Cal Poly’s Visit homepage. Scroll down to the "Explore Cal Poly" section and click “Find Your Tour.” On the next page, click “Register for a Tour.” Then, click the “Virtual Sessions” button on the next page. Select the date of the Tuesday you want a virtual visit by clicking the calendar icon.

Scroll to the College of Architecture and Environmental Design option, click on "5:10 pm - 6:00 pm," and then "Next" and “Register.” After completing the registration, you will receive an email confirming your registration with directions for logging on and a Zoom link. If you have any questions, please email caed-tours@calpoly.edu.

If you cannot make a virtual visit on one of the scheduled days, please email your request and details to caed-tours@calpoly.edu, and a virtual visit may be set up for you and your supporters.

To learn more about the CAED Student Ambassadors, visit the CAED Student Ambassadors web page.

Alternate Language Virtual Visits

We are also happy to offer Alternate Language Virtual Visits in Spanish. We hope that these will make it more accessible for prospective students and supporters to learn about our programs. These tours are by request and may be scheduled during the week or on weekends. If interested, please email caed-tours@calpoly.edu and we will do our best to coordinate a tour for you. A minimum of two weeks' notice is requested.

Video Tours and FAQs

The CAED and Cal Poly offer various videos to help you get to know our campus.

CAED Video Tour of Our Five Majors

CAED Video Tour of Our Facilities

Cal Poly Video Tours: Select a Cal Poly, Student-led, or Housing tour.

Read Frequently Asked Questions

Our CAED Student Ambassadors have put together this resource about the most common questions we receive about the CAED and helpful answers: FAQs / Frequently asked Questions About Our CAED Programs

Before You Visit Campus

To learn more before you come to campus, or if you cannot visit at this time, this page provides a quick roundup of the CAED programs and student experiences, how to explore Cal Poly’s majors, and virtual tours. To learn more about the college and each of the majors' curricula, visit the Cal Poly Welcome web page.

To learn more about Cal Poly's COVID-19 Safety Guidelines, click here.

Map of Cal Poly and Parking Tips

Click here for an interactive Cal Poly Map. Please review the directions provided. In the search field, type in "architecture" and then select Architecture and Environmental Design Building 05, which is where the “CAED” tours begin. If you are starting your day with a “Cal Poly” tour, you may want to park near the "Welcome Center" on Grand Ave.

To view where the parking lots are, instead of using the search field, skip down to the fourth option, “Parking lots.”

IMPORTANT: We suggest you allow at least 30 minutes or more to navigate campus traffic, find a parking space, pay for a parking pass at a kiosk, and then walk to the college or Welcome Center.

For a Cal Poly map, visit the Cal Poly map webpage.